Finally Underway

Well – the next training cycle finally got underway on Wednesday. Three miles in the Back Bay. We were supposed to start on Tuesday, but between my son’s college orientation and my wife’s visiting family Tuesday became a write off. Not the best way to start a training cycle – hopefully it doesn’t portend things to come.

Now that I’m back to training, I’ll also be posting my progress (or lack thereof) toward my diet goal:

• Daily calorie budget: 1762
• Calories consumed: 2104
• Exercise burn: 489
• Net calories: –146

Today – 45 minute tempo run. Yikes!

I Fooled the Old Brain Yesterday!

It all started back in late March. A sit down at mile 22 of the L.A. Marathon. Fatigue post race. Then days turned into weeks turned into months of burnout. Of making excuses to not run. Of me convincing myself that it would be okay to skip a run here and there.

Well, last night, for the first time in a while, I felt a twinge of guilt as I sat on the couch. I had been home for an hour and a half, when the intent was to just drop by, change clothes and head out the door. Finally, as In Plain Sight came on the USA Network, the guilt overwhelmed me, and I scooted out the door and over to Crystal Cove.

I put in an easy easy four miles (average pace – 10:06, average heart rate – 73% of max). The only reason my heart rate was that high was the hill that I climbed leaving the Shake Shack (this picture from last Christmas).

I grabbed some dinner and then hit my exercise mat for a resistance workout*. In addition to the old stability exercises, on tap were four new exercises:

Box Lunge: This exercise trains the hip abductors to maintain stability when single leg movement. It involves standing on a box and  taking a large step forward, landing on the floor, and then driving the leg back to the start position. Then repeat for the other leg. Complete 8 to 12 repetitions.

(Note: I didn’t have a box that would remain planted on the floor, so I just did a set of lunges)

Stability Ball Leg Curl: This exercise is supposed to train the deep abs to maintain stability while the buttocks and hamstrings generate backwards thrust. All I know is they were T  O  U  G  H  and they H  U  R  T! Lie face up and place your heels on a stability ball. Contract your buttocks and hamstrings and roll the ball toward your butt. Roll the ball back. Repeat eight to twelve times.

Forearms to Palms Bridge: Another exercise to help maintain pelvic stability while performing alternating arm movements. Start in a plank position. Move from plank position to push up position. Reverse the motion. Repeat four to ten times.

Dead bug: Another exercise to train the deep abs to maintain stability during alternating arm/leg movement. Lie flat on the floor, extending one arm above the head. Bring the opposite knee up to your chest. Extend the other arm toward your toe, and the opposite leg down and slightly off the floor. Then, drawing your navel toward your spine (to engage the deep abs), reverse the position of your arms and legs for 20 to 30 seconds.

All this while watching Family Guy and Spaceballs. It was a great Wednesday evening.

* Note: I had to sack the split leg jumps. My quads are *very* tired from miles and from a little hill climb I did on Saturday.

I *Think* I'm Ready

As I said in yesterday's blog, I'm coming down the home stretch. I'm keeping things easy and simple this week. Just enough to maintain fitness. Hopefully not so much that I leave myself tired. In that vein I did a quick four miles in the evening. The goal was to just put in some general aerobic miles.

The other thing that I am doing is checking out tunes for the weekend. I have a 10K race playlist that I've put together, but I don't have a two hour playlist for a half. So, I loaded the fathers (grandfathers?) of hip-hop/techno - Kraftwerk. Now kids - this is a band that I listened to in the late 70's. They were pretty far out back then. But, Ralf and Florian deliver some great techno beat - just right to keep the feet turning. I plugged in and whipped out my four miles at a pace of 8:58 and an average heart rate of 79% of max without pushing too hard. Wow. I think I'm ready. I'll look at a plan that slows down 15 seconds a mile and runs my heart rate up to 85% of max. Oh - and I'll be adding some Kraftwerk to my playlist.

Today will be my last interval workout. I'm going to keep it pretty mellow - 2 mile warm up, 6X 400 at 5K pace with 400 rest, 1 mile warm down. This should total about 6 miles total. And on tonight's playlist - some Chemical Brothers, B-52s, and maybe a little Grandmaster Flash.

Pre Race Wrap Up

As bad as Wednesday was, Thursday was a great evening for a run. Beautiful sunny skies. Still a little on the cool side, but at least the wind didn't threaten to blow the door off my car. I did an easy six miles around the Upper Back Bay. Managed to finish up in just over an hour (1:03, average pace of 10:18) at an average heart rate of 75% of max. I ran most of it not paying attention to my Garmin, but just concentrating on feel. The cool thing about this run is it was pretty easy. I was actually expecting my time to be much closer to 1:10. I knew my heart rate would be low because other than a couple of strides thrown in for good measure, I really wasn't even breathing hard unless I was also going uphill. Nice run if I say so myself.

So, that wraps the week before my 5K on Saturday. I blew the dust off The Competitive Runner's Handbook (by Glover) this morning to look at 5K strategy. A 5K is an interesting race. It's too short to worry about fueling. But it's too long to just all out sprint. It's also a distance that I don;t have a lot of experience at. Here are some tips I've gleaned from Glover:

1. Hydrate pre race. Since it takes 20 minutes to fully absorb liquids, any drinking done during the race won't really help. But not being hydrated before the race will hurt.
2. Make sure you are properly fueled pre race. Anything eaten during the race will have zero effect on your performance. If you have trained properly, there will be enough glycogen in your legs to keep them going for 5 kilometers.
3. Break the race down into 4 pieces - 3 one mile pieces and the final push. Mile one - go out just a tad faster than goal pace. Miles 2 and 3 - push a little harder each mile to offset fatigue. Find a pack running your pace and tuck in with them. Let them pull you along. With about 400 yards left start picking out runners ahead of you to pick off one at a time. With 200 yards to go, turn it on!

I was also interested in a chart in the book that provides a little insight to performance. Based on my training paces, I am sitting right at the sub 8:00 minute mile pace. Now, I ran my last 5K back in October at an 8:28 pace. I'm not sure I've picked up a full 30 seconds per mile. Especially since I think there are a couple hills involved here (my son used to run Cross Country in High School and this was one of the courses for a rival school). Maybe of all the stars align.

Well - what I'm going to do is target an 8:15 mile. That will put me just over 25:30. That would be decent. One thing for sure - if I'm going to hit that pace I better be resting today! Yup! Waiter! One of those umbrella drinks please!

Cranking out the Miles

Yesterday was a the normal short sweet Monday four mile easy run. Cranked it out at an average pace of 9:17 and an average heart rate of 81% of MHR. I even made it to the gym for some stretching and core work afterwards.

Thanks everyone for your comments yesterday regarding my weight loss! It's nice to get acknowledgement from others that are putting in the work! Thanks again! And no Rookie - I still have a *long* way to go before I need to worry about renaming this blog! (By the way - congratulations on finishing your first race!)

Also, Brian pointed out yesterday about wearing through the soles of my Asics GT 2140s in 400 miles. He has a pair of Adidas that are still going strong at 500. One thing I want to point out - around here "trail" just means that cars aren't allowed. The "trails" are paved. I actually do very little running off either asphalt or concrete. Plus, I'm sure the extra weight that I'm still carrying around does a lot to break shoes down quicker. Not to mention my shuffling gait (as opposed to the gazelle like strides of most runners). I'm just happy to be getting almost double the wear at a cost of 30% less per shoe. Big savings!

Well - it's Tuesday. Than means intervals this evening. There is actually rain in the forecast today. I'm not sure if the group meets when it rains (I've been running with the Tuesday group now only for a few weeks), so if it doesn't I'll probably hit the trails for an easy six miles and just do one day of speed work this week. We'll see how the afternoon shapes up.

Four Mile Monday

Well - just another boring Monday. Meh. Four easy miles. Let's see - what boring place should I go to to do this? Around one of the last pristine estuaries in California where I can watch the migratory birds as they stop along their flight back north? Along a creek where birds and wildlife abound (one of my running friends recently saw a bobcat crossing the trail)? Along a bluff overlooking tide pools and the shores of the Pacific? My point is I really tend to take for granted where I live. I'm lucky enough to do a fair amount of travelling around the U.S., and it's hard to beat what I have here. Some places may tie. Some come close. But nowhere have I found the combination of weather, natural beauty and convenience that we have here in Southern California. And before you lecture me on traffic - ever been to San Francisco? Chicago? New York? Even San Diego.

I'm not trying to rub anything in. It just occurred to me yesterday as I was leaving for my run that I really shouldn't be complaining about living and running here. All of the above is less than a five minute drive from home. And I still complain. Sigh.

Oh yeah - yesterday's run? Four easy general aerobic miles. Average pace of 9:48 with an average heart rate of 80% of max.

Today is Tuesday - so that means intervals! Bring 'em on!

Four More (Plus One)

We've been blessed lately with some great weather, so I decided that yesterday's run should take place where I could enjoy that. Off to where else but Crystal Cove!

The plan was an easy four miles. The run went well. I felt like I was moving along and expending little effort (for a change). The weather was beautiful, so when I hit my planned turnaround point, I continued motoring forward. Luckily for me, there's only another half mile of trail, so I was pretty limited to a five mile run. Otherwise who knows how far I would have gone?

Anyways, at the 2.5 mile point, I turned around and headed back. Only then did I discover why my run was so effortless. I had been running with the wind at my back (no pun intended)! And yes - it was stiff enough to be pushing me along! So I had to put my head down and watch my heart rate ramp up as I headed back to the car. Made it back in just under 49 minutes at an average heart rate of 82% of max. Another decent run. I turned over a new leaf then and hit the gym for some stretching and core work. My toungue is still hanging out of my mouth.

On tap today - intervals at the track! Ugh....

Milestone Monday

As mentioned last week, some of these blogs are going to get really boring. Especially Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays when I'm putting in aerobic miles. Easy four miles. Recovery run. Yawn. Sometimes that's the way I feel.

Then of course, it can be like yesterday's run. The plan was an easy four miler. "Easy" means heart rate between 75% and 85% of max. These days those runs are taking less and less time. I'm going to pat myself on the back. I remember not so long ago when I thought that 9:00 for a training pace was a pipe dream. Yesterday I averaged a 9:03 pace over 4 miles. I'm there - not even two years after starting. It's these small accomplishments that I need to remember when I have to force myself out the door for another boring run.

Final stats yesterday - 4 miles at average heart rate 82% of max at an average pace of 9:03. I didn't make it to the gym though. This weekend is SAT Saturday. My youngest will be taking them so we spent some time in Math review mode last night. I know he's going to do well.

Tonight -intervals with Cal Coast!

Four Mile Monday

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record here - but that just tells me that training is going well. Yesterday was a four mile easy run. Finished with a heart rate of 80% MHR at a pace of 9:19. This is the fastest that I've run this training distance. Maybe this heart rate training is starting to do some good? The best part of yesterday's run is that the only thing that was tired were my legs - but they were tired when I started!

Ever since reading Pfitzinger's book (Advanced Marathoning), I've been trying to use heart rate as my prime metric. Pfitzinger does a great job in his book discussing the importance of heart rate (actually heart rate reserve) as the key factor in gaining fitness and efficiency. This is the basis of the old "train slower to race faster" adage. I am often suprised at the number of runners who finish a workout with nothing left in the tank. I see it every weekend with my running club. For the first year I ran, I thought that I had to approach each training run like it was a race. I had no idea that by doing so I was leaving my race performance on the training trails. One thing for sure - once I started slowing down and staying within my targets, I saw my PRs drop - 3 minutes in the 10K, 6 minutes in the half marathon. Reading Pfitzinger's book really did a lot to help me start maturing as a runner. I would say that thanks to Pfitzinger and those whom I read religiously (both on the Runner's World Forums and here on the Blogger), I've made my way out of preschool and into kindergarten.

Finally, I'm going to need to shuffle my race schedule (and my training schedule) around a bit. I have to be in Grand Rapids MI on the 23rd, and to get there I'll need to leave pretty early Sunday the 22nd. This means that I can't run the Spirit Run. That's too bad, becuase it is a local run that benefits some of the schools my kids went to. Oh well. I guess I need to make a living to pay their college bills. I need to find anther 10K to run either the week before or the week after. I'll go on the search tonight!

Back to Four Mile Monday

Did my scheduled four miles yesterday. Goal of the workout was to keep it in the aerobic zone and to be a bit speedier than Sunday's recovery run. I was a little concerned before I started because I was physically pretty tired all day yesterday. I actually toyed with taking a nap around lunch time. I had to force myself out the door as the evening kept dragging on. Final stats - kept it at 79% MHR while upping the pace to a 9:38. Actually felt pretty good throughout the run. This morning I'm a lot less sore than I was after Sunday's short recovery run!

Not much else going on from a running perspective yesterday. I will be heading to the track tonight for some 400 yard intervals. The exact workout will be two mile warm up, 8 X 400 intervals at 5K pace with 400 rest, followed by a one mile warm down. That should total 7 miles. I'm sure I'll be dragging after this one!

Ramping it Up For Next Week

Not much to write about today. I put in six miles yesterday. Kept it nice and simple and on the easy side. I got to watch a beautiful sunset as I ran along the Lower Back Bay. Things seemed pretty effortless for a change. I slowed myself down several times to stay within the workout's target heart range. When I was done, things ended up better than I was thinking it would - average pace 10:02, average heart rate 147 bpm (79% MHR), which kept me in the middle of the aerobic zone. Based on the way I feel and the effort that I'm putting into workouts these days, that's right where I need to be.

I'm getting ready for my 12 miler around the bay today. This along with my four planned miles tomorrow will put me at 26 miles this week and on track to 32. 5 planned for next week. I'll also get run some intervals on Tuesday Track Day. Plus Tempo Thursday will be back in all it's glory!

Nothing Spectacular

About yesterday's run. As planned, it was an easy four miles on the Lower Back Bay and then off to the gym for some stretching and light core work.

Final stats for the run - 4 miles with an average heart rate of 144 (78% MHR). Pace at that HR was a 9:38 mile. The only thing that I found myself doing was starting and stopping (actually speeding up and slowing down) often to catch my breath. I don't know if it was the cold (I know - relative term) or if I'm struggling aerobically, but it was a little annoying to feel like I had to catch my breath even though my heart rate was below 85% of max. I think what I need to do is concentrate more on the slow stuff right now to rebuild my base.

I am eager to get things back in motion. I feel like I've lost quite a bit of aerobic capacity over the past couple of months. Things that seemed pretty easy back in November seem a bit labored these days. I think that now that I'm back on a structured plan, I will start feeling improvement with consistent training.

Four Miles and a Doctor's Visit

I've been off the running circuit for a couple of days. For the past few weeks (ever since my ski weekend) my back has been bothering me. I never had back problems before, so this is a new experience. Unfortunately, my wife is an expert at back problems (she has a couple of compressed discs that she deals with on a daily basis). So, she "convinced" me to see a doctor to make sure there is nothing serious going on.

I wanted to make sure I saw a Sports Medicine doctor. I've read horror stories about folks seeing their doctors and being told that the solution is quite simple - stop running. I someone who sensitive to why folks like us run. I visited a doctors that we've used for two of my kids for various sports injuries in high school. I made my way to his office for a series of xrays and an exam. I was hoping that he would be understanding about my desire to run. Little did I know that he is the Medical Director for the Surf City Marathon!

Well, the bottom line is I have a condition called spondylolisthesis. It's more a condition than an injury. The bottom line is my L5 vertebra is not aligned properly with the S1. The pain I am experiencing is being caused by inflammation of the L5 nerve. For now, my therapy is wet heat (i.e., jacuzzi) 20 minutes a day, ibuprofen (600 mg three times a day), and a new stretch added to my stretching repertoire. I do this for 7 to 10 days and we'll reassess. The best news is that I am cleared to train with two conditions - no hills (up or down) and nothing longer that 10 to 12 miles at a time.

So, armed with the diagnosis, my wife had no choice than to let me go out for my easy 4 miler late in the afternoon. Things went quite well. Kept my heart rate right at 75% MHR. It felt good to get out on the trails again.

Six More Miles Underfoot

Sigh. Something is finally going right. Yesterday's plan was six easy miles. I wanted to keep my heart rate around 80% MHR. I wasn't sure whether I was going to be able to pull it off. My back was *killing* me. In fact, I was having trouble lifting my left leg to climb in my car. I decided that I would avoid as much hill running as possible and head out the San Diego Creek trail. I would have a couple or three underpasses to negotiate, but I wouldn't have to face any long (meaning quarter mile or more) inclines/declines.

I started out gingerly. But, just like Monday, within a few hundred yards everything was comfortable. I checked my heart rate - low in my Garmin range 3. Next thing I know, the miles started melting away. It didn't seem like long and I was at my turnaround point! I grabbed a drink at the water fountain at the turn around, and took off back to my car. I started to run at a comfortable pace on the way back. Next thing I know, I'm running an easy 8:30 pace! Wow! No pain! Within a few minutes of course, I was up above 85% MHR, so I had to force myself to slow down. In fact, at many points on my way back I had to force myself to slow down to keep my heart rate in my training range. This as all good! The stats - 6.22 miles, average pace 9:52 (after forcing myself to slow down and taking some walking breaks so my heart rate would drop), average heart rate 81% MHR.

I was concerned about the Chinatown Firecracker 10K that I have scheduled this Sunday, but after yesterday's run, maybe there is hope! On tap today - four more miles at recovery pace. Then I think I'll hit a 6 miler like yesterday's on Thursday, a 4 mile recovery on Friday and rest on Saturday.

Feeling Better Four

Yesterday was another four miles around the Upper Bay. I feel like I'm fighting some burnout. I am suffering some sore legs and general tiredness as I finish week seven of this training plan.

The plan called for a twelve mile 3/1 run. But, it was SAT Saturday yesterday, and I had to get my son and niece situated. They have been studying for the test for a few weeks now, and we made a last minute decision to take the test yesterday. There is a way to take the test on a "standby" basis by showing up on test day with check and application in hand. This last minute decsion came about becuaseof some recent changes with score reporting. In the past, all scores at all sittings were reported. This meant that a bad test got reported with everything else and could affect the decision process. Beginning this year, a student can select the sitting that they want to use to report to a college, so scores from a bad test does not have to be reported. This really means that there is no penalty for taking the test many times. And the best practice for the SAT is taking the test! So, I showed up with them at 7:30 AM to take care of business. This meant that I missed running with Cal Coast. Instead, I went over to my favorite coffee house, grabbed a coffee and bagel and enjoyed my morning.

I finally got the motivation to get out of the house in the late afternoon and did an easy four miles around the Upper Back Bay. Once I got going, I actually felt pretty good and finished the run in just over 40 minutes. The soreness went away. Average heart rate was a little high (78% versus 75% MHR).

Today I'll make that 12 mile 3/1 run!

Six Easy Miles

At least they were supposed to be. I was scheduled to run four, but with the loss of Tuesday and the fact that I was able to start early in the afternoon, I decided that a three mile out and back around the Upper Back Bay was the ticket! Now, as I sit here this morning, I have no idea why my quads are so sore! My shoes are reaching that point where I expect some soreness (200 miles), but that is usually in my calves and knees. This is definitely muscle soreness in my quads that is causing me to want to sit here enjoying my cup of coffee this morning.

Today I have a 60 minute tempo run on tap. I am sure by the time my workout comes along everything will have a chance to stretch and feel better. Getting old sucks.

Days are Getting Shorter

Went out for an easy four mile run yesterday. I got started about 5:30. Did a two mile out and back along the San Diego Creek trail past UCI. My goal was to keep my heart rate around 140 bpm (80% MHR). I averaged 142 bpm (heart rate went up at the end into the 150's as I was climbing back to the car). Average pace was 10:30 - a little on the slow side, but that is what it took to keep my heart rate down.

I wrapped up around 6:15. The sun had already gone down. That means that it's time to get out the night running gear. During the days that I run after dark, I try to stick to trails that have no cars - trails like Upper Back Bay and San Diego Creek. Since last winter was the first that I had run, it was the first after dark experience that I had. I tried to be safe by choosing trails without cars, but I was not prepared for the cyclists! My job became figuring out what to wear to make sure I could be seen by people whizzing past me in the dark. I ended up getting a reflective vest, a clip on red LED flasher, and an LED headlamp. I'm after a new headlamp this winter - the old one has given up the ghost, plus it didn't really provide a focused enough beam to light much in front of me. I wear the flasher on the back of the headlamp strap - that puts it about eye level for most cyclists. I also made sure to wear a fluorescent yellow shirt. I think that did the trick, but I'm still a little leery when I hit the trails after dark.

Four Miles with a View

I took it easy yesterday on my four mile run. After pushing it on Monday, my legs were feeling tired. Knowing that Wednesday's run is going to be difficult (2 mile warmup, 8X200 intervals, 1 mile warm down), I wanted to save myself and just get an easy run in. There is no better place to do that than Crystal Cove, just south of Corona del Mar.


Crystal Cove is a California State Park that exists because the State made a deal with the Irvine Company for development rights. Basically, the Irvine Company gave California the land to the south of Pacific Coast Highway and the land in El Moro Canyon in return for the rights to develop the land to the north. The land to the north is now known as Newport Coast, where folks like Kobe Bryant live. What was left for us though, is a gem in the city. There are about 3 miles of beach and tide pools, and the wilderness of El Moro. I've camped up in El Moro, and once the sun goes down, you would never know that you were less than 5 miles from civilization. You can read more about El Moro here: http://therunningfatguy.blogspot.com/2008/07/el-moro-hike.html.

The catch for us runners is that it costs $10 to park. During off season, the parking kiosks close at 4PM, and entry after that doesn't require payment. But, now during the season, the kiosks are manned until late, so it would cost $10 for a 30 minute run. But - there is a little trick. Just before getting to Crystal Cove, there is a community known as Cameo Shores. Tun right into this community, and you can park on the street right along Pacific Coast Highway for free. It adds 1/2 mile each way to a run, but so what? I can see where it is a deterrent to weekend beach goers with a lot of stuff to take down to the beach, but for runners it's a good deal. The other good deal is to purchase an annual parking pass for $120. It's good at all State Parks - so if you go to other places (San Onofre, San Clemente, etc.), this is a really good deal. At $10 a day for parking at those places, it doesn't take long to break even! Last year I even used it at all the State Parks and Beaches along the Central Coast (Big Sur, Pfeiffer Beach, etc.)!

Some photos of where I run

After Saturday's 20 miler, we have started a "mini-taper" period. Our weekly runs scale back to 40 minutes each, and our LSDs will start reducing in length.

So today, I armed myself with my new Olympus 790SW camera and took a few pics of my route. For those of you familiar with the Newport Beach Back Bay area, I start my runs at the Newport Aquatic Center (NAC). I head north through Dover Shores, and take off toward the upper Back Bay. For a 40 minute run, I do a 20 minute out and back:


Immediately leaving the NAC and turning north, the first thing that you will encounter is a hill. It's not much of a hill (87 feet according to my Garmin), but its enough to get the heart pumping:

Next, you wind your way through Dover Shores, a development of older but nice homes. Most of the homes in this neighborhood are in the $2.5 to $4 million price range. It is a quiet neighborhood, but there is enough traffic to require some caution. About two miles from the start, you pop out of the neighborhood and encounter the Back Bay trail. From here on, you will get to enjoy views of the ocean, bay, flora and fauna:

For me today, I ran about a mile of the Back Bay trail and then turned around and headed on back.

There is one thing that is really neat to know about this trail. The Back Bay Trail is actually an organized trail maintained by Orange County:

The club that I currently run with, Cal Coast Track Club, also has marked the trail. The markers actually start at Corona del Mar High School (I'll show that some other time), and the trail is marked every 1/2 mile:

And at each mile:

When the trail turns, you need only to follow the arrows:

To be sure, there are tons of other mileage marks around, but if you do use this trail, the yellow mile markers are accurate (set by GPS).

All in all, if you start at the Start/Finish line next to the track at CDM, and follow the marks around the back bay, you can make a nice 12.5 mile loop! But that's for another day!