Run Hard, Lose Anyways: December 2007

Here is my full winter training log. I have finished 8 weeks of solid winter off-season base training. I am not injured but am I bit beat up, so I will take the final week before track starts off.

Sophomore Winter Training Log

10/28/07- 11/4/07- Off. Physical Therapy every day. Friday I ran 15 minutes on the N. field and it went pretty well. I still took the weekend off

11/5/07- Heated, stretched, and did a very nice relaxed 20 minutes around the N. field at just under 8 min pace. Heel felt fine. It was very cool and moist outside, which made for great running conditions. I think I will start slowly and carefully returning to training. Ultrasounded and Iced bath.

Miles: 2.5

11/6/07- Fairly sore, but not painful. Didn’t run, did the usual physical therapy.
Miles: 0

11/7/07- Felt a lot better today, a good sign. Ran 8 laps around the N. field at a moderate pace. 20 minutes total.
Miles: 2.5

11/8/07- Aside from a weird soreness near my 5th digit (R foot), felt good. Ran 7 laps of N. field at a quick pace.
Miles: 2

11/9/07- Foot felt pretty good. Ran ~30 min near campus and on N. field, mostly on grass. Started slow, was able to pick it up very comfortably. Foot felt fine afterwards.
Miles: 3.5

11/10/07- Huntington girl’s way with Julian. Took it slow, worked up to a nice moderate pace. Foot seemed fine the whole way. I guess we’ll see tomorrow. Played some ctf.
Miles: 5.5

Weekly Miles: 16

11/11/07- Off.
Miles: 0

11/12/07- Huntingson reverse. Took it out easy, accelerated to a medium pace. Between miles 1-3 5th digit R side of foot thing acting up, but it subsided. Heel felt a bit aggravated by the end but not bad.
Miles: 7

11/13/07- Huntington short way reverse medium.
Miles: 5.5

11/14/07- San Pasqual out to San Gabriel, N to Colorado, W to Sierra Madre, S to Lombardy back. Heel feels tingly, Achilles’ tight. Medium.
Miles: 5.5

11/15/07- Achilles a bit irritated at the insertion on the heel. Backing off a bit. Ran to Lacy, did 2 laps with Nathan easy.
Miles: 3.5

11/16/07- El Molino to Monterey back up by Lacy and the stairs. Medium.
Miles: 5

11/17/07- Huntington girls way with Julian. Wasn’t feeling too good, I think I was dehydrated and a bit sick. Slow.
Miles: 5

11/18/07- Off

Miles: 32

11/19/07- Huntington with J.R. Medium, not particularly comfortable. 47 min, so about 7:40 pace. Heel okay. “Do 8 miles at that pace every day.” Probably pretty good advice, if I'm healthy and in shape.
Miles: 6

11/20/07- Garfield Long way (up Virgina) easy. Took it chill from the start, couldn’t go that fast in the dark, still 8:15 or so. Foot getting better.
Miles: 6.5

11/21/07- Plane home for thanksgiving.
Miles: 0

11/22/07- Big Jungle Long way (back up gainsborough). Okay.
Miles: 6.5

11/23/07- 6 Miles on the canal, windy and quite cold (40 F), lungs very tight. Not that fast, hamstring tendons sore.
Miles: 6

11/24/07- Big Jungle plus 1 mile on the track with Tarik (=hard). Not a good run, colder (37 F) Tarik pulling away from me in miles 4 and 5. Lungs pretty tight.
Miles: 6

11/25/07- Off. Achilles' stiff this morning.

Miles: 31

11/26/07- River road trail much better. Easy first 3 miles, much warmer, 55 degrees, lots of energy and good speed coming back. Also doctor says that in addition to my high arches being terrible for shock absorption, and thus need orthodics, for some read my right ankle has a very limited up and down range of motion, which my be the cause of all of my right foot and lower leg injuries the past year.
Miles: 7

11/27/07- Good to be back in Pasadena. Garfield long way home, felt pretty good but pace was slow. Erin worked on my ankle for 15 min, very sore but already noticeable more flexible. Also sesamoid was swollen.
Miles: 6.5

11/28/07- Feeling good. Lower arroyo with a bit of exploring and cool down on N field with Anton. Averaged 8:15 pace, at times slower, accelerating once in the arroyo, down to 7:40 pace down California.
Miles: 8.5

11/29/07- Legs a bit tired. good. Huntington girls way pretty mellow. Swam for 45 minutes afterwards, prep for interhouse.
Miles: 5

11/30/07- 6 wonderful miles in the rain. Huntingson modified backwards,, got hit by car on los robles, kicked starting at the entrance to Huntington gardens, felt great.
Miles: 6.5
12/1/07- Upper Arroyo with Julian. Started out pretty chill, accelerating down to 7:30 pace or less like usual, julian with me every step of the way.
Miles: 7.5

12/2/07- Off. Lots of work

Weekly Miles: 41

12/3/07- Beautiful Day! Drove to Wedny's for epic lunch in paradisic weather. Parked in lot K of the Rose Bowl and ran to JPL with Anton. Out in 8:20 pace, back down to 7 min after Devil's Gate, Avg 7:45. One day will run from there to the Dam.
Miles: 7

12/4/07- Interhouse Swimming. A few hundred yards than 50 fly. Got second! Not sure about time. Lacy and back with Nathan and someone in my class who had flamed out. Shins stiff and sore.
Miles: 3.5

12/5/07- Huntington Girl's way. Was going to go longer but weird pain in left shin got me worried. Erin said I need to watch my shins as they are inflamed at the insertion of the tendon/where stress fractures commonly happen. Sesamoid sore as well. Going to tone it down this week.
Miles: 5

12/6/07- Interhouse swimming finals. Gave my shins and a sesamoid rest. Swam some fun 50 frees.
Miles: 0

12/7/07- Huntington Girl's way with chief. Shins feeling better. Quick pace, feeling good.
Miles: 5

12/8/07- Went to Mt. Baldy Ski resort to go sledding, ended up climbing Mt. Baldy in hurricane force, -10 F wind chill winds and white out conditions. Pretty cool, good workout!
Miles: (6)

12/9/07- Sesamoid pretty irritated.
Miles: 0

Weekly Miles: 26

12/10/07- Would have ran but Ph 5 project not looking so hot.
Miles: 0

12/11/07- Hunt ington Girl's way with Stef and Perrin.
Miles: 5

12/12/07- Some more huntington action with Julian. Got up to pretty quick pace, felt okay.
Miles: 6

12/13/07- Fantastic Run on huntington up to Los Robles and back through Lacy. &7:30 or less pace with ease, sesamoid okay. Where did this energy/speed come from!? Finals a lot of work.
Miles: 8

12/14/07-Huntington backwards with mr. horikoski. Legs like bricks from yesterday. A bit depressed.
Miles: 6

12/15/07- I was grudgingly paying some bills and tying up some loose ends before leave when a voice out in the hall caught my ear. I walked out into the hall and sure enough it was Kangway, arriving completely unannounced. I was completely at a loss for words. Man I miss that dude. Him coming back really showed me how different this place is without him. To make things better, we went running this morning. Legs still sluggish, probably also a result of the early morning hour. Ran thus usual but came back on Euston to Lacy for old times sake. Good Luck Kangway, do not give up running! Give Tech another shot.
Miles: 4.5

12/16/07- Went lifting at the P.C.C (Potomac Community Center) gym, jogged a bit with the A-rab.
Miles: 1

Weekly Miles: 31

12/17/07- Went to H.S. Track practice. 1 mile warm-up plus 7 miles of various running through the woods . At first chill pace, than pushing to aerobic limit. Cold, 35 degrees, but lungs held up okay.
Miles: 8

12/18/07- Again at H.S. Track practice. 3 Mile warm-up, did part of a ladder workout 1 on, 1 off, 2 on, 2 off...5 on at 6 min pace before peeling off to do a side 2.5 miles. For some reason this workout was somewhat harder than I had expected, I wasn't feeling very comfortable. Also I ended up cutting my toe pretty badly. I'll hold off on any sort of track or speed workouts for a while I think.
Miles: 9

12/19/07- Toe cut very painful. In other news Caltech guys were in D.C. went with John Shen to visit Dave, Jon Tsai and others, walked around a lot, but not much running.
Miles: 0

12/20/07- Ran on C.J. Trail from River Road up to the baseball fields and turned around. Pretty chillax, nice run.
Miles: 7

12/21/07- Not sure what I did but I am pretty sure it involved the C.J. trail again.
Miles: 7-8 ?

12/22/07- Drove to Chicago. As soon as we got to my Aunt's house in Willmette, I set off for a medium tempo workout. 3 mile warm-up, 3 mile at tempo (maybe starting out at 6 min pace, slowing to 6:30 pace), 2 mile cool down. Raining, at night, 44 degrees, slushy snow and grass/sidewalk most of the walk. Not a half bad workout.
Miles: 8

12/23/07- Very Very Cold in Chicago after cold front passed (-5 degrees with bad wind chill). Day off!

Weekly Miles: ~40

12/24/07- Close to dusk, Matt Wiesbard (close cousin who runs for Willamette) and I hit the trails by his house in Willmette, I.L. Very icy, about 20 degrees but okay. Ran to his old HS and back with some extra by myself to make a good 10.
Miles: 10.

12/25/07- Christmas morning run with Matt. Started in the same place as yesterday, head out in the other direction on the trails. Had a small hangover from way to much wine last night, but the run wasn’t half bad.
Miles:7

12/26/07- Early morning run in Mequon W.I.. Ran from the cousin’s house out to Lake Shore drive to Vermond Park. Running through the ankle deep snow and ice, I came upon the bluffs and stared out upon a perfectly calm Lake Michigan in the early morning winter sun light. Made two loops around the park and back. Pretty chill the whole way.
Miles: 5-6

12/27/07- Very nice long run along the CJ trail. Started out River Road, up to Tuckerman through the old HS XC course, back along 7 locks to the trail again. Moderate, relaxed pace, feeling good the whole way, a bit tired by the end.
Miles: 10

12/28/07- Close Calls: Cheating Death 3-The Drayna Aougab run. Drove to Berkeley Springs W.V. for a weekend away. We ran out from the cabin along some really creepy dirt roads which turned into loose dirt ATV tracks which turned into abandoned fire roads in the middle of nowhere. Started out 7:40 pace, down to 6:45 pace as we got steadily more and more freaked out. Tarik broke off after 8 to run into town. Very solid run, pretty tired.
Miles: 10-11

12/29/07- Nice day in W.V. Ran to the top of the Cacapon overlook and to the top of prospect peak and back. Climbed 1200 feet or so. Shins and feet sore, took it slow.
Miles: 7-8

12/30/07- Quite sore. Shins, sesamoid tendons, forefeet all fairly irritated. Going on NSAID therapy, cross training, light running for one week until track starts.
Miles:0

Weekly Miles: 51

This is the off season I should have had last year. I do miss cycling, but there will be plenty of time for that in future. My runs were fairly consistent with a good build up in mileage and a nice progression. I wish my shins and sesamoid were feeling better but 8 days off should help with both of those. Being consistent and staying (relatively) healthy, my two goals were accomplished. Plus I do feel a good deal stronger. I have now been training for 6 months almost straight (3 total weeks off, in seperate segments, by the start of track). We have almost one month of track for long base runs. I hope to quickly work up and sustain a mileage of 45-50 miles per week while lowering my base pace, then working in tempo and fartleks as we normally do. At this point though, I am optimistic and very pleased with my choice to focus heavily on running for the next 2 and a half years.

Total Off Season Miles: 267

Run Hard, Lose Anyways

Monday, December 31, 2007

267 Miles Later

Thursday, December 13, 2007

From thanksgiving break

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