AZ Run Dad

Off day today.  Friday is usually my day off so I am taking it easy and getting ready for the weekend.  I've been a little tired this week as I have not trained right through a half marathon for years.  Usually we take a short break after a half then get back at it.

A.M.: Warmed up 3.5 miles to Highland High then did some strides then went into 12 x 200 w/200 recovery jogs.  Averaged 33.7.  I cooled down another 3.5 milesThis was a good workout to get some speed in without pounding my body.  I've been a little tired this week after last week's half marathon.  This was a good way to get back into the faster stuff. 

PM: 4 miles easy on the treadmill @ 7:39 pace while my son was sleeping and my daughter was at a play date.

Solid steady 20 at 6:44 pace this morning.  Got out nice and early at 4:30 to beat the heat.  I did 2 10 mile loops.  The goal for today was just to run consistently without pushing.  I felt good all the way through today.  I carried by 10 oz hand held bottle and filled it back up after the first loop.  I also took GUs at 5,10, and 15 miles. I was really feeling strong towards the end so I wanted to see where my body was at and I ran the last mile hard in 5:23.  I was pleasantly surprised with that.  Now it's time for Mother's Day festivities.  Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

AM: 8 mile recovery run in the neighborhood.  Legs were a little sore from yesterday.  I started nice and slow.  Averaged 7:24 pace and had a nice relaxing run.  Looks the 100 degree temps are here to stay in AZ from here on out.

PM: 4 mile shakeout. I was expecting a really hot and miserable shakeout because it was so hot but it really didn't feel bad at all. I didn't look at the watch and my pace was faster than normal for this type of run (I averaged 7:20). I guess my legs are feeling good. The good news is that I know I can still run in the afternoon when it's 105 if it feels how it did today.

AM: 11.85 miles: Warmed up 2.65 miles then did 4 x800 w/2 min jogs, 2 miles w/3 min jog, then 4 x 800 w/2 min jog.  Splits were 2:33,33,35,34,10:50 (2 mile), 2:33,35,33,32. This is was good tough workout.  I felt sluggish at first and thought I might not be able to finish but something clicked and I felt reallly strong the second half of the workout.  I did these on the roads in my neighborhood using my Garmin.

PM: 4 easy miles on the way home from work.  It was hot and windy but if felt great to loosen up the legs.  My legs were feeling pretty good today after the a.m. workout.

AM: 9.34 easy miles at 7:23 pace avg. up to canal and then on canal for a while.  Was just going to do 8 but I was enjoying the run so instead of turning at 4 miles i just went to the next street.

PM: 4 more easy miles 7:34 pace on my way home from work.  I was off pretty early today so the sun was right overhead for this run and it was HOT!  I was kind of in daze for much of the run.

Today was just a recovery day so I tried to run just nice and relaxed. Legs felt just okay today.

AM: 12 mile steady medium long run.  Felt really good this morning.  I was planning on going a little slower but the pace felt so comfortable I just stayed with it.  It's a great sign that my legs are feeling good during this high mileage period.  Averaged 6:37

PM: 5 mile "mini workout". Ran 4 miles easy then did 6 x hill sprints on probably a 40-50 meter hill and walked down, then did 4 x 100 meter strides, then jogged around the soccer field until I hit 5 miles.  Jogging in the grass felt awesome.  Saturday I will be in California to run the Palos Verdes Half Marathon with my sister.  She has been training for this one and I told her I would go with her.  I have a 22 miler that day so I am going to do part of it in the race aiming for a solid tempo during the race.  It looks like a hilly course so should be a nice challenge.  It will be my second half marathon next to the ocean in three weeks. Pretty cool!

Had a 22 mile run today in which I warmed up 7 miles on the race course at just over 7 min pace then I did the Palos Verdes Half Marathon.  My sister was doing the race and asked if I would go with her.  I'm glad I did.  Palos Verdes is one of the coolest places I've ever been.  Anyway, I wanted to run the race as a hard tempo effort just under 6 min pace and that's what I did.  I ended up winning the race in 1:17:59.  It wasn't a race effort but it was still hard.  The course was very hilly and 13+ miles at 6 min pace is still a good effort for me.  I cooled down 2 miles right when I finished to make 22 miles for the day.  It was a great training stimulus for me with all those hills and I feel like I won't be too beat up from the effort.  It was a great 24 hour trip and I am very fortunate that I got to experience such a place.  The Terranea Resort where we stayed was unbelievable.  The average for the 22 miles was 6:20. 

I haven't figured out how to get pictures up on here yet but I added a bunch on our blog Parents on the Run along with the course profile and Garmin information.

Here is my Garmin info from the race

Sunday Shuffle. Legs were sore from yesterday. I started off really slow and the first 3-4 miles were very "creeky". I'm glad I have a couple of easy days before my next workout. Averaged 7:30 for the run.

AM: 8.04 miles @ 7:06 avg. pace. Felt surpisingly good this morning.  Weather was actually pretty nice and cool and my legs made huge improvements from yesterday.  I didn't think I'd be cracking the 7 min barrier this morning but I actually did on a few.

PM: 4.34 miles at Freestone Park on the way home from work.  Basically I did 4 miles @ 7:25 pace and then 6 strides.  It was somewhere close to 110 degrees but since its so dry here and there was some wind it really didn't feel too bad.  I took my water bottle in case it felt awful but it felt fine.  I should be able to do my afternoon runs on the way home from work all the way through the marathon as long as the air stays nice and dry.

AM: I did a 2.8 mile warmup which included strides and a couple of flexibility drills then into 5 x 1 mile w/3 min recovery jogs.  My splits were 4:58, 4:59,5:00,4:59,4:56. I was actually aiming for 5:05 but the first one felt so good I stuck with the faster pace.  The first three felt good and the last two were tough.  I only felt like I was "digging" the last half of the last one.  This is one of the better workouts I have ever done.  I am even happier though with the way my body is coming back and recovering from long runs and high mileage since the marathon is the ultimate goal.  I cooled down with a 1.85 mile jog.

PM: 4 Easy miles on the way home from work.  Yesterday I believe I wrote that I could run in the afternoon as long as it was dry.  Today I was reconsidering.  Close to 110 degrees again.  Legs felt fatigued from this morning so it felt good to loosen up.

AM: 8 easy miles around the neighborhood a few times.  Averaged about 7:15 pace.  Legs felt okay.

PM: 4 easy miles on the way home from work.  A little cooler and breezy today made for nice enjoyable run.  Averaged about 7:30 and legs felt pretty good this afternoon.

AM: Fairly aggressive run today.  I did 8 steady miles then into 10 x 1 min on/jog @ 5:05-5:15 pace and then a couple more steady miles after that.  Averaged 6:22 pace for the 13.15.  Felt like a good solid run today without going crazy.

PM: 4 easy miles.  Same as usual.  About 7:30 pace.  I am looking forward to my day off of running tomorrow.

10 Easy miles averaging 6:56.  My legs felt pretty fresh this morning after a day off.  I finished with 6 x 100 strides which felt good.   Allison had a big 18 mile run and we have a lot going on today so I took the monitor outside and did a bunch of loops on this little half mile loop that Allison came up with so we could run outside and check on the kids every few minutes.  My son is still in a crib and my daughter usually doesn't wake up until 6 so I was done well before they were up.  It wasn't ideal but it's better than the treadmill.  We got really lucky this weekend with some great temps.  We've been close to 110 degrees and I think today is supposed to be like 85.  The morning temps for the weekend are perfect.  I have a big run scheduled for tomorrow that I'm pumped for.  Hopefully I'll have some good news to report.  Have a great weekend everyone!

18.2 miles today with a 5.7 mile warmup including a few strides then into a 10 mile threshold run in 54:31 (5:27 average).Splits were 5:27,5:28,5;29,5:27,5:29,5:30,5:31,5;30,5:27, 5:13.  This was one of my "big" workouts on the schedule that I had circled as a major test.  My goal for the day was 5:30 pace so I am very pleased with the workout especially since it's at the end of another high mileage week.  The course drops about 300 ft over the 10 miles so I know that is a bit aided and we are having spectacular weather this weekend in Phoenix (I ran in about dry 60 degree weather with no wind).  Those two things temper my enthusiasm somewhat but this is still a very strong workout for me.  I felt really good through 5 miles then began to struggle a little 6-8 but never too bad and once I got to 8 I knew I was home free and had a good amount left for a strong last mile.  I cooled down 2.5 miles after. 

Garmin info:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/182556630

AM: 8 easy miles to start the week.  My legs felt surprisingly fresh this morning.  Averaged 7:12.  We have the day off of work today so my daughter was super excited to have both mommy and daddy done running and home when she woke up.

PM: (barely pm) Lunch time 4 miles.  Easy pace.

AM: 8 miles in 55:30.  Beginning to taper for the marathon this week.  Things won't look too  much different.  Just a little here and there with the goal of staying sharp and to not over reach on anything.

PM: 4 miles easy on the way home from work.  Felt great to run without a watch.  Also, I wore Kinvaras instead of my normal easy run shoes the Adidas Supernova Glides.  It felt great to feel light and bouncy in the Kinvaras.

AM:  Did a 2.8 mile warmup that included strides and a few flexibility exercises then into 10 x 800 w/2 min recovery jogs.  Splits were 2:25,2:26,2:28,2:26,2:28,2:26,2:31(??),2:26,2:29,2:26.  The odd # splits were into a slight headwind and seemed to be slower and tougher.  This was a hard workout but I'm happy with it.  Cooled down 1.15 miles after. Doing it with 2 minute recovery jogs made it a lot tougher than when I've done 800s with stationary rests in the pasts.  I think that doing recovery jogs on all of my intervals for the last month or so has really helped me.  Only a couple more fast workouts before the marathon.

PM: Enjoyable 4 mile run with no watch.  Legs were tired from this morning but took it nice and easy.  It felt good just to loosen up a bit.

10 easy miles this morning.  Averaged 7:15 pace.  Didn't push at all but I could have gone slower.  My legs were as tired and sore as they have been in a while from the 800s.  I have my normal Friday off day tomorrow so I am expecting to be good to go Saturday.  113 degrees tomorrow! Sheesh. Good thing I'm not running.