Solo Long Run

A pretty busy weekend is looming and nobody wants 15 miles on their legs before a wedding. I opted for a long run on Thursday night. Of course, it poured sporadically throughout the run. I had a light rain jacket, but soon the inside was just as wet as the outside. Brought along some podcasts and I can't really remember the last time I ran with an iPod. Not that I have become a disciplined, meditative runner, but I have been running in a group or with Brigid for the past several months. I felt decent throughout the run. I had aspirations of sub 9:00 minute pace for the entire run, but the 4 miles of trails put an end to that mentality. I did pump out the last 4.3 miles on the SRT in 35:30. Not great, but I had been battling some ankle pain that was nagging me for the second half of the run. I think it went well, overall.

14.8 miles in 2:19

Growing numbers

I think it was a record turnout for the afternoon run today. Paul, Raph, Becky, myself, Chris, Brian, Frank, and Pedro rounded out the team and we headed onto what they called the "Hollow Rd/Horsetrail route. Some pretty decent climbs during this run, particularly in the beginning and then again about half way through. I charged both but didn't record the time it took to finish them. The hill up Yellow Springs is a almost 3/4 of a mile, and I would guess it took me about 5-6 minutes to reach the top of this hill. I would say it's pretty much one of the longest, steepest hills in the area.

Once we got to the top I realized I knew exactly which route we were taking. I don't really like this portion of the Horseshoe Trail. There are so many softball-sized rocks littering the trail, which are precariously covered by constant bed of leaves. It just makes running through this portion unenjoyable because every step is focused and hesitant. As soon as we made it out of this section, it was back on the road and almost immediately onto the long downhill back to the corporate campus. There is at least a section of grass on the side of the road and I have learned to negotiate this section with increasing speed. I never really feel any energy exerted on speeding up, rather just bracing myself for each footstrike and trying to make each one as smooth as possible. Let yourself go and you'll continue rolling faster down the hill, until either your nerves or your quads force you to stop. I reached the bottom and couldn't see the next runner in sight, including some of the more accomplished trail runners.

I can't remember what my final time was. I'll say 7.3 miles in about 67 minutes.

Basketball

Busy work day yesterday, today, and Wednesday leaves little time for training. I usually squeeze in a 7-8 mile run today at lunch, but there was simply no time. I'll have to count the basketball game as a short run that I'm supposed to do tomorrow.

Late evening-basketball
Win vs. Sweetness

Final score 44-24

This escalates us into a two-way tie for first place with Prestige. I'm not sure how the logistics of tie-breaking will be worked out. It seemed as though there was some confusion last night. Either way, I think we are set.

Recovery Run

Since we ran a little more than recommended yesterday, thought it might be a good idea to scale down the workout today by a few miles. Planned 10 mile run turned into 7, but still a good distance to follow up a long workout with. Intended on taking Forbidden Drive home during the final stretch, but Brigid opted for the hills on the Western side of the creek, and so hills did we endure. This enthusiasm died away quickly when she realized how much further it was going to take us, and how little time it was going to leave us to get ready to head over to my parents.

It was a cool, brisk day with lots of sunshine and much to be thankful for. The healing power of the outdoors.

7 miles
1:07

Long Run

Long run today with Brigid. I was hoping to get my new shoes delivered today and couldn't believe when I checked the mail and they weren't delivered. USPS tracking says they were delivered. But no shoes. So after about an hour of pouting, I pulled it together and Brigid and I stumbled out the door. Why stumbled? because there on our doorstep was the USPS box with my shoes in it. Mizuno Wave Precisions. That's what happens when you forget to bring Friday's mail in with you. I laced up and we headed out the door. Of course the flat portion of the SRT, while boring, definitely flew by as Brig and I have been focusing many of our runs on the Wissy trails. The long flat stretch was a good change of pace and we cruised along at ~8:00/mile. Most of that change as the run wore on. The long hill up Leverington in Manayunk made sure of that. And we happened along the Wissy trails a little longer than I expected before finally making it down to Forbidden Drive. We opted against the long hill up Andorra, but the traffic on Germantown wasn't much better. At this point, we were both pretty tired and had to stop a few times just to collect ourselves. The home stretch down Joshua was the toughest, because this road is much longer than it seems and the downhill wreaks havoc on your legs just before subjecting you to the long uphill back home.

It might have been a little too much in too short a time. Our last long run was 12 miles on the trails, and I originally thought this run was 15, but after going back and re-mapping, it turned out to be 17. Hopefully this will make this week's 15-mile workout seem like a walk in the park.

17 miles in 2:50

Crossfit Open

With the explosion in popularity of Crossfit and the huge influx of athletes wanting to participate in the Crossfit Games, the event organizers have created a format that I think is really interesting. In previous years, they've had to add regional qualifiers, and then sectional qualifiers in order to move on to the championships in Aromas. This year, they are adding yet another layer of selectivity for the games. 6 workouts over a 6-week period will be released and athletes will have the option of sending in home videos of themselves completing the workout, or completing it at a participating affiliate. I haven't been keeping up with metcons recently, but have kept up at least partially with strength training and running. The entry fee is 10 bucks and I could easily perform the workouts at Central Bucks Crossfit. I figured I would see what happens. The workout for Week 1 was as follows:

AMRAP 10 minutes:
30 Double Unders
15 Power Snatches (75)

I checked out the leaderboards and saw that 8 complete rounds would get me into the top 10. As always, these workouts look much easier on paper than they actually are. I completed 5 rounds, 30 DUs, and 9 snatches before the end and it was safe to say that I was hauling ass the whole time. The power snatches definitely killed me, but I was surprised at how few double unders I could finish in one stretch. I don't think my counter was doing a good job, missing 1-3 reps each set. This was aggravating, but I still couldn't string together more than 10 at a time in the later rounds. Frustrating. I left feeling drained in a way that I haven't felt in a while. Now I remember what it felt like to be doing those on a regular basis. I wish there was still an option to do this workout at Spring House, but hopefully they'll bring something similar to Malvern in the future.

Unafraid

I'm definitely not used to longish runs during the week. In fact, about 60-70 minutes seems to be my limit Monday-Friday. Tag on a long run or two on the weekend and I'm golden. Today Brigid and I were supposed to run 8 miles and decided to tackle all of them on the trails. The sun has been out until about 730 these days, so we had plenty of light to finish before dark. I still seem to be having some problems with my GPS cutting out during runs in the valley. I found this run documented on a verified website as 8.3 miles. But my GPS only registered it as 7. Go figure. I hope we aren't running that slow, but you can never tell.

I've seen tons of deer running on the trails here and in Malvern. But tonight Brigid and I stumbled across a doe with absolutely no fear of us. I've never heard of a rabid dear, but there is a first time for everything. I was especially wary of a stag and babies in the area, as I've come across this before. The doe was probably standing about 3-4 feet off the trail and Brigid and I had no intention of turning around and running the 2 miles back to Forbidden Drive in order to go around it. I looked around quickly to make sure it was alone and then we sprinted past it. Not even a flinch. I was a little surprised at how far it can swivel its head around and had flashes of the Exorcist which made me run just a bit faster past. It was an odd experience.

Nature Preserve

Rainy, muddy run through the quarry and the Nature Preserve with Chris and Paul. I should probably make it more of a habit to check the weather forecast in the mornings, but I never really plan for anything. All I brought with me today was a long shirt, shorts, a hat, and Mt101s. Of course no socks. Today might as well be as good a day as any to go sockless and hope I don't develop any blisters. As it turns out, I didn't get any despite the fact that my shoes seem to be just slightly loose. Might have to start trying this more often. The only down side of the MT101s is that in muddy conditions, they offer almost no ankle stability. This particular route has lots of steep uphill and downhill sections and the latter usually culminate in a sharp turn at the bottom which means you really have to trust your footing in order to plant and turn. Of course I have no confidence at this point, so I probably looked a bit like a ballerina tiptoe-ing down the hill trying desperately not to build up too much speed before inevitably face-planting in the mud. Luckily, it went OK and I had no spills.

We got to talking about preparations for the AOR relay at the end of April and many of the logistics still need to be worked out. For some odd reason, I realized that this will be one of the first races I've been in since Broad Street last year. Not terribly frightening, but remarkable nonetheless.

Should be about 5 miles in 42:48

Northern Loop

Early afternoon

A new route coined as the Northern Loop today with Frank and Brian. A few weeks ago I headed out with Paul on an extended version of The Cut route and lost him at one particular point in the run, just after the Horseshoe Trail picked up at Charleston Elementary School. I wanted to get back out to this area and meander about for a while, exploring the various sections of the trail. Before lunch I found out that the Horshshoe trail extends some 140 miles from Valley Forge National Park to Harrisburg where it picks up the Appalachian Trail. Even though most of the trail in this area hugs some pretty well-traveled roads, they are still blazed accordingly and you can still find some pretty technical sections to traverse. Today's run accumulated almost 800 feet of total vertical climbing. I'm not too savvy when it comes to total elevation, but that seems pretty decent for a lunch time run.

I had to bring a paper printout of the area so as not to get lost, but Frank and Brian quickly realized that they were familiar with the area that we were running through. That made things much easier. We joked about stringing together all of the main loops that we have been doing, The Cut, Quarry/Nature Preserve, CVT, and this Northern loop. Seems like it would be a good 17-18 miles. I think it was a joke.

About 7 miles total in 70 minutes.

Late evening

Basketball against Sales

The win tonight and the loss by Sweetness puts us in a legitimate three-way tie with Prestige WW. Each of us of one loss to both of the other teams. I think the rule is that if we all win out the rest of the season, rankings in the playoffs will be based on points scored. It would be nice to make it to the championship without having to play either of those teams.

Cross-Training

Early afternoon
50K training program calls for cross-training today, so I figure it's a good opportunity to squeeze in some weights.

Squats 5, 4, 2, 2, 6 X 2 (90s rest)
Loads: 145, 175, 200, 215, 230

Chinups 11 X 5
*Supersets

Bench Press 5, 4, 2, 2, 4 X 3
Loads: 135, 150, 175, 185, 195

Situps 8 X 20
*Supersets

Workout comments: Both bench and squat felt pretty strong today, even though there have been marked increases in what I have been lifting. I'm still basing the squat and bench press on my old PRs of 285 and 245, respectively.

Recovery Run

The 50K training plan called for 10 miles today, but considering how yesterday's run went, Brig and I thought it would be better to just get out the door. We started from the Tree House and put together a Figure 8 loop, first meandering down and across Bells Mill Bridge down to Rex Ave Bridge, across Forbidden Drive and up into the meadows, and down to Bells Mill Rd. One thing I did not anticipate was the severity of the climb that takes you back up to the Tree House. During all these years I've always run down this hill and never took the time to appreciate just how steep the grade is. Well we had to walk a good portion of the uphill and my lungs and legs never stopped screaming.

The park was full to the brim today with hikers, mountain bikers, and other joggers. There must be an increase in Wissahickon awareness, hiking, or just an influx in active recreational enthusiasts. Combined with the advent of Spring and the earlier start of Daylight Savings time, it's pretty much the perfect storm. I guess it's a good thing that the park is a void for rudeness and overall apathetic behavior. You could get drunk on all of the Hellos!, Excuse me's, and "He's a friendly dog". Nobody (for the most part) is plugged into an iPod. There is no standard "On your left" before someone comes barreling past you without more warning. It really does support a sense of calmness and always leaves you feeling better about your day, even if it didn't start out so well.

I would call this about 5 miles in 50 minutes.

Long Run

Brigid and I got a relatively early start to our long run (~11AM) and made our way down to the Wissahickon. I've been hoping that we can do the Wissahickon Four Corners run as a few of our long runs later in the training season. That run stretches up to about 21 miles, based on GPS data I've found from other runners. I think I'm pretty familiar with most of the course, but I just wanted to be sure of a couple of turns. Our run today called for about 12 miles, so we decided we would try and tackle the southern most portion of the route, where is spans between Valley Green and Ridge Ave. One thing I learned today is that there is a section of trail on the other side of Lincoln Drive. It's not too long, but does provide a nice alternative to the paved bike path that runs along the creek.

Running on the trails is great, but only if you're willing to let your ego take a bit of a hit. The pace is much slower since you're tackling hills and the terrain can get pretty tough at some points, particularly if it has rained like it has been in recent weeks. Downhills become treacherous and uphill portions take some careful negotiating in order not to spin your wheels. Still, a bad day in the park is much better than a good day on the roads. My biggest problem is that I think I'm developing an addiction to trails and won't run on the roads unless I have to. It just adds another obstacle to getting out the door on those tough-to-get-off-the-couch days.

At least the weather was great today. As usual, there were a ton of people on the trails at this point, but it never really seems to irk me. It actually gives me more of an uplifting feeling to stumble across someone that offers a kindly hello. Usually it comes with a small break to interact with Spot, and I think it's OK to let the watch run for that.

About 11 miles in 2 hours and 9 minutes.

Reverse Diamond Rock

Reverse Diamond Rock today with Frank, Chris, and Raph. The link follows the route we took, but doesn't reflect accurate time. I think we finished this run in just under 65 minutes. Didn't tackle the Howell Rd hill like I said I would always do, but going up slowly doesn't necessarily translate into less pain. In fact, it just drags it out. Funny how the combination of people's competitive running personalities and the Diamond Rock route tend to stretch out the group. There is a good 2-3 mile uphill stretch (with a minor stretch of downhill in the middle) up to the very top of the mountain if you run the Reverse Diamond Rock version. It's very easy for some to run their own pace, while others try to conquer it warrior style. Some people just have that need to lead on runs, even if they can't keep the pace on the uphill portions, which is evident by the immediate progression forwards upon cresting said hill. I'm not sure which category I fall into. Maybe I consider myself laid back only because I lack the fitness conquer hills the fastest. Or maybe I'm OK with others taking the lead if it is that important to them.

7.4 miles in about 65 minutes

Squat, Bench Press

Early afternoon

Squat
5 @ 50%
4 @ 60%
2 @ 70%
8 X 2 @75% 90 s rest
Load: 145, 175, 200, 215

Chinups 11 X 5 between each set of squats, neutral and strict.

Bench Press

5 @ 50%
4 @ 60%
2 @ 70%
4 X 4 @75%
Load: 125, 150, 170, 185

Dips 4 X 10

Workout comments: Nothing new to report. No soreness after the run yesterday, which is good considering I was still using old shoes. Ordered a pair of Mizuno Wave Precisions which should arrive soon for road running.

Das Cut

After a long unintended weekend rest due to studying and other obligations, it was back to the trails in Malvern on Tuesday afternoon. I went out alone to try and get a feel for the area so I don't get lost anymore. I think I missed a portion of the trail at the very top of the cut and cut my run short by a mile or so. It was probably for the best, considering I had a meeting at 1. Still, it cut my projected mileage for the day by 2.5 miles. I need to step up the weekly mileage if I'm going to run this 50K in 10 weeks.

Interestingly, I stumbled across a plastic bag full of maybe a dozen Natty Ice beer cans. It's always amazing what people will throw on the side of the road. However, a few steps later I drifted through the unmistakable aroma of Black n' Mild cigars, so maybe the empty cans were fresh... You never know what people out this far west will doing during lunch on a Tuesday.

http://runkeeper.com/user/lbink/activity/28561875

5.5 miles in about 57 minutes.

Upswing

Early morning

AMRAP 7 minutes
5 burpees
10 Deadlifts (80)
8 rounds

AMRAP 7 minutes
15 Double Unders
10 OH Lunges (35)
5 High Low Planks
6 + 20 rounds

AMRAP 7 minutes
15 Box Jumps
10 OH Presses (55)
5 Plank Jacks
7 rounds

Early afternoon

Short trail run with Chris and Paul this afternoon. Runs like today make you realize that you're body doesn't always perform like it's indicating it might. After this morning's workout, I was doubting running, but wanted to hit a certain weekly mileage total. Fearing my legs would quickly fill up with lead, I decided against better judgement to venture out onto the trails. The monsoon-like conditions had left the quarry and nature preserve a veritable swamp-fest. My "jump-right-in" mindset over the past few days came in pretty useful, as entire stretches of trail were submerged in over-flowing creeks and mud that surged almost up to my shins in a few instances.

Honestly, it was the best run all week. My legs felt better than they have in forever during a run. When you factor in this week's activities, I would say that I'm finally on the upswing of what has been almost a year-long cardiovascular depression. Maybe it's too early to make that call. Maybe I should knock on wood before my long run on Sunday. But it just feels good to feel good about running again.

Washed away

Today I headed out with Paul and Frank for a reverse Diamond Rock run. The forecast in the Philadelphia region (and most of the mid-Atlantic, for that matter) has been rain, rain, and more rain. We are expected to get somewhere in the vicinity of 3 inches, although I've heard rumors that other areas are expected to get more. It's pretty crazy when you think about all that water just hanging suspended in the sky, waiting for the right conditions to dump all over the earth. We headed up the hill on Howell Rd. against the current that was flowing down, in some places it was fast enough to generate some whitewater in the gullies on the side of the road. Wild.

I thought about the sporadic mud and creeks from Tuesday and how it was better to jump in feet first, rather than spend an entire run trying to avoid it. Well there was no avoiding the mud today. At the top of the hill we turned onto a portion of the Horseshoe Trail and there was definitely no shortage of mud or leaves. I thought about the beers and wings I had last night. I thought about the beer I used to drink in college and the beer I drink now. How could one case of beer logically cost 11 dollars? Incredible. Now the craft beers in the region are charging over 40 for a case. I thought about how we would drink from a keg one night and then show up to 6AM practice on the river in the middle of winter not even a half step slower. Now, I can't even have 2-3 beers without feeling a little sluggish the next morning. But running has a habit of washing those impurities away, both physically and mentally. Get through the first 10 minutes of a run and I will always feel looser and more energetic than I did 10 minutes before heading out the door. Every run might not be a PR, but you can always find your groove if you look hard enough. I was content to hang back from Paul and just let my mind wander as I meandered through the woods. It's a soothing act of meditation.

A quick jump in the curbside stream and at least my shoes were cleaned off before heading back inside. About 7.4 miles in 66:48.

Strength

Purely a strength day today. I have a feeling that the difficulty I'm having with pullups compared to months ago is the decrease in other back-related exercises. Namely, deadlifts, chinups, etc. Similarly, my HSPUs and bench presses have been lacking lately. Not rocket science, but worth noting.

Today:

Deadlift 5 X50%, 4 X 60%, 2 X 70%, 2 X 80%, 2 X 85%, 2 X 87%, 2 X 2 X 90%, 10 X 60% (touch and go)
Loads: 175, 210, 245, 280, 300, 305, 315, 315, 210

Situps 5 X 20

Dumbbell Shoulder Press 5 X 2
Load: 120, 130, 140, 140, 150 (failed second rep, had to push press)

Bent Over Row (reverse grip) 5 X 5
Load: 120, 130, 140, 140, 140

Dips 3 X 10

Workout comments: I was working off an old Deadlift PR of 350. But with my difficulty with 315 I could tell my old PR is long gone. Dumbbell shoulder presses should have been lighter, as I wasn't supposed to max out on the last set. Had some difficulty getting them to shoulder level using a hang clean, but a normal power clean was better. Overall a good day. I'm sure I'll be wrecked tomorrow.

Farewell Jen

Group run at lunch on the first of several farewell runs for Jen S., the fitness director here in Malvern. Although not typically part of the regular running group, she held up pretty well. Paul R. designed the route, and Jen, myself, Tahira, and Alan followed. I still haven't gotten my bearings on these runs totally figured out, but I don't think that really mattered, as we were once again blazing our own trails, following the faint patterns of deer tracks and continuously pulling thorns out of our legs. Evidence of the rain left a lot of mud, but it was easily washed off by several creek crossings. A few times the water was mid-thigh level and surprisingly warmer than I thought. The best thing to do when encountering mud and water is to dive right in. There's no way around it and it is a relief to let go of the worry of staying clean and dry. I think Tahira had a hard time with this, though. She tried leaping over one of the creeks and was pretty close to face-planting in the water. I don't think she liked it.

I had the MT-101s with me and noted another benefit of these shoes is they dry extremely fast, but they don't constantly remind you that your feet are water-logged. The run was slow going to accomodate everyone's pace, but it was a good run nonetheless. Finished up with a pretty good effort for the last 0.7 miles. I wish I would have recorded the time.

About 5.6 miles, although I think it was longer. Untimed.

Long run

A long run from Conshohocken down the SRT, up Shawmont, over to the trails, up Andorra/Germantown and down Joshua. Nothing very interesting to note except that my old shoes were wreaking havoc on my legs. Time to spring.

13.5 miles in 135 minutes.

Squats, Bench, Chins, Dips, Situps, Uphill Walking

Early afternoon

Squats 5 @ 50, 4 @ 60, 10X2 @ 70
Load: 145, 170, 200

Chins 10, 10, 9X2

Bench Press 5 @ 50, 4 @ 60, 5X4 @ 70
Load: 125, 155, 175

Situps
Mix of 10 incline and 20 regular

Dips 3 X 10

Uphill walking
1 mile uphil, 10% grade, 17:02

Comments: Even though the loads are significantly decreased, I was pretty tired this morning and thought it would be much harder than it was. Haven't done dips in a while and they seemed to be a little rough on the shoulders. Everything done in Vibrams. Maybe this was the difference in the leg exercises? Never really lifted with them.

Trail Run

Lunch run with Paul R. today. Should have been between 7 and 8 miles but it turned in to much more. I'll get to that. Headed out towards Yellow Springs Road and halfway up we turned off towards a small hidden trail that linked up with a small suburban development. From there we linked another trail on our run, but it didn't amount to much. We ended up blazing our own trail through mostly thorns and my legs are proof of that. We finally found the right trail and took it up the Cut. Kept it going until the top of Yellow Springs Road, crossed over the Turnpike and picked up the Horseshoe trail. I'm not a big fan of this trail. Just too many softball-sized rocks littering the path. Add a thick layer of leaves and it adds up to another ankle injury. I did my best to maintain pace but had to stop a few times to get around some obstacles. We emerged near an elementary school and Paul said he knew of another trail in the area so we headed for that. I guess that's where I lost Paul. I must have split off from the main trail, because I ended up alone on Rt. 29 with no idea which way was the way back. I took a chance and happened across Yellow Springs Road. Unfortunately, I shouldn't have turned onto Yellow Springs, but I only made it about a half mile before I got my bearings and turned around.

I finally made it back to the rec center in 96 minutes. It wasn't as bad as I thought, but still a little long for a lunch run.