Monday 5/31

RUNNING

I could not be happier about my program. I have a TON of work to do, but I'm looking forward to the efforts.

Monday - 6

Tuesday - 7

Wednesday - 7

Thursday - 3 Cowles Mt. 1300ft. vert.

Friday - 5 Aet test. Not enough, but I've made a lot of progress.

Saturday - 7 miles rolling trail at Mission Trails 1000ft. vert.

Sunday - 10 miles

Total: 45 miles. Less than I wanted but the quality is there. I'm adding a lot of diversity to the schedule. And I'm feeling really healthy.

Today, Memorial Day, I did Cowles Mt. this morning and added a couple of miles. So 5 miles with about 1600ft. of vert. I wanted to double but the traffic was gnarly. That place just goes. I have to do really early to get that done. Will do.

My ascent of Mt. Cowles today was in 19:30, about a minute better than last Thursday (which was VERY ez). Today I kept it a little steadier. Loving that mountain right now. Very tough climb (some big leg strength work) and a VERY technical down.
Love it.

RECOVERY

Happy Memorial Day. God bless those who have died serving this land.


Oh, and cheers to JW for going ruination at the gorge. That's pretty sick from the cyclist (as of writing this, his blog is out of commission???). Way to run, dude!

Thursday 5/27

RUNNING

So far, a great week.

Monday - Easy 6 miles

Tuesday - Steady 7 miles

Wednesday - 7 miles after sitting around and eating a bunch of veggies = uhg.

Today summer school started and I'm blessed to be teaching 2 summer school classes. SDSU is also about an 8 minute drive to Mission Trails Park, home to a nice network of hilly trails and little peaks to climb and take-in the view of San Diego county.

So I brought my gear to school and drove to the base of Mt. Cowles right after school, before I picked-up Jack. I have not been climbing too much, instead opting for flatter, steadier efforts to maintain consistency and build endurance. That program has been going great, but I'm itching to get into some steadier climbing and building that part of my fitness, too. Cowles, from the trail head I frequent, is just 3 miles round trip with about 1300ft. of elevation gain. Some sections are very steep of man-made steps or large and small rock. This adds to the work-load of going up and combined with the scores of hikers make a few feet of Cowles un-runnable.

I ran to the top in 20:30 going very easy and having to hike these short sections I described. I came down in 10:15, again, going very easy and having to stop, walk to go around hikers or avoid the potential fall on some of the very steep, rocky parts. Unfortunately, I only had time for one trip. And it is clear to me that I need to do at least 2 trips for the kind of work-out that I want to do. If I'm there, I may as well get some work done!

In other words, I hardly broke a sweat. This is definitely a good sign. A daily double would be nice and looks to be less than an hour's worth of work. The view was incredible as Lake Murray and the Pacific were a rich blue and there was definitely some weather to the north and east. Much to look at before I headed back down.

One observation was the bunches of wild daisies that are starting to wither away. These little buggers pollenate the air like little pods of kryptonite. This helps one like me who has to tolerate the spring air. This has been a tough year. Even so, I've been getting stronger and today's run was effortless.

So, despite that I only did 3 miles today (needed to do child-pick-up and have kindergarten open house tonight!), I felt great being out on the trail climbing. This will be a staple the next month and half while school is in session. That's called two birds with one stone!

Shooting for 50-60 this week. I'll be heading-out of town on Saturday and may see some trail in two drastically different climates. Let's hope!

The best part of all of this is it's time to climb. Even my equipment will suggest this since I'm looking into purchasing a new watch that simplifies the whole program: Climb.

The Garmin is toast. It was a good run, pun intended. But the more I think about it, the more I don't really need pace, or distance (although that's nice!). Time for some vertical + mapmyrun.


RECOVERY

Not much on that end. I had a few Simpler Times and loved every one.

And I uncorked my Duvel.

Sunday 5/23

RUN

Monday - 5 miles

Tuesday - 5 miles

(Both days busy I think and pretty low energy. Obviously just got out for a little sweat time)

Wednesday - 10 miles. I remember enjoying it, but nothing too spectacular.

Thursday - 6 miles. Very mundane.

Friday - 10+ miles on a fun trail with some climbing. Felt pretty blah but great to get in the work.

Saturday - 2 miles. Not a typo. Goofed around all day, had an event to go to, both my wife and I wanted to run, I head-out, run a mile, and decide to let her go instead. Talk about a lame afternoon. Don't even ask about the errands we ran all day. Low energy all day.

Sunday - 12 miles. Felt much better and ran very steady. Nice to end on that note
and finish the week with 50 miles.

The week was pretty unimpressive for me, by me. My diet is the culprit. I've decided steer clear of animal as much as I can. This morning I had oatmeal, lunch was hummus and carrots and last night (when I started my little experiment), a big kale salad. Tonight's dinner, a big kale and arugula salad. I might eat a little ground turkey here and there, but really?

RECOVERY

A lot of good beer as usual. I'm going to be easing-up on that. My sense is that the diet shift ought to really help the running. I took it for granted.

The highlights:

Had some great beers at Port Pizza Ocean Beach. The beer is flowing in Flow B. The place is brand new. Great addition to an already loaded craft beer scene.

Big Black Poochie on draft. This is a black imperial IPA. Fantastic. Loved it.

Jetty IPA: good west coast IPA. Hoppy, refreshing. Had it on draft and bought a growler.

Avery Reverend. Solid Belgian-style strong ale. Wasn't even in the mood, but cracked it and really enjoyed it.

Port Old Viscosity: American strong ale. Dark. First sip was not the best, but it grew on me.

Note: A lot of strong, heavy beers. A lot of ~10%A ABV. I just need to lighten-up. Of course there were some of the other usual suspects.

So in order to cut-back and focus even more on running and getting into shape AND saving money, I started my new recovery life at Trader Joe's today (by the way, it's nice to see Stone has invaded TJ's).



Simpler Times Pilsner, and Duvel. Going cheap (2.99/sixer and a 750ml for $8). The pilsner is a little pale, a little rough, but really cold it goes great with my salad. I'm a fan. The Duvel is, well, Duvel. The grocer checking us out saw me working. He gave me a little appreciative nod. Love TJ's.

Sunday 5/16

RUN

Monday - Off. Could've and probably should've run, but just wanted to make sure I didn't overdo it after Sunday's solid mountain run.

Tuesday - 5 miles ez

Wednesday - 8 miles ez

Thursday - Off. Got slammed with a rush project for my burgeoning business. Good news for sure. Also, I went to Laguna for a conference. Was going to find a trail along the coast, but literally had to drive home and get on the computer to finish said project. And attend to some parenting, etc. No run.

Friday - 10 miles. The first 5 were a little more than steady. Having not run on Thursday, I just wanted out! It's an out and back on a xc course of rolling grass. The out was in 18:45 and the back was in 18:45. Didn't really try to run that consistently; this was evidence of PE awareness. Didn't use a HRM so I just stayed sorta comfortable. I got a little out of that a couple of times and then dropped back. Nice to see an even 7:30/mile 5 miler on a tough little course. I thought through-out how it felt like a harder ez run. I guess what I mean by that is I ran very loose and relaxed. I wasn't planting and pushing like I would if I was trying to run "hard." I recovered very fast. Of course it was only 5 miles. But I'll take the results of this little test.

5 miles ez after that.

Saturday - 7 miles ez. I have a little hamstring discomfort. Took it easy. I've been stretching it the last couple of days. Stretching? What is that? Hopefully this passes. Actually, I will make sure it passes. Eliptical is a nice substitute for such an issue. I'm running and monitoring.

Sunday - Very solid 9 miles. I flirted with stressing the hammy. Really monitoring, I pushed the pace and was very pleased with what I did. Then did a little cool down on the elliptical firing off 10+ mph (good call for old guys ;)

The hammy felt great. I'm very happy with how I'm running. I feel patient and grateful. I just try to run every day, but if I miss a day here or there, whatever. These weeks of ~40 are great for maintenance, even though I'm certainly improving, getting stronger. Let's keep this train rolling!

Total miles for the week: 39 miles
______________________

I have a nice week coming-up. I might be running some nice trails with the real King James and the Prince of Alpine, Toby. My fingers are crossed for some of that medicine.


RECOVERY

Can't find my camera, so no pictures of my new goblet!

Typically, some great recovery beers going down.

I hear the Port Pizza Ocean Beach is open. That means my old neighborhood now boasts Port, OB ale house, The Harp (always has tap Alpine!), Sapporo Sushi (couple of good draft ales), The Noodle House (many taps and much good sake). So many good places to frequent. Bring on the summer, the beach, and a couple of taps with a couple of friends!

Tuesday 5/11

RUN

Today I got in 5 easy miles. Big work day. I feel great and could have run yesterday though it was nice to focus on recovery. There is no room for error now; I'm running to keep running and it's definitely better to be safe than sorry. I am extremely happy with the way the fitness is coming together. I have a long way to go, but the journey is the most meaningful part, so long as I can enjoy the journey. Regaining some health means I can start having more and more fun.

Sunday was definitely the beginning of another chapter. Ever since I started running again, I have been very careful about keeping it fairly easy, following-up harder (for me) days with really easy days, etc. And I have definitely stayed away from any legitimate climbing, especially mountain running.

Sunday was climbing for real.

I ran a little on the Deer Springs Trail, which I will definitely explore more later. That trail works its way to Mt. San Jacinto peak, which is over 10000ft. elevation. There is a lot of work to do.

But I digress. Sunday was a big test. Could I sustain some serious climbing stress? Obviously, I am most concerned with the respiratory system. Fortunately, the mountains have less environmental allergens than we have down here in the city. But the lack of oxygen and the mountains present plenty of reason for my system to breakdown.

I am very pleased how I handled the run. This means I can start to integrate some "bigger" runs and I'm not talking about 15 miles on the road. I'm talking about visiting some of our local little "mountains," one of which is in my new header photo.

That's the real news. I can start to mix-in some mountain running!

I put 45 miles up last week on 5 days (I took 2 days off? WTF!).

Bring-on Wednesday!


RECOVERY

Went to Toronado last night with a friend who likes Belgians and he doesn't even know it. He ordered a dark cherry stout that was insane. I stuck to a Duet, La Chouffe, and a Chimay Tripel. I am fully recovered :-)

Right now?

Ranger

Monday 5/10

RUN

I didn't run today because yesterday was too good.

The run didn't get done as expected. This was good and bad. I got in a better run, but got pinched time-wise so I had to go harder than I wanted. Which also turned-out to be a good thing. . . so it was good and good!

The run was 8 miles and I danced between 5000 and 6000ft of elevation. I got in 2000ft. of vertical and although a lot of the climbing and running was nice and easy, I had to turn-up the notch to get home to go to Mother's Day lunch - I did not want to be the day's token prick.


So I ended-up pushing the end. Felt so good afterwards. I pushed the little rolling section back to the pad. Didn't even need a beer because I had an insane buzz although it would have been nice to just sit on the deck and nurse gatorade and ipa for a few hours.

Anyways, I passed the test. I ran a little reckless (race like). I climbed a little at elevation; I ran like like I'm used to running, which means going for it and not worrying about anything (other than being late for a date).

RECOVERY

Recovery was outstanding.

This pictures of Rochefort 10 is beautiful. I enjoyed the beer a lot. Very carbonated which is evident even from the pic. Had a couple of beers at dinner and then this one really smoothed-out the evening. Think dark fruit with a little sense of alcohol but not aggressive at all. Really good.



These picture are from Mother's Day lunch. My favorite spot. That bowl in front of my Arrogant Bastard is really good olive oil with a lot of crushed garlic dropped in for dipping.


Veggie sandwich that is sooo good.

Saturday 5/8

RUN

7 steady (easy) miles. Felt great even after that run yesterday.
Legs still aren't feeling super peppy, but I'll live with this
general health progression, especially on the allergy end.

Tomorrow is the big test. Should be about 8-9 miles, ~2000ft. of vertical at about 5600ft. elevation. I can't wait.


RECOVERY

Quick lunch and then heading to some So Cal highlands. It's all about recovery once we get there, maybe some hiking, certainly some good edibles and bevvies.



Maximus (maybe pound 4 pound #1) and Rochefort 10 (world class and oughta help me acclimate to the higher elevations :)

Friday 5/7

RUN

Busy Friday that started with sleeping-in. Then the morning volunteering and then . . . I have a ton to do. Had to get my son dialed-in for Mom's day, do a little work (I need more), and wanted to run.

10 miles. 6 on the sand, 4 on pavement. Argh. Didn't work that hard, but the legs were sore. I lifted after the 12 miles on Wed., so maybe that affected me? But the upside of my lower leg lifting is huuuuge. Ran in some bermudas and a cotton shirt. Heavy. Sand. Heavy. Went 8:30s and climbed about 1000ft, which means it was pretty flat.

RECOVERY

Found an Apex dipa draft and a Le Freak at Taproom. Wasn't that impressed with their gobs of taps. All they had Alpine was a stout. Come on, people!

"Oh, but we'll have Nelson on cask next week." Whatever, dude.

:-)

I'm at 30 for the week. I'm seeing another 16-17 over the weekend, which includes some nice running at ~6000ft. Hey now!

Wednesday 5/5

RUN

Took Tuesday off.

Today I hung 12 on the double nickel then passed on a margarita for a stone ipa draft.
Stone is following me around.

Happy Gringo de Mayo, ya'll.


RECOVERY

Stone here, there, everywhere.

Monday 5/3

RUN

Sunday was 6 miles with a little teeny weeny bit o climbing along with a few surges. For sure the running is getting easier and funner. Easier because the body is adapting. Funner because I'm getting to do some "drills," or some things on a whim. In other words, the running is coming along just fine.

I ended the week with 42 miles. This coming week should be closer to 50 or more. I like how things feel (with the help of my compression socks now and then).

Today (Monday) I ran 8 miles. Felt good. How's that for a program, 6 on Sunday, 8 on Monday. Whatever. Just run, everyday if I can. Going back to the mountains this weekend. Looking forward to that.


RECOVERY

Sunday Qing


w/a lager


Ahhh. . . Monday

Saturday 5/1

RUN

5 miles on Thursday, 10 on Friday and 8 miles today.

The 5 miler felt great despite going 8 on Wed. HR looked great. Easy run.

The 10 miler had over 1000ft vert but really no climbing, just steady grades.
The pace looked good in the latter stages. Just a great run despite 8 gazillion sunflowers stinking up the joint. Uhhhg.

Today I ran 8 miles (4 on sand, 4 on pavement). The beach is tough, especially when you're running in the sand up hill. Couple of point about this. I felt really really low on energy. Forgot to take any preventive meds before the run since I felt really good this a.m. But I could feel yesterday's run as I headed-out. This has been the routine, unfortunately, at this point in the season. After a "big" run, the next day is a little less than 100%, relatively speaking (I'm working on 75%, which means the day after a big run I'm at 65% :(

The other point that also explains some of the low energy is I consumed nothing before the run, other than a little water. Team Fast Eddy posted this the other day

"I read a very good article in Running Times last night in regards to nutrition and, in particular, teaching your body to burn fat. The credible part of the article is that it referenced Meb as taking on this strategy for 3-4 weeks. The article makes 3 points: 1) skip the gels for training runs up to 20 myles 2) Schedule two workouts per week before breakfast 3) Do a depleted double; meaning do a morning workout w/o carbs, don't refuel on carbs alone, then do a second high intensity workout later in the day. The big take away for me was to do runs in the morning when no carbs are on board and use what's left of the liver glycogen. Today I tried that. I noticed a change at the 45 minute mark when I started to feel fatigued, then at the hour mark energy started to pick up again. My take is that I ran completely out of liver glycogen, my body shifted gears and found another source of energy that I was able to finish on. The question is, what was the source? If it was some residual fat in my blood then that's good. Now I've gotta try it again and see if I come up with the same thing but go a little longer and see how long it lasts."

Although I wasn't wearing a HRM today, I was running on around max 140-145, just a typical aerobic, easy run. So the point is that I was primarily burning fat anyway, but in the morning, without any carbs on board, I was perhaps dipping into the my liver glycogen? I was light-headed, pretty fatigued. The post-run bliss was ridiculous underscored by the great morning sunlight. Awesome. Felt pretty healthy.

Went home and ate some left-over noodles and real tomato sauce with tofu and qunioa on top, plus Braggs apple cider vinegar, Braggs aminos, and olive oil. Yum. I'll be snacking all day!


RECOVERY

Ran into some Ale Smith IPA (bottle), GF Le Freak (cask), Port Hop 15 (draft), and Avery IPA (bottle).

Happy weekend, all you fiends, especially those of you racing!