Home Turf

Total miles: 68.25

This week I'm taking a much needed break from L.A. and hitting my home turf again. Its hot here, but I'm well rested and not hurting in my legs at all now. My back still hurts a little, but that usually goes away after 1 mile. All in all, I'm going to try and have a steady week and do about 70 miles. Wish me luck

Sunday, 7/29
Was tired after a long journey home. Tested out the back and did 5 miles. Things went fine, I'll go for about 10 tomorrow and work from there.

Monday, 7/30
Got up at 11 and immediately left for a run. I ran out towards the country and ran along a canal for a while, then I did a loop out to the far side of town. I think I got honked at once during this whole run. oh well... i was quite tired when i got home and realized my run was only 9 miles...

On a lighter note I realized I was completely back in hick-town Lodi while driving down one of the main roads in town in my dad's pickup truck, listening to country music, following a slow moving tractor.

Tuesday, 7/31
Woke up at the crack of dawn after a long day of catching up with a good friend and boozing it up a little. Headed out towards the country and ran all the way out to I-5. Stopped there and talked to some cows, stole some grapes off a vine for a light meal and came back. This really was a very randy run. At times I felt like crap in my stomach and went a little slower, other times I sped up a little (but not too much). Towards the end of the run I lurched over and nearly ralphed (likely a combo of last night and the early run). Oh, did I forget to mention, I saw two dead hawks, four dead blue jays, and about six dead opposums. Seriously, counting road kill is something to do while running out there (here, in hickville).

12.5ish in all... maybe I'll tack in 5 in the evening.

After a long afternoon of fishing (a sport which I feel is very unlikely for me to hurt myself in) I headed out for a few extra miles. Much to my humor I quickly realized that the temperature was near 100. Ouchie WaWA!. I went rather slow with a few little fartleks here and there in place of strides afterwards. Did 5.75 miles in all. Thats 18.25 for the day!

Wednesday, 8/1
Wow, I actually had a dream about Will Leer's damn Seal.... Continuing on... I got up (early again) to run with an old pal, Jeff Merrill. I ran to his house (2 miles away) and headed out on a 10 miler with him. A few miles into it I had to tail off though. I was feeling very tight and sore from yesterday (big surprise), so I decided that instead of doing like I did 2 weeks ago and having a really good start of the week and a shitty end I would call it a day after 6 miles. Hopefully this will pay off and tomorrow I can do about 10 or 12 in the morning.

Thursday, 8/2
Got angry at the world and decided to run until I felt better. 14 miles later I didn't feel better, but was at least to tired to care anymore. It was 86 out which I guess isn't all that bad, but I did see a bird spontaneously combust... you decide how bad it is i guess.

Spent the some time later in the day chilling with Jeff Merrill and went to fleet feet with him. Also chilled at the local farmer market where I discovered the joy of pluots...
These things are seriously so freiekn good. They represent the perfect orgasmic cross between an apricot and a plum. After that I had dinner with Jeff and his family at a downtown mexican restaurant. Gotta love mexican food! Then I went home to hang with some other fools and have some good old fashioned chilling for the day.

Friday, 8/3
Ran 8 miles in the heat (95ish) having a few short fartleks here and there... overall this was an easy run though... I felt fine, might tack on a few miles in the evening if I have time.

Saturday, 8/4
Did 8 miles in the morning. Felt good, probably pulled about 6:30's or so once I was moving... stopped to shit.

Another week

Total miles: 17

The goal for this week is to increase the mileage at a easier pace. Just do several miles (high 60, low 70) possibly using more runs than in previous weeks, and not worry about how fast I'm going. The goal is for this week to also feel like an "off" week.

Sunday, 7/22
Did lower arroyo, felt fine. Pulled a few fartleks here and there.

Monday, 7/23
Easy 6... i hate mondays

THE REST OF THE WEEK
got fucking bloody injured diving for a softball, took tuesday off. Wednesday i biked and lifted. Thursday, ran 1 mile and swam. Friday, ran 2.5 miles and swam.

Trial of Miles

Total miles: 55


This week will focus once again on just keep every run somewhat real and worthwhile. Every mile can count a little, and every run can be of reasonable distance. Mile-wise I haven't really set out what I want for this week quite yet. Somewhere around 60, but I'll have a better idea when I see how I'm feeling at the end of the week after a few long runs and late nights.

Saturday, 7/21
Biked 60 miles

Friday, 7/20
Ran 9 miles in the evening... felt like shit... not my muscles, they felt fine.. it was really just my stomach i suppose

Thursday, 7/19
Ran lacy the long way and did some laps at the park. Middway through my laps I sat and watched a spider spin a web. Seriously, it may be boring... but it was soo freiken cool watching it spin along. This was a really relaxing run, I just jogged along, dreaming of being super fast and such. Madddd chilll.

Wednesday, 7/18
Did the same run as sunday (huntingson merged with full arroyo) but I added in the rose bowl loop and came up orange grove. I held a decent pace throughout the run and even managed to throw fartleks in here or there. At the R.B. I began cruising at about 6:10 pace for a mile or two before chilling back into 7's. Finished 16 miles in under two hours which included stopping for a shit in the arroyo and waiting for lights all the way down green. That probably brings the average to just under 7's. Oh yeah, some little kid tried to race me at the rose bowl but I just beat him up.

Tuesday, 7/17
Felt much better today. Lab went okay and my mind wasn't killing me. After 9 hours in lab I headed to the gym and did patrician. Did a few extra laps once I got back to the track at a nice quick pace. Followed this up with some striders. So two quick questions to everyone reading: 1) Is doing almost several miles of 10+ miles/week ok? It feels ok right now and my body doesn't seem to be chronically physically tired, but I'm not sure. I'm still also able to put a nice little kick in for the last mile or two to excercise my speed.
2) Now seems like the right time to start doing tempo runs. I was thinking of about 3-4 miles at about 5:30- 5:45 pace this friday.
Please let me know what you all think about these things.

Monday, 7/16
Felt like work was really getting me down and depressed. Things in lab aren't going great but they aren't going horrible. Couldn't muster the energy really to do anything today, didnt run.

Sunday, 7/15
Did a run that began as Huntingson, continued down monterey to the arroyo, then hoped in the arroyo at mission and continued as doing full arroyo. This run was hard, I started out going at an honest pace, and often threw in a few fartleks that lasted for a mile or more, not to mention it felt like it was pushin 90 or 95 degrees today. Finished feeling tired, but pulling my last mile in what must have been close to (or sub) 6 min. pace. Overall, ran about high 6's - 7 flats for today... Afterwards I rewarded myself with a day of fun. I had in 'n out for lunch and went into hollywood with the UK kids. Oh yeah, the run was 12 miles... fun times.

Going the distance

Total miles:59

This week is going to focus on increasing the mileage with steady intensity. All the runs should be around 7:00 pace, nothing slower. The goal is to hit 60 miles and still feel in about 6-8 sessions and still feel fresh enough to do 65 or so next week.

Saturday, 7/14
Went to the SD, past the OC, to see the KB, with the UK kids, go to PB, the ZO, and back to LA

Friday, 7/13
Ran a hard 6, Huntington... Had to poo the last few miles, so I had to run faster. Finished up with an easy few on the N.F. with I. Shapiro.

Thursday, 7/12
Easy 8, then shower. Super easy, yadda yadda. I suppose I should maybe mention that this may very well be some of the hardest mileage I've ever done. Not because every mile is hard, or even the straight quantity. It seems tiring, (but not too much) because I've done it in so few runs. Overall I suppose this is a good thing since it is something I wanted for this season, to cut out junky mileage. Oh well, we'll see how it holds up.

Wednesday, 7/11
Did exactly as planned, 15 miles from the Wilson up to JPL, past Gould campground a bit then turned around and came back. Somewhere about 1/2 way down the trail I ran into fatty and the oxy gang. It was somewhat encouraging to see them and really helped me through the tougher part of the run. Finished the whole run in a little less than 1:45, brining the pace to about 6:50's. This felt rather smooth, even better than the past 3 days.

Tuesday, 7/10
Headed out planning on doing just 6. After a mile I realized that despite my tiredness my legs were somewhat more lively and capable of turning over than I would have believed previous to starting the run. After doing Garfield the long way I finished up with two miles on the track, this all was somewhat of a fartlek run, probably pulling around 6:40s or so for the entire 8 miles. It really felt great (mentally) to be able to move with such ease despite the tiredness I felt. Its kind of an odd sensation to describe, but I think you may understand. I suppose this really sums up how I've felt the past couple days: tired at times, even worn out. However, once I start running it just comes. I have the energy to go several miles and even go a few more than I originally planned on. Oh well, the plan for tomorrow is an easy 15 around 7:20 pace or so... I'll play it by ear though. In other news, for dinner I totally had my heart set on making some roasted red pepper enchiladas. Unfortunately, the corner store was closed and I couldn't find somewhere nearby that had the stuff I needed. Thus I ventured to the nearby Rosarito #2. I splurged. Chili relleno combo burrito (thats about 3/2 the size of a regular burrito, and it comes with chips), beans, rice, and a tecate. All in all, I'm now sufficiently stuffed. Two last things: 1. I found it funny that the guy at the restaurant gave me two forks and knives when the food was just for me. 2. Does anyone know the name of the guy who rides the turquoisish/greenish bike with pink handle bars. I saw him on lake and he said hi to me, but I felt really bad since I couldn't remember his name (I think he's in either rickets or dabney).

Monday, 7/9
medium 9 at 7's. I felt a little tired and sore at parts of this run, early on. But by the time I got back to the track I felt fine and was probably pulling about 6:30's. Ran the last 2 1/4 miles barefoot with Jon Tsai. Tomorrow I'll probably take a little easier.

Sunday, 7/8
Ran a medium 10 at 7's. Felt good and probably pulled out a few miles at 6:30ish pace. Saw some chinese guy on the track while i did a few laps for extra miles.... saw him again 4 miles later. Its become typical now that I do this to add a few miles to my run. I'll throw a few extra laps around the track on either side of the run to get a few extra miles in, at pace of course.

Easing Off

Miles for the week: 35

The plan for this week is to back off a little bit. No, not because I'm feeling hurt, but more as a preventive measure. The goal will be about 45-50 miles at an easier pace, maybe 1 off day. This will also be easy mileage with nothing over 10 miles. Next week I'll resume scaling up and hopefully do about 60 miles.

Sorry for the late update, The rest of the week was low mileage. I took Tuesday off. Wednesday I ran a super easy 6. Thursday did a hard 6. Friday I took off. Saturday medium 9, but I felt very very relaxed. I feel very ready for 60 next week. Lets see how my body handles it.

Monday, 7/2
Did a moderate 5 in the early evening. Started around 7:30 pace for the first two miles, and went progressively (and steadily) faster the rest of the run. The last mile was probably about 6:20 pace.

Sunday, 7/1
Ran an easy 8 in the mid evening. Felt good, kept things around 7:30 pace, I know its slow... but I'm just holding to the plan for the week.