Hill run

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Hill runs and races – workouts and payoffs

Hill run day yesterday… Need I say more.

Hill runs are good for you I hear.  TJ has really helped me in understanding the reason for the various workouts we do. Hill runs are just another part of the puzzle.  I’ve mentioned this hill we run before, but just to say it again, it is huge.  It goes straight up it seems for about a tenth of a mile and then levels out a bit and then is just semi steep for another tenth of a mile.  In fact the first part is so steep, I can’t run down it.  I’ve tried and it is more of a defensive run than a run.  Also, if I try to run down it, my knees are killing me afterwards.  So now I run up and walk (or walk in a falling forward motion) down.

All this for the workout.  I must admit that workouts really help break up the routine of running 6 days a week.  I start with a tempo run (I’m at 3 miles now) and then 2 days later do my hill run and then 3 days later do my long run.  Unfortunately I don’t recover very well from the hill run.  As of yet, though I’ve only done a few hill days, it takes until my day off (Monday) to get over the soreness.  I know that will go away, but wow I am sore afterwards!!!

The good news is that yesterday I was able to do 4 repeats up the hill.  That is the most so far and wasn’t too bad.  I didn’t sprint up the hill, but just tried to keep a steady pace.  I can tell that it really works out my lower body, which is good.

The 5K is just under 2 months away and I really want to do well.  I don’t know about other runners, but TJ and I really work at speed and distance.  I love 5Ks because they allow you to push hard for a short distance and really see how good of shape you are in.  I really enjoyed the half marathon because I had to pace myself and not push, but try to hit a sustainable pace for 13.1 miles.  That took much more strategy than the 5Ks I’ve run and in some ways made it more enjoyable.

Ultimately it is the races that make running fun.  They keep me pushing forward, up and down hills, fast and slow runs, over and over, week after week.  On race day, it all pays off.  I can’t wait for May 18th, our next 5K.  I only hope I can make my goal!!!  Only time (and workouts) will tell.

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Yesterday, a good, easy run

Yesterday I felt good.  It was a good day from the moment I woke up.  Why yesterday, I don’t know.  Maybe because I was thrilled with my tempo run the day before.  Maybe because my goal of a 20:00 5K in May now looks possible.  Maybe it was just a good day!

After work I went for my run.  It was to be an easy run day, so I wanted to keep my pace slow.  Usually I work at going as fast as I feel comfortable, but I now realize that in doing so, I was actually hurting my overall running ability.  My goal now is to take my easy days easy and my workout days hard.

I want to also concentrate on increasing my mileage.  I have been “stuck” between 35 – 45 miles a week for a long time.  Our marathon isn’t until December and I know I have  plenty of time, but I want to begin the task of upping my mileage now, so I can slowly get to where I need to be rather than only having 12 weeks to get there.

So how did my run yesterday go?  Good.  I ran 7 miles for the second day in a row.  I thought of going 8, but knowing that today is a hill run workout, I didn’t want to do too much.  But it was a good run.  I averaged an 8:30 pace and, except for a couple of twinges, felt great for most of my run.

This is my new goal.  To enjoy my easy runs more.  To feel like I am running at a good pace, but to also feel like I could go farther at the end of my run.

Today the hill stands in front of me.  Not looking forward to that.  But I have learned by my years of living on this planet that the best things come by enduring through the hard things.  Hill runs are tough.  Tempo runs are tough.  But a 20:00 5K… priceless!

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Hill runs, Carbs, Bagels and Pizza. What could go wrong?

As I promised I want to explain what I have figured out in regard to dieting, running and carbs.

But first, hill runs!  Yesterday was my first hill run day since before the half marathon (over a month ago).  The day overall was a long day.  I woke up at 4:00am as usual and didn’t get home until after 5:00pm – not usual.  So needless to say, I wasn’t in the mood to run up a huge hill, let alone several times.  Fortunately TJ was home and asked if I wanted him to come with me.  That was a huge help.  We ran a couple of miles and then headed for the hill (or mountain as I call it in a previous post).  In the end, I ran up and walked down (to preserve my knees) 3 times.  The hill is really steep for an eighth of a mile and then medium steep for another eighth.  We ran up the whole way the first time.  The second we only ran up the steep part, but ran as fast as we could (I’m sure TJ had no problem keeping up with me).  Finally we ran the whole thing again.  It was tough, but the benefits outweigh the incredible effort that I had to exert.  The last time up, I stopped at the end of the steep hill and said I couldn’t go on.  It was only for a second and then I continued.  TJ reminded me that you are never to make a decisions while running up hill.  Good advice.  So it was a good run, made much more fun with TJ along for encouragement.

Now on the carbs.  My love hate relationship with carbs has been well documented on this blog.  If I eat them I gain weight.  If I don’t eat them I can last a couple of days, but finally I crash and devour half a pizza.  My question has always been, how to run, not gain weight and still eat carbs for energy.

The answer…

I thought to myself, what if I eat carbs every day?  If I can eat some carbs, that will help my running and maybe I won’t crash at the end of the week.  So I went to the grocery store and looked down the bread isle.  I looked at the bagels.  I’ve always been warned that bagels are the worst food for anyone trying to loose weight.  They are great before a long run or a race, but not on a daily basis.  Then I found what I wanted.  I picked up Thomas’ Hearty Grains 100% whole wheat bagels.  I scanned the barcode with my fooducate app (great app BTW) and it came back as an A-.  Wow, very few foods are ranked that high, let alone bagels.  These bagels had only 2g of fat and 49g of carbs.  They are not heavy.  In fact they are rather light for a bagel.

So I eat one on Tuesday morning as a snack.  It helped.  I didn’t feel like I had to eat junk that night.  I eat one each day this week and felt great.  It took the edge off and I lost the 4 lbs I had put on last weekend.  I am back to 180 and feel so much better.  Tonight will be the test.  Pizza night…  I’ll try to report the results, but pizza is my favorite.  I may end up doing what my brother suggested and just eat plain cheese pizza so that I don’t get too much junk in me.  Also I have to stop at a piece or two and not go on to eat 5.

On to my busy day at work and then a 6 mile regular run this afternoon.  Looks like rain all weekend.  I guess I’ll be running in the rain.

Life is good.

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Back in the saddle

Or, back in running shoes!

We had our practice run for the Mercedes half marathon yesterday.  Running 9 miles through the streets of Birmingham at 6:30 am.  I felt great.  TJ and RS ran also and we ran together for the most part.  It was a lot of fun and makes me look forward the the race that much more.

Taking a day off from running was really difficult for me.  I have taken time off in the past, and one day leads to another and the next thing you know, the “habit” of running is gone.  I know, one day won’t kill a habit, but it really was hard.

It was worth it.

My knee is a little sore, but no pain while running yesterday and I feel even better today.  I really think the hill runs are messing with me some.  I didn’t have such problems – or not as many – as I have had while running up mountains.  On the other hand, my speed and endurance has gotten a lot better.  I cut 30 seconds off my pace between December and January!

This week we begin to taper some to prepare for our race.  TJ and I are going to run together one day so I can get in a steady state run.  He has a great feel for pace and it will be helpful to run a longer run and faster pace with him.

That’s it for now.  On to another day.

I love running… again.

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Running up Mountains

Okay, not “mountains”, but a really steep hill.

Yesterday was my hill run day.  Everyone I talk to says hill runs are the best for increasing your endurance and speed in a race.  So, the last day of January I go out for my second week of running this hill/mountain.  Last week I ran it twice and ran some other routes in between each hill run.  This week, I changed it up.  I ran about 1.8 miles before I got to the hill to get warmed up some.  Of course it was also the first time in 10 months that I forgot my phone, so I don’t know how fast I was running, but when I reached the hill, I was breathing a bit hard.

Up I went – up the hill.  It was a rough run.  I got to the top and it levels out for a bit before I turn to go back down the hill.  By the time I got to the bottom (which was hard in and of itself since it was so steep), I was ready to go up again.  Without a break I went for it.  Back up the hill to the top.  This time it didn’t seem as hard and as I went back down, I felt pretty good.  My goal was three times, so I went back up.  Not bad.  It seemed that each time I went up I felt a little easier than the last.  My legs were tired and running down the hill was harder, but I was shocked that I was able to make it three times without much fatigue.  I then ran a couple more miles to make sure I made 5 miles and went home to take my son to a doctor appt.

What an end to a month.  It was close to record mileage, but since I forgot my phone, I am not 100% sure.  But for two months in a row now I have been able to run over 150 miles.  Wow, it wasn’t but early fall that I could barely break 100.  Also, I am on pace to make my third 40 mile week in a row.

Do you want to know why I love running?  The activity is rather boring and takes a lot of time, however I love running because I can run faster and farther with little skill.  Running just works best if you do it.  Also it doesn’t really cost too much, except for shoes that can be found rather cheaply on sale.   I work with technology all day long.  I have computers and phones and tablets and gadgets blinding my eyes.  When I run, it is just me, outside with the sound of my feet on the pavement.  I’m alone..  I work through problems in my head.  I pray.  I get out my frustrations.  It really is better than therapy.  No pills, just nature, neighbors and running shoes.  Wet, cold, hot, sunny, cloudy.  Any and all weather.  Whatever the weather is like at 2:00, that is what weather I am going to run in.

Ultimately, running up mountains is a good name for this post.  I named it that for the hill run, but every run is a run up mountains.  It is primal.  It is therapeutic.  It is just nature and me, alone, together.

I love running.

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Chicago, Jacksonville, Boston marathons – Information overload

Information overload last night.  TJ and I are trying to decide where to run our first marathon.  RS will go also I assume, if he can stay well.  Anyway, our choices are between the Chicago Marathon or Jacksonville Marathon.  In the end, money may make the decision.  I love Chicago and my lovely wife and I have friends up there as I have mentioned in the past.  But we also have great friends in Jacksonville, although I’ve not been to Jacksonville in a long time.  Anyway, it ends up that Jacksonville’s marathon is over $100 less a person than Chicago!!!  That is $300 more that TJ, RS and I would have to spend to enter the Chicago marathon; let alone travel and accommodations.  Both offer a fast course and the average temperature is about the same at the time of each race.  Jacksonville’s is in December, so that would give us a couple of months longer to get ready.  Remember, TJ is trying to qualify for Boston on his first marathon.  I dream of qualifying for Boston on my first.

So, if there is anyone in Chicago who reads this, could you run by Ballydoyle Pub and ask Phil if he would like to sponsor us?  Just tell him our favorite song is “Sweet Home Alabama” and he’ll know who we are.  I know, it is a pipe dream, but isn’t that what blogs are for???

Finally, onto yesterday.  I LOVE running the day after a tempo run.  It is like my body has said, “hey, as long as you aren’t going to run as fast as you did yesterday, I’ll do what you want”.  I ran 6 miles at an 8:30 pace and could have gone for more.  I stopped because of today…  The dreaded hill day.  It feels like this hill  goes straight up for about 5 miles, but it is only about 1/8 – 1/4 mile.  It is straight up though.  My goal is to make it 3 times, as I did 2 last time.  TJ can do 6 – how does he do it?

So on to another day of work, looking forward to heading home to my lovely wife, kids and dog.  I’ll say hi as I head out to run the mountain.

I love running.

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My first hill run

Okay.  It was not as fun as I thought it would be – Actually I really didn’t think it would be fun, but this was a rough hill.  TJ says it is about an eighth of a mile, but I think it might be further.  It goes straight up for a long time and then levels out a bit and then up more but at a slower incline.  TJ ran it 6 times.  Not me.  I ran it once and then ran other areas of the same neighborhood that were hilly and then I ran it again.  So all in all I ran it twice and then another few miles to make 5 miles for the day.  It was crazy though.  After running the hill/mountain twice, I could barely keep a 10 minute pace.  My legs were shot.  So I guess it did what it was supposed to do.  Hill runs are supposed to help your speed similar to 800m intervals but since you don’t have to run as fast or as hard, it isn’t as hard on your body.

As TJ and I were going to get the pizza for dinner we talked the half marathon.  He really wants to run it in 90 minutes. I told him I want to beat a 9 minute pace.  He said if I can make it in an 8:23 pace and we do the Chicago Marathon, I’ll be about to be in the first 14,000 runners.  Hmmm.

I think I may be in over my head.

I run my first 13.1 miles tomorrow since October. I’ve been doing about 10 miles on my long day, but with the race close at hand, I figure I need to get another one under my belt.  I’m going to try to run it at the same pace I would like to do the half marathon in, so we’ll see how it goes.

I love to run!!!