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February 28, 2005

The Rains

We finally got some rain...and it was mud hoggin' good! The rain was great because it made a big dent in the ice on some of the trails. I say some because I managed to choose the one trail that was not only still icy, but had a stream of water flowing across the top of the ice making it nearly impossible to run on. It was really smooth though so I was able to get a running start and slide across. It also helped that it was uphill or flat and not downhill.

Today was my long run. I haven't decided whether reading about Alison's long run made me inspired to run 16 miles or like a Slacker for only running 16 miles. It was plenty far though and I also got in some extra time when I stopped my watch as I tip-toed my way through some private property where they are building a new manison and forgot to restart my watch. This thing is incredible! I'm going to have to get some pictures this weekend. The "Barn" is big enough for a couple buses and a small airplane. The "Garage" is big enough for 3 busses and a couple SUVs to boot and then there's the house!

James' Running week 4 of 10: 16 of about 70 miles
Mon: 16 miles, Highlands, Upper-Upper, Ryan's Loop

Posted by at 8:54 PM | Comments (1)

February 27, 2005

Lucky Me

I felt pretty good today so I decided make up for coming up short last week on mileage. I don't want to be a mileage freak, which is impossible anyhow since I'm such a slacker most of the time, but it was a really nice day today and I'm sure with all the great weather we've had this month that we're due for some nastiness in March.
However, I just checked and it might be 57 and 65 the first two days of track practice (March 7th and 8th)! 65 on the 8th would tie a 100 year old record! I have to stop falling on the ice or I could lose all this great training time.
Yes, I did fall again today, but I think I'm getting better at it. Today's fall was fairly graceful with no real damage, except for a little pride. I managed to fall right in front of a couple hikers who gave me that "You must be some kind of nut trying to run on this trail look" as I gathered myself and continued running past them.

James' Running week 3 of 10: 72.5 of about 70 miles
Sun: 12.5 miles, Ross Loop, 7x4hard w/4 easy recovery
Sat: 8.5 miles, Mt. View and Holmberg Trails and Regina Loop
Fri: 9.5 miles, Karlin's + Fairwood
Thur: 9.5 miles, Rutter + Fish 5x8H w/1R
Wed: 8 miles, GPrep Track
Tues: 9 miles, Dam Run
Mon: 15.5 miles, SCCGC, Highlands, MHSML, WCB40, Betty's

Posted by at 10:00 PM

February 25, 2005

Title

James' Running week 3 of 10: 51.5 of about 70 miles
Fri: 9.5 miles, Karlin's + Fairwood
Thur: 9.5 miles, Rutter + Fish 5x8H w/1R
Wed: 8 miles, GPrep Track
Tues: 9 miles, Dam Run
Mon: 15.5 miles, SCCGC, Highlands, MHSML, WCB40, Betty's

Posted by at 5:54 PM

February 24, 2005

Speed

I managed to squeeze my run in between my 3:30-5 meeting and my 6:30-8 meeting yesterday, the longest break of the day. This is unfortunate, because the weather is like perfect right now and all I want to do is go out and run 3 times a day. Today its going to be sunny and 52, tomorrow less sunny but 53, and Sat/Sun sunny and 51! I should be able to get my 70 in no problem this week. That is assuming that I don't fall on anymore ice or tree roots. And yes, despite the warmer weather the ice still hasn't melted!

Yesterday's speed workout was pretty short, but I did manage to get some fast running in, which I've been lacking in my training lately.
12 minutes warm-up
6x800 in 2:50, 2:45, 2:36, 2:34, 2:31, 2:22 with 1 lap jogging recovery.

James' Running week 3 of 10: 24.5 of about 70 miles
Wed: 8 miles, GPrep Track
Tues: 9 miles, Dam Run
Mon: 15.5 miles, SCCGC, Highlands, MHSML, WCB40, Betty's

Posted by at 7:59 AM

February 22, 2005

When am I going to run tomorrow?

This question burns. No time...early? maybe, late? yuck. Split it up? hmmm.

James' Running week 3 of 10: 24.5 of about 70 miles
Tues: 9 miles, Dam Run
Mon: 15.5 miles, SCCGC, Highlands, MHSML, WCB40, Betty's

Posted by at 8:52 PM

February 21, 2005

2 hours

I'm glad I didn't run the extra 2.5 miles yesterday to get 70 for last week. I felt really good today and am starting to feel a bit refreshed, like I might actually be ready to work during my speed workouts this week. Of course, I have a ton of work to do so my sleep will suffer and that could set me back. Hopefully after this week I'll be a little less stressed.

James' Running week 3 of 10: 15.5 of about 70 miles
Mon: 15.5 miles, SCCGC, Highlands, MHSML, WCB40, Betty's

Posted by at 7:25 PM

February 20, 2005

Lucky me

I didn't quite make it to 70 this week, but I'm pretty happy to still be running. My wrist is finally able to move again and my knee doesn't feel too bad, except when I'm getting out of the car. My bruise on my tailbone still hurts sometimes, but not while running. And my whiplash has subsided quite a bit. I think, knock on wood, that I am going to make it through this without major consequences. The biggest change I'll have to make is running more on the roads and less in the woods until the ice actually melts. You'd think it would be gone considering it has not snowed in like a month and the high temperature has been above freezing almost every day. I guess 36 just doesn't get it done in the valleys.

James' Running week 2 of 10: 67.5 of about 70 miles
Sun: 11 miles, downtown 7x4H,3E
Sat: 8.5 miles, Camelot and Whitworth
Fri: 6.5 miles, Regina and Holmberg Park
Thurs: 10 miles, Dry Creek 6x8min at marathon pace with 1 min recovery
Wed: 11 miles, 5x1400m with 600m jog recovery.
Tues: 8.5 miles, Upper-Upper Switchbacks + Fish Hatchery
Mon: 12 miles, Ross's Loop in reverse

Posted by at 4:54 PM

February 17, 2005

Surviving the Round - losing on points.

I survived today's run despite getting knocked down twice. However, I definately lost the fight! My first fall came on a short ice patch on a downhill single track about mile 4 of the Dry Creek loop. It wasn't so bad, a couple scratches on my hands and a little whip lash, but nothing serious. The second take down was a little worse. After the first ummm "accident" I was trying to be as cautious as possible without breaking one of the ice running rules (don't try to stop or turn). However, the ice patch was just a little too long and my feet couldn't move fast enough to keep up and I slipped right at the end of the ice patch. This led to the inevitable right foot over my shoulder and twisting way too much at the knee. Not to mention another case of whip lash and a more severe blow to my hands and wrists.

After sitting for a couple minutes, trying to decide if my season was over and what to do about the fact that I was stuck between ice patches I finally made it back to my feet. I should have known that the abulance parked at the park entrance was a bad sign! I decided to bypass part of the trail by bush whacking down to the next level of the switchbacks and slowly picked my way through to the next iceless part of the trail. Fortunately the rest of my run went pretty well. I did notice that my groin was a little unhappy with the whole body twist exercise too.

Now that I've had 3 hours to "recover", my whip lash is pretty serious. My knee is starting to lock up and my wrist is starting to swell. I can only imagine what tomorrow will feel like. Thankfully I'll be fully knocked up on ibuprophen and shouldn't feel too bad. Also, tomorrow and Saturday are "recovery" days on my workout schedule.

James' Running week 2 of 10: 41.5 of about 70 miles
Thurs: 10 miles, Dry Creek 6x8min at marathon pace with 1 min recovery
Wed: 11 miles, 5x1400m with 600m jog recovery.
Tues: 8.5 miles, Upper-Upper Switchbacks + Fish Hatchery
Mon: 12 miles, Ross's Loop in reverse

Posted by at 8:32 PM | Comments (2)

Getting Tired

Last week I had trouble keeping up with all the work being thrown at me. This week I've been able to keep up, but my sleep has been cut down to less than 6 hours per night. This of course has made running less fun. Yesterday's interval workout was a significant drop from my previous efforts. I do give myself credit for finishing, but it lacked a lot of the "speed" normally associated with speed workouts. Hopefully after the 3-day weekend I'll be back to normal.

At MHS track: 5x1400m with 600m jog recovery. 4:51, 5:01, 4:57, 4:53, 4:36. I was going to shoot for 4:40s, but just didn't have the eumff.

James' Running week 2 of 10: 31.5 of about 70 miles
Wed: 11 miles, 5x1400m with 600m jog recovery.
Tues: 8.5 miles, Upper-Upper Switchbacks + Fish Hatchery
Mon: 12 miles, Ross's Loop in reverse

Posted by at 6:40 AM | Comments (1)

February 15, 2005

Getting back at it

And getting cold again :( At least the sun doesn't set until 5 pm now.

James' Running week 2 of 10: 20.5 of about 70 miles
Tues: 8.5 miles, Upper-Upper Switchbacks + Fish Hatchery
Mon: 12 miles, Ross's Loop in reverse

Posted by at 10:17 PM

February 13, 2005

Unhappy Camper

Today's race was a bust. Not only did I finish second by less than 2 seconds for the third race in a row, I was actually slower than last year. Needless to say I am not too happy about the results, but I guess I'll make up some reason for being slower and be happy that my training at least seems to be going really well. After the race I did an easy 8.5 mile loop 'cause it was a really nice day weather-wise.

James' Running week 1 of 10: 70 of about 70 miles
Sun: 14.5 miles, PnP 5K race (16:35 - 2nd place)
Sat: 8 miles, Arrowhead Pt. Loop with Choco
Fri: AM - 6 miles, Fairwood Loop
Thurs: 9 miles, Dam Run, 20 min tempo and 4x200m
Wed: 9.5 miles, 5x1320 with 3min rest (19up, 19down)
Tues: 7 miles, Upper Switchbacks to Rutter Parkway
Mon: 16 miles (2 hours), Shady Slope/Moon Tower/Camelot/Fairwood

Posted by at 1:32 PM | Comments (1)

February 11, 2005

I hate my schedule

My W, TH, F schedule for the next three weeks is terrible. Too much to do and not enough time. Boo Hoo cry for me. At least I'm still getting my runs in to keep my sanity.

James' Running week 1 of 10: 47.5 of about 70 miles
Fri: AM - 6 miles, Fairwood Loop
Thurs: 9 miles, Dam Run, 20 min tempo and 4x200m
Wed: 9.5 miles, 5x1320 with 3min rest (19up, 19down)
Tues: 7 miles, Upper Switchbacks to Rutter Parkway
Mon: 16 miles (2 hours), Shady Slope/Moon Tower/Camelot/Fairwood

Posted by at 11:54 AM | Comments (2)

February 9, 2005

1320s on the track

Yesterday my cold had a second wind, probably due to running too far and too hard on Monday. So the run yesterday wasn't very fun. Today I am feeling better again. Unfortunately I had speed scheduled for today, so tomorrow I'll probably feel bad again. I would have taken another rest day, but with my race coming up on Sunday, I wanted the extra recovery. Afterall, my legs are more important than my head cold.

Today's workout was 5x1320 (yards) on the track. This is a little more than I have been doing during my speed sessions so I planned to slow up a bit and shoot for 5:20 pace on them. The first 1320 felt terrible and I hit 4:00 only with a mad dash to the finish. When I started the second interval the entire WC track team (~80 people) had assembled for practice and stretching. Their coach saw me coming and made them clear lane one - so now everyone was of course watching me! I came through 440 in 74 (only 6 second too fast) and finished in 3:51. I was pleased with the fact that 3:51 felt easier than 4:00, but I knew it wouldn't last. I hit 3:54 on the third, really struggled through the 4th in 3:53 and then finished with a 3:44. This was a good confidence builder going into this weekend's race. I am thinking 16:15 would be great, but you never know with these winter road races!

James' Running week 1 of 10: 23 of about 70 miles
Wed: 9.5 miles, 5x1320 with 3min rest (19up, 19down)
Tues: 7 miles, Upper Switchbacks to Rutter Parkway
Mon: 16 miles (2 hours), Shady Slope/Moon Tower/Camelot/Fairwood

Posted by at 12:21 PM | Comments (1)

February 7, 2005

about 70

So this morning I felt sick and decided to postpone my run until this afternoon. I thought about running 8 in the AM and 8 in the PM, but I just didn't feel very good and I knew if I ran that my day would be long and miserable. So I waited til this evening and was contemplating only going 8, but after 3 I felt good so I decided to keep running extended loops until I either felt bad or completed the 16 miles I had down for today. I felt a little bad between 11-13, but after picking up a well placed bottle of Gatorade at mile 13, the last 3 miles were really good. Heck, I was flying the last mile! In any case I was pretty glad that my cold didn't cost me any mileage and hopefully it will be all gone tomorrow.

I have decided not to be a slave to my mileage for the next 10 week period of my training. I am shooting for 70 during the first 4 weeks, but anything over 65 will be good enough. Who knows I may even take a day off. (Today was #47)

James' Running week 1 of 10: 16 of about 70 miles
Mon: 16 miles (2 hours), Shady Slope/Moon Tower/Camelot/Fairwood

James' Running week 5 of 5: 62.5 of 60 miles
Sun: 6 miles, Motorcycle Hill to Heartbreak
Sat: 9 miles, RSP
Fri: 6.5 miles, Rutter Parkway
Thurs: 13 miles, 12x400 at MHS
Wed: 8.5 miles, Highlands + Switchbacks
Tues: 6 miles, Spokane Country Club
Mon: 13.5 miles, Mt. View + MHS + Fairwood

Posted by at 6:53 PM

February 5, 2005

Slow Runnin'

Very slow running today and yesterday - battling another cold. I'm hoping to beat it before Monday. I'm going up to 70 mpw next week. Being sick is not an ideal time to bump mileage.

James' Running week 5 of 5: 56.5 of 60 miles
Sat: 9 miles, RSP
Fri: 6.5 miles, Rutter Parkway
Thurs: 13 miles, 12x400 at MHS
Wed: 8.5 miles, Highlands + Switchbacks
Tues: 6 miles, Spokane Country Club
Mon: 13.5 miles, Mt. View + MHS + Fairwood

Posted by at 8:36 PM

February 3, 2005

Shorts weather

Quarters
29 minutes warm-up
12x400 with 400m jog in between (73.5, 74.7, 75.3, 74.2, 73.1, 74.0, 73.1, 73.0, 72.9, 72.3, 70.5, 67.7)
32 minutes cool-down

James' Running week 5 of 5: 28 of 60 miles
Thurs: 13 miles, 12x400 at MHS
Wed: 8.5 miles, Highlands + Switchbacks
Tues: 6 miles, Spokane Country Club
Mon: 13.5 miles, Mt. View + MHS + Fairwood

Posted by at 7:00 PM | Comments (2)

February 2, 2005

Spokane breaks 10

10 C that is! Ok, so somewhere around here it was 52 degrees. Not where I was running. Still snow and ice on all the trails. Looks like snow this weekend too. So much for trail running 'til March.

James' Running week 5 of 5: 28 of 60 miles
Wed: 8.5 miles, Highlands + Switchbacks
Tues: 6 miles, Spokane Country Club
Mon: 13.5 miles, Mt. View + MHS + Fairwood

Posted by at 8:09 PM

February 1, 2005

Blah

James' Running week 5 of 5: 19.5 of 60 miles
Tues: 6 miles, Spokane Country Club
Mon: 13.5 miles, Mt. View + MHS + Fairwood

Posted by at 9:56 PM