Quick Recovery Run

Workout:  4-5 Mile Recovery Run

So after yesterday’s 20 miler a recovery run was just what the doctor ordered.  I met a friend of mine at John Ball and ran along the Kent Trail.  I was sooo tight at the beginning, but after the first mile I loosened up and felt a lot better.

We just did a simple out and back at about 9’s.  I noticed a little knee hitch on the way out but it didn’t seem to be a big deal.  And by the end of the run I was feeling fine.

Next weekend is Indy… Let the games begin!  

5.12 miles/45:32/Avg 8:53

Holly Freaking Cow! I didn’t mean to run that fast… It just sort of happened.

Workout: 20 Mile Long Run
7 miles + Borgess Run For The Health Of It (Half)

Today I had to run 20 miles so I signed up for the Borgess Run For The Health Of It Half Marathon. My running partner was going to drive over from Lansing but she developed some knee thing and had to bail. So I was on my own. Arg….

I woke up early and decided to run my additional 7 miles before the race. I was a little nervous because I was out late last night drinking beer and thought it make for a long race.

Anyway it was a beautiful morning, It took me about 30 minutes to drive to the race which gave me time to kind of wake up and process the day. Once I got to the site the sun was just coming up which was awesome. Plus they had already blocked off the streets for the race so I had the whole course to myself. I felt pretty good and for whatever reason was clipping along way too fast. I think my first two miles were 8’s which I knew could be a problem. But I just couldn’t seem to slow myself down.

So anyway it took me about an hour to knock out the first seven. I timed it pretty well, only having to stand around for 10 minutes or so waiting for the half to start. I was determined to run the half much slower as I knew I would be tired but it wasn’t meant to be. Within the first mile or so of the race there was a big down hill which I think set the tempo for the rest of the day. Plus I saw a bunch of Hastings folks out there which was kind of fun.

I wasn’t really watching my time all that closely. I had decided it was going to take as long as it took and I was just going to enjoy the day, but I knew I was clipping along pretty fast.

Overall I thought the route was great. We weaved through downtown Kalamazoo which is where most of the people were. I kind of felt bad for all the cops because they had traffic stacked up and a lot of busy intersections. I tried to thank all of them as I passed because I’m sure they were taking a lot of abuse.

Anyway the whole event was fun. I felt really strong through the entire race and even sprinted the last few hundred yards. Some snot nosed 20 something was trying to beat me and I wasn’t going to have that.

I feel so much stronger than in Miami as evidence by the new PR I set today after having run a 7 mile warm-up. I may have a new pre-race program that involves Bells Beer, bar smoke and limiting sleep to 4 hours( OK…. Maybe I just got lucky!

I’m now more optimistic about San Diego and am getting psyched. Indy next weekend, the Riverbank Run the weekend after that, and San Diego in about a month. I think it will be fun if I live through it!

I’ve broken out my times for both the 7 mile warm-up and the Half below.

And Derek if you’re reading this you little weasel I saw your 1:28/6:43 pace. That’s just sick and wrong! Good job, I am in awe!

First 7 miles: 7.01 miles/57:44/Avg 8:15
Race: 13.1 miles/1:48:41/Avg 8:18

Total Run: 20.11 miles/2:46:25/Avg 8:17

Early Run

Workout:  40 minute Easy Run

Oh this morning was early.  I have plans later tonight so I had to run first thing this morning before work.  I would be lying if I didn’t admit spending a lot of time thinking about ways I could just stay in bed.  But I eventually made it to the gym.

The run was good but my legs were a little tired, especially since I just ran last night.  Not ideal, but what are you going to do.

Nothing really of note.  Feel like I’m making progress and will definitely be ready for San Diego, just not sure how fast I’ll be able to run it.  

5.0 miles/42:50/Avg 8:34
BMI: 26.0

Nice Run!

Workout: 40 minute Easy Run

Tonight was so nice, plus I keep investigating permutations of the State Road route. I found that if you go straight on Hammond road you get some nice hills. Both short and steep and long and gradual.

I started out a bit too fast though. Not sure what that was all about. My first mile was 8:06 so I made a conscious effort to slow down and did my second mile at 8:08. Nice work Wiswell!

Anyway it was a really nice evening. The dogwoods were blooming and I the leaves on the trees have finally started to bloom. In no time I will be complaining about the heat!

I have noticed though that my old shoes my be dying. I notice my Plantar Fasciitis seems to act up more in my old shoes. I will be in Lansing this weekend and will probably buy some new shoes. I need a new pair for San Diego anyway.

7.07 miles/1:00:15/Avg 8:31
BMI: 26.1

Surprisingly Fun Run…

Workout: Medium Long Steady Run: 90 to 105 minutes

I wasn’t really looking forward to today’s run other than the weather was going to be nice in the morning. I knew I’d run somewhere around 12 miles by myself which can be boring. Normally I try to run my long runs with either the Grand Rapids Running Club or Playmakers but they both ran yesterday and I spent much of the day on an airplane and at the Jazz Festival last night.

But I woke up fairly early and wanted to get running before the rain came. I decided to do a variation of my State Road run. This time I would wonder behind Algonquin Lake and then just sort of see where the mood took me. It was nice, the sun was out and I wasn’t really all that concerned about my pace.

I ran by some speed walkers and of course lots of people were nice and waved from their cars. Then at about mile 5 I came across some of the Trilanders. They’re a local running group that is training for Bayshore. Anyway I happened along just as they were stopping for water, so we chatted for a minute. I saw some more along State Road and then Tom and Susan parker drove up beside me and said hello. Tom had already been out and run all the way to Middleville and back. Anyway it was fun to see so many people out and about this morning. It really broke up the run nicely.

Also I’m even more excited about the route. As I was running I was thinking about all the variations I could do. There are a bunch of dirt roads behind Algonquin and I’m thinking with a little recon I could have a bunch of new distance runs to try out.

So the run went better than I expected. I felt very strong and even picked it up a little the last few miles. I know it was a short run, but it still felt great to get some decent mileage in. Can’t wait for Indy to get here and am really getting fired up about San Diego.

12.28 miles/1:45:35/Avg 8:36

Another Group in Atlanta

Workout: 50 to 60 minute Easy Run

Last night was so fun I decided to run with another group tonight. I ended up running with Big Peach Running club. They were a smaller group but much faster. They basically had a 3 and 4 mile loop so we ran the 4 and then the 3. I ran with the faster crew on the first lap (about 8:30’s) but was really dragging. There were hills, which could have slowed me down, or maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been eating really poorly all week, but I was struggling so the second lap I did with the slower group (9:30’s). Much better.

A big thank you goes out to both groups and the Atlanta Track Club for being such a great resource. I had fun on both runs, and they were certainly a better use of my time than the boring cocktail parties planned at the conference!

6.87 miles/1:03:56/Avg 9:18
BMI: Unknown

So much fun!

Workout: Aerobic Capacity Intervals: 3 to 5 x 1600m

So I’m in Atlanta this week and pretty much written off my program. I only did 5 yesterday and I’m not eating all that well. I’m sort of taking a mini vacation from my program for the next few days.

Tonight I ran with the Atlanta Singles Running Organization (ASRO). They run in a suburb north of Atlanta which is easily accessible by the local subway. I was a little nervous because we had thunderstorms and tornado watches all afternoon, but the skys pretty well cleared up by 6 or so.

Anyway they meet in a bank parking lot. I came walking up and could tell I was in the right spot. I saw about 20 runners all together stretching and getting ready for a run. I introduced myself and was immediately welcomed. Such nice happy runners.

None of them were running particularly fast or far, but it was nice to run with a group. We ran through this very swanky suburb. I mean I know nice houses, and these were nice houses. It was this old neighborhood with some great architecture. Unfortunately developers were tearing down the old houses and putting up new McMansions in their place. Too bad, but what a great area. One part of the run was through this wooded area that would make you think you were in the middle of nowhere rather than just minutes from downtown Atlanta.

After the run we all went to a local Pizza place for pizza and beer. Team In Training was having some sort of raffle. I happily bought a ticket because I like to support charities, and especially when they are supported by runners. As luck would have it I ended up winning a flashlight. I was very happy and the entire group cheered! Later on in the evening I also ended up winning a T-Shirt from the Miller Lite Girls. Woo Hoo! Two prizes in one night!

Anyway, the run was not the fastest or farthest but oh so much fun. The people were great and very welcoming. It certainly was better than hanging at the hotel bar with a bunch of talking heads!

So fun, and I have another group to run with tomorrow night. Awesome!

5 miles/45:43/Avg 9:09
BMI: 25.6

Welcome to Atlanta!

Workout: 50 to 60 minute Easy Run

Tonight, and for the next few days, I’m in Atlanta at a conference.  Before arriving I did some research on running routes and was planning to run outside tonight when I landed.  But it took me longer than I had planned to get to the hotel and by the time I would have made outside it would have started to get dark.

Plus, the routs I found were through downtown Atlanta and involved running on city blocks.  No thanks… run 300 feet, wait for traffic.  Does not sound like fun.

So I just went the hotel gym and logged my mileage on the treadmill.  Tomorrow night I’m running with a local running group in the suburbs so that should be fun.  And I might have a line on a group for Thursday as well.  We’ll see.

5 miles/42:50/Avg 8:34
BMI:  25.6

Note to self... Do nothing the day after a long run!

Workout: Stride Workout: 6 to 8 times 20 seconds with 1 minute recovery jog between

So I keep learning a lesson over and over. Do not do speedwork the day after a long run. Arg… I flipped my weekend workouts so I could do my long run with the Team yesterday. That meant strides today.

The first mile was pretty brutal. I actually said “ug” on almost every step. I decided to get a good three miles in as a warm-up. I meant to do them slow but kind of fell into a 8:30/m pace. I seem to running that a lot lately.

Anyway after 3 miles I turned around and started my strides. 20 seconds on with a 1 minute jog between strides…

Stride 1: 7:28/m
Stride 2: 8:17/m
Stride 3: 8:55/m
Stride 4: 8:20/m
Stride 5: 8:10/m
Stride 6: 7:35/m
Stride 7: 7:38/m
Stride 8: 8:43/m

I don’t really buy these paces. I was running through the woods and my Garmin kept loosing its signal. It felt like they were all pretty consistent at around a 7:30 pace. I know they were faster than 8:30’s.

6.01 miles/51:11/Avg 8:30
BMI 26.0

Old plan out... New plan in

Workout:  Fast Finish Long Run: 14 to 16 miles
Replaced with 18 mile run

The plan for getting ready for San Diego is to keep my current program and throw in an 18 and a couple of 20’s.  Actually when my McMillan Plan runs out in three weeks at the Indy Mini, I’ll flop over to the Playmakers Intermediate 1 Marathon program.  So today instead of running 14-16 miles as prescribed I did and 18.  Oh my good lord, that will make you humble.

I drove to Lansing to run with the team.  I’d emailed Sheila (I ran with her last week) and she said she was only running 14 today, so I arrived early and knocked out 4 miles before everyone else showed up.  It was so great, the team ran at Hawk Island which is this cool little lake in Lansing.  The sun was just coming up and I had the whole trail to myself.  Anyway by the time I finished my opening 4 the team was congregating and I hooked up with Sheila and Michelle and we took off.

The run itself was fun, the sun was out, the temperature was perfect, and we ran along the river.  The course was an out and back, and I started to notice on the way back that my calves were really kicking my butt.  When we’d stop for water I’d do a little stretching which I think helped.  Probably part of the soreness had to do with a stretch in the cemetery that was very hilly.

The other item of note was that I didn’t use Gu.  My stomach was a little upset the whole run (it was upset when I woke up this am) and I didn’t want to chance making it worse.  I think on 20 mile days I’ll try the Gu, but not until later in the run, maybe 8, 14, 20.  We’ll see.

Anyway the run was fun and I got the 18 in with a relatively good pace.  I could have gone further, maybe 20, but I think 26 wasn’t in the cards today.  What am I getting myself into?

18.01 miles/2:33:39/Avg 8:32
BMI:  25.6

Quick Run

Workout: 50 to 60 minute Easy Run

Quick workout today.  I actually had to leave work early to get it in as I had stuff to do tonight.  It’s such a pain when work gets in the way of my running.

I continued with the slightly faster pace tonight.  I think I’d like to run San Diego a little faster so I’m bumping my training pace.  Not a lot, just a few seconds a mile.  We’ll see how this pans out.

I’m really geeked about May.  What a fun month that’s going to be.  I can hardly wait!

7 miles/1:00:00/Avg 8:34
BMI:  25.6

San Diego Bound?

So I have this thought keep popping up in my head recently.  As I look at my weekly mileage I notice that it is higher than my mileage before Detroit last year.  So I’m wondering if I should just go ahead and run a full this summer.

One of the races on my To Do list is the Rock-N-Roll Marathon in San Diego in early June.  One of my best friend’s parents have a condo not far from the start.  I’m feeling really strong lately so why not?

I emailed my coach with Playmakers and explained my thoughts and she didn’t even hesitate.  Go for it!  So I think I will.  I’m 90% sure I’m going to sign up.  That would make for a great month of running.  Check this out…

Indy Mini Half (5/6)
5/3rd Riverbank Run 25K (5/13)
Rock-N-Roll Marathon (6/4)

Plus it’s a nice build to the Marathon.  Am I crazy?  Probably but I still think I’m going to do it.

That was hard

Workout: Tempo Run: 3 to 4 miles

Holy cow… that hurt!   So more speed-work tonight in the form of a tempo run.  The basic premise is you warm-up for 20-30 minutes and then run at about 90% for three to four miles followed by a cool down.  In this case I ran the fast part of the run at about 7:41’s.  I remember thinking about a mile in “How was I able to run a 10K at this pace?”  I guess there is something to be said for the taper and adrenaline rush of a race.

Even though it was hard I do kind of like these workouts in a sick way.  I do feel like it is helping to make me faster.  And I have noticed that my natural pace for long runs has picked up a bit.

Here were my splits..

Miles 1-3 @ 8:41
Miles 4-6 @ 7:41
Miles 7-8 @ 8:41

By rights I should have cooled down for another mile but I was truly spent.

I took some extra time stretching as I am concerned about getting hurt with all my big races coming up.  

8 miles/1:06:28/Avg 8:18
BMI:  26.3

A new goal…. BMI of 25

As part of Team Playmakers I get a weekly group email from the coach. This week she spent a lot of time talking about healthy eating and keeping an eye on your weight. She recommended an article in Runner’s World that talked about the ideal BMI (Body Mass Index) being between 23.5-25.0. While I don’t think I’m heavy by any stretch, dropping 5 pounds wouldn’t kill me. So to help me stay motivated I will start reporting my BMI with every run.

My goal is to be at 25 before Indy. I recently gave up ice-cream for lent; I guess I’ll have to keep that up for a few more weeks!

A little bit harder now…

Workout: 50 to 60 minute Easy Run

This morning I bumped up the pace a bit.  After the weekend of good runs and last week feeling like I was ready to bump the time I went for it.  I decided to run 8:34’s.  The bummer was I had to run this morning as I have something going on later tonight.

It’s amazing what a small change in pace can do.  I definitely felt more tired at the end.  The distance and pace were manageable to be sure, but I really felt like I was working a lot harder, especially at the end.  I think I’ll try this again on Thursday and see how I feel, and it sets up the weekend runs.

7 miles/1:00:00/Avg 8:34
BMI:  26.1

Nice to be running with the team again

Workout: Fast Finish Long Run: 14 to 16

Holly cow! That was a quick 16 miles, at least it seemed that way.

I ran with the Playmakers Team for the first time in a couple of weeks. I was really keyed up at the start. I think partly from some nervous energy and partly because it was such a nice day. Anyway I fell in with Holly & Stacy at the beginning which was good because they were running 9:00/m which was my target pace. Unfortunately I lost both of them by mile six. That’s were I hooked up with a woman also doing 16 miles. She was running faster than I had planned but I thought I’d try to hang with her as long as possible. Anyway we spent the next 10 miles running 8:30’s or so. I’m not sure if I was pushing her or she was pushing me, but it was nice to have the company.

It was such a beautiful day and so nice to be running with the team again. I’m so excited the spring is here and that my training seems to be paying off. I feel strong and raring to go. Definitely a happy runner day.

15.85 miles/2:14:58/Avg 8:31

Stride Workout

Workout: Stride Workout: 6 to 8 times 20 seconds with 1 minute recovery jog between

I ran with the Grand Rapids Runners again this morning which is always fun. Unfortunately they were all running 10-12 miles and I just had speed work so I was on my own the last part of my run.

The sun was out which was great, but the wind was blowing so I was a little on the cold side, but nothing too bad. I know… suck it up Wiswell!

So my workout called for a 15-30 minute warm-up then 6-8 strides and 15-30 minute cool down. I ran about 4 miles out with the group and then turned around and did strides on the way back. I felt really good and towards then end was thinking I wish I was running longer. The workout seemed over so quickly.

Here my stride paces…

Stride 1: 6:03/m
Stride 2: 6:27/m
Stride 3: 6:58/m
Stride 4: 6:43/m
Stride 5: 6:24/m
Stride 6: 7:34/m
Stride 7: 7:23/m
Stride 8: 6:24/m

I really liked the route we ran today. I’ve run it once before and it is very scenic and has some nice hills which is always good for the legs. So fun, spring is almost here!

7.90 miles/1:08:53/Avg 8:43

Crappie Day Saved!

Workout: 50 to 60 minute Easy Run

Today was a bad day. I was out entirely too late last night and had to get up early for work. I was in a fog most of the day and in what I could only describe as a bad mood.

The only good thing was that the weather was beautiful. 60 and sunny. After work I was seriously considering either not running and sitting on my butt, or running on the treadmill. But I saw Weather.com was forecasting cold tomorrow so I thought I should drag my lazy butt outside and run.

I’m so glad I did. First of all I only had on shorts and a shirt, not eighteen layers of cloths, and the sun was out, even at 6:30. I also tried a new route. I’ve been having trouble doing more than 3 or 4 miles easily within Hastings. A friend of mine recommended running on State Road. He said there was some traffic, but the shoulder was pretty wide. The other nice aspect is there are natural segments to the road so you’re never looking at one long stretch, and if I ever need to do more mileage I could keep running all the way to Middleville. It’s actually a pretty nice route. Not my favorite of all time, but a good one for doing long runs.

Anyway the run flipped my mood. Thank goodness. Great run, lots fun, glad to be outside again!

7.13 miles/1:00:05/Avg 8:25

Hard but good!

Workout: Tempo Interval Workout: 3 x 3000

Another Speed workout this morning. I have plans tonight so I had to run this one in the am. So tiring! I even set my alarm for 4:45 so I could eat a power bar 45 minutes before I was running. That seemed to help the upset stomach I had last time. Well definitely do that again.

So today was a Tempo Run. Basically after a 2 mile warm up I did 3 two mile legs at a faster pace. They really kicked my butt and I am still sore to be sure. But they were fun and I knew I was working hard.

1st 2 mile stretch: 7:53/m
2nd 2 mile stretch: 7:47/m
3rd 2 mile stretch: 7:41/m

I did some extra stretching just to make sure I’m in good shape. I’ve also started doing some stretches the folks at the injury clinic recommended for my Planter Fasceitis (sp?). It really seems to help. There is virtually no pain when I run, and sometimes just some occasional discomfort afterward.

Indy is just a few weeks away. I’m getting very excited!

It may be time to bump the pace!

Workout: 50 to 60 minute Easy Run

So I completely wimped out tonight.  I was planning on running outside but on the drive home the wind was really gusting.  So I wimped out and headed off to the gym.  

The run itself was great.  In fact I was thinking afterwards that I wasn’t even all that winded.  I’m thinking of bumping the pace a bit.  I know this is suppose to be a recovery run, but I feel like I should be working a little bit harder.

Also, I think I’m going to try to find a running partner or group to run with during the week.  I really look forward to the group runs on the weekends and would like to do the same during the week.  I’ll keep you posted!

7 miles/1:00:50/Avg 8:41

Fabulous…

Workout: Long Steady Run: 105 to 120 minutes

What a great run! I had to work today so couldn’t run until after. Then I watched the weather and saw that it was probably going to rain, and didn’t know what to eat for lunch because I was going to be running around 2:00. Lots of anxiety.

The first mile I was a little tight but after that it was smooth sailing. I couldn’t believe how strong I felt. Plus my training program called out that the last 10 to 20 minutes was to run at a somewhat faster pace. I ran the last 4 at a 7:50 pace. My legs were rubber but it was great to know I was clipping along. So much fun.

Anyway I had a great run and really feel like I worked. Such a boost to my confidence, why do I have to wait so long for my race?

14.29 miles/2:01:34/Avg 8:30