Training Summary: March 23 - 29

I need to preface this entry with a short note on me and days off. I usually plan days off, although sometimes life gets in the way or I have an injury. When I finally get in a rhythm with training I try and take very few days off, likely one every 3 -4 weeks, just to stay healthy. The absurd thing is that about 50% of the time I take these days off, the next day I get a nagging pain or injury. Never anything serious, but at times it can be annoying and interfere with training for a while. This week I had planned one day off as I had 2 weeks straight of solid running and wanted to take a day of rest. Low and behold the next day I had to miss my run because of an odd pain in my foot that was bad enough that I couldn't run. I guess there is a possibility that after long periods of activity, the one thing that may throw you off is actually taking some time of inactivity. I need to do some research on this but I just want to say it is annoying, and I don't like it. Sometimes I wonder if I should just never take another day off...

Mon 3/23 - off, planned off day.

Tue 3/24 - off, foot hurt, see comment above...

Wed 3/25 - 9mi, no watch, first 3 solo then 6 with Movin Shoes Wed Night crew, super easy run.

Thu 3/26 - ~14mi, WORKOUT, 5mi in 30:08 directly in to 3 miles of 5:14, 5:09, 5:08. 25min warmup and cooldown. Went out to Mirmar Lake to tag along with George and JLew through a workout. George planned on ~6min pace for 8mi so I decided to cruise for the first 5mi with them and then try to run the last 3mi progressively faster. I had no idea I would be able to pull of a progressive ~15:30 3miler, and it gave me lots of confidence for the Carlsbad 5000 next week.

Fri 3/27 - 10mi, 74:30, easy with George and Di on the bay.

Sat 3/28 - 10mi, 67:45, easy solo on the bay.

Sun 3/29 - 16.06mi, 1:54:03, at San Pasqual with Di, JLew and Darius for the first 12 then 4 solo. Really slow at the start but ended with a really easy feeling effort of 6:10ish pace for my solo 4mi.

Summary: 59mi, 5 days. Considering everything it was actually a decent week, sans the days off. Extremely happy with the workout on Wed and 16mi long runs are a cake walk now. This would have been close to 80mi if I had a full week and I should hit around 80 going from Thu to this coming Thu. The plan is to keep up the volume through Fri and then take a one day taper to hopefully feel fresh for Calrsbad 5000 on Sunday. Anything under 15:30 would make me happy, although I think there's a chance I may surprise myself. No matter what happens I just want to make it a solid effort and race it hard.

Training Summary: March 16 - 22

Mon 3/16 - 9mi, 61:45, easy solo through La Jolla.

Tue 3/17 - 10+mi, 66:30, solo on the bay, 8X100 strides.

Wed 3/18 - 10mi, no watch, first 4 solo then final 6 with Movin Shoes Wed Night runners.

Thu 3/19 - 10mi, 69:40, 8 with Josh (including 4X800 ~5:40/mi) and final 2 solo on the bay.

Fri 3/20 - 10mi, 74:40, run in Tucson with Di and her Uncle through Sabino Canyon.

Sat 3/21 - 9mi, 67:10, easy with Di on the river trail in Tucson.

Sun 3/22 - 16mi, 1:53:56, easy long run at San Pasqual trail with Di, George, JLew and Darius for various parts of the run.

Summary: 74mi, 7 days/runs. A really great week for me and finally a full 7 days of running! Felt really good all week, although I didn't do much hard running so I should have felt good. Di and I had a great trip out to Tucson for a few days and got in some really scenic runs. Definitely a place to check out if you have never been there. I am excited to get in a workout or two this coming week and Carlsbad 5000 is just around the corner.

Training Summary: March 9 - 15

Mon 3/9 - off

Tue 3/10 - 10+mi, 66:15, solo on the bay, 8X100 strides.

Wed 3/11 - 10mi, 1:12:15, 4mi solo and 6mi with the Movin Shoes Wed Night Run crew.

Thu 3/12 - Workout, progression run over Mt. Soledad, really focused on pushing the steep up and then down to mimic the LJ Half Marathon course, felt GREAT!
10mi, 61:25 (full minute faster than I have ever done before)

Fri 3/13 - 10mi, no watch, with Di and JLew at UCSD. JLew and I followed Di as she did a fartlek on the trails at UCSD, and she had a great workout which was a bonus!

Sat 3/14 - 9+mi, 61:20, easy solo through La Jolla.

Sun 3/15 - ~16mi, 1:52:50, at San Pasqual trail. Had company from lots of different people for various amounts of the run, including: Di, George, JLew, Darius and probably a few others I am forgetting.

Summary: 65mi, 6 days. Another good week, with the only thing stopping it from being great was the day off. I am very excited for the weeks to come and the workouts I have planned. I have been getting in some decent hours at Movin Shoes, which has been nice to help put some extra money in my pocket and keep me busy while on the job hunt. Other than that not much is new as I continue looking for a new job and just keep running the only other priority. Di and I are making a trip to Tucson for a few days to visit her Uncle while her Mom and Grandmother are there as well. Hopefully we get some nice trail runs in Arizona and the trip should be fun.

Training Summary: March 2 - 8

Mon 3/2 - 9+mi, 62:45, easy through La Jolla.

Tue 3/3 - off

Wed 3/4 - 14mi, no time. Ran with JLew and helped pace him to a timed mile and then some pickups in the run. Didn't plan on running quite as much but it was a good longer day. Did the timed mile on grass in around 5:10 or so which felt super easy, which was nice.

Thu 3/5 - 10+mi, 66:35, easy solo on the bay.

Fri 3/6 - 10mi, 73:30, on San Pasqual trail with Di for 8mi and 2 solo.

Sat 3/7 - 9mi, 64:30, easy on the bay with James for ~5mi.

Sun 3/8 - 16.1mi, 1:56:18, easy long run with Dianna and George at San Pasqual for most of the run. Finished up the last 3mi under 6min pace to add a little effort in to the end.

Summary: ~68mi, 6 days. Not a bad week with a day off. The goal is to continue adding in a second longer day, but I'm not sure it will always be as close to the full long run. I am feeling really good about where I am at and I think, come the fall, I will really be back in some respectable racing shape. Good things to come as I am now at around a month before the Carlsbad 5000, which should be a good gauge as to my fitness.

Training Summary: February 23 - March 1

Mon 2/23 - 9+mi, 61:50, easy solo through La Jolla.

Tue 2/24 - 10+mi, 68:45, solo on the bay.

Wed 2/25 - ~10mi, 1:12:10, with JLew and his dog Aubie in Rancho Santa Fe.

Thu 2/26 - Workout, 10mi, 63:15, 5 X "short fartlek" (2min hard, 1min easy, 1min hard, 30sec easy, 30sec hard, 2min easy), felt amazing!

Fri 2/27 - 10mi, 1:15:30, easy at San Pasqual trail with George and Di.

Sat 2/28 - 10+mi, 64:30, solo on the bay, 6X100 strides.

Sun 3/1 - 15.29, 1:51:13, easy long run at San Pasqual trail with George, Jason and Nazario (and even Di for a few miles!)

Summary: ~74mi, 7 days. Fantastic week of running. A few slower days but it really made the harder days feel better. I am really excited about the next few weeks as I continue to add in workouts and slowly increase the mileage a bit more. Nothing else new out here but training so it looks like running will keep a front seat for now!

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK

CONGRATS KEITH!