If you run it, speed will come.

Well another Monday is here which means its time to  review the last week. This is actually difficult to do at times as the two training websites that I use track things differently. Garmin Training Center tracks things in a week that runs Sunday to Saturday, which I don't like. Training Peaks does a Monday to Sunday week, which is really how I plan, as my long run (when I am able to go back to "long" runs) is Sunday. Last week went as follows:
Tuesday: 3.2 Miles  27:13  8:29 pace
Wednesday: 3.2 Miles 27:43  8:39 pace
Friday: 3.2 Miles 27:00  8:26 pace
Sunday: 4 miles 34:37  8:37 pace

Allow me to Explain, Monday was an off day due to my poor planning last week and doing 4 runs in a row up until Sunday, it was dumb to do that and those two days, Sunday and Monday, I was very sore. Tuesday was good and the speed is beginning to come back, then I had a massage on Tuesday, which was awesome, and really set up the rest of the week. Thursday was an off day/gym day, followed by Friday. Saturday I would have run, but when I got the chance to be "massage therapist" all day Saturday for a big over 35 men's soccer tournament. I decided it might be best to come into the event at my best. So it was not the week I wanted, I need to get another day in there so that I can get ready for the Hanson's training to start at months end and my two races.

Which will be held on 18/3/2012

and..

both of these I am going to treat as tempo runs and see if I can hold a pace over the course of a race. There is no chance of standing at the podium for either of these, I just want to see how fast I can do them and they are not long distances, either one. Merentas is 8K, and Malakoff is 7K. so the speed is coming back, but I have to get more consistent with how I train and stop with the haphazard days, I have been consistent with my time, but the days is a mess right now. Anyway, today was an off day with a 1/2 hour on the bike at the gym, and some sit ups. I will do my core workout tonight. so the week is off to a good start! Run Happy loyal reader.

When does 4 miles become 6??

When you try and run 4 days in a row in your third week back to running. It was terrible! I should not have worn my Brooks pure flows either, my legs are not ready for minimalist, especially after three strait days of running. I need to get my schedule in line, having taken Monday and Tuesday off ofter the debacle last Sunday...I figured well I will run Wednesday - Sunday. This was a good plan in theory, practically it has been a bad idea. so the week went as follows

Monday: off
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: 3.2miles 29:31 9:13/mile pace
Thursday: 3.2 miles 28:49  9:01/mile pace
Friday: 3 miles on the treadmill, 29:00 not sure of my pace somewhere in the 9's
Saturday: 4 miles 37:46 9:27/mile pace

Sunday will be an off day. and hopefully I can get some massage work done, i need it badly!
So another week of almost 15 miles, not bad for my 3rd week. I am still however frustrated at my speed, i know it will come back and I should be happy to be running again. the competitive voice in my head is sometimes very loud, and it screamed today!  Run Happy!!

Comeback, week two...rolling the dice.

Ok, so my last post was on the 13th, talking about my first week back. So I am a few days off with this one, Second week, down and it was a week of highs and lows. So the weeks started with 4 miles on Tuesday, after my 6 miles on Saturday, i needed the two days of rest (sorry to say). So Tuesdays tilt was in 36:04  at a 9:00/mile pace...not bad, not great, but not bad, I am beginning to go with my green silences more often now, but this run I tried my pure flows, liked them alot, I am still favoring the silences overall. Wednesday off, 3 miles at an 8:50/mile pace, on Thursday. So its getting better. Friday 3.2 miles, 9:11/mile pace, eh, getting a bit worse again. Saturday off and then a planned 6 miles on Sunday, as I was excited to join the I-run group again for heir Sunday LSD. so I planned to run up to the Penang youth park, 2 miles, do the 6 mile loop (as everyone else did 21k) and just stop on Gurney in front of the apartment. it might turn out to be a little more than 6 but not by much.Sunday arrives, I make my way up to youth park, no problems. I did not know many of the people who were joining, but did recognize Sunny who i have met at the gym and in a few of the races and I-run events, so she was by no means a stranger. She is also a very good runner, and although I was hoping to pace with someone, she might not be the best one to pace with. however when they started, the pace seemed very manageable. I was doing ok, cramped a bit but only one stop initially. Then came a steeper section (steep for the Florida boy anyway) and my hamstring just crapped out. I had to stop to get it un-knotted a few times but things started to even out and I felt good. I had forgotten though that I did not eat dinner on Saturday night and had not eaten anything this morning either and as the 5 mile mark approached, the fuel gage went to zero and I was done. Before when I was in better shape I could get away with a missed meal and then a long run, this time, it was not happening, the cramps got worse and worse and my magical "HEED" was not working. So I was done and in shame i hung my head and headed home, managing 6.55 miles at 10:00 a mile, again. I was really hoping for a better result especially as good as the week went, but I rolled the dice against the nutrition boss and he rolled 7's, I got snake eyes and lost big time. I will not make that bet again. Thank you Sunny for pacing me.

On the road again

A new week begins in my quest to get myself back in running form and I am so sore I can barely walk, so I have chosen today as a day off. I would not have taken it as an off day if I was not in pain. So to review last week included two runs in Phuket, Thailand:

07/02: 3.19 Miles      30:28    9:34 /mi
08/02: 3.40 Miles      31:30    9:16 /mi

Both were tough but enjoyable, and I have discovered that I still have a hitch in  my stride, at least until i warm up a bit.
I also did a run here in Penang when we got back from Thailand. It felt good to run the route that I ran when we first got here.That little 3 mile loop, seemed so boring after a while and new running routes were discovered and found. For now, its the best route I have ever run!

10/02: 3.22 Miles     29:57   9:22 /mi

So I look at these and think, "I am only a minuet or so off of my normal pacing...but then i look back on my distances, and I had not been running a 3mile training run in about two years. So I thought "I need to do a longer run, just to see where I am at." So I got on the horn, found a friend who was going to do a long run Sunday (Thank you Thuan). and he agreed to join me, or rather me join him. The plan was 10k, I had some concerns about the plan...We began the run and I felt ok, got through about a mile and a half and my left hamstring began to cramp badly so i had to stop and stretch it out quick. Back to the run, i think this time i made it through about another two  miles before i had to stop again. We made our loop and headed back, the route back was worse, i think I had to stop 3 times, and once I had to go to the ground to get the cramp to release. following that one, i walked it out a bit. This left one mile till the finish so off we went and no further stops this time. I can tell you, despite the turtles pacing,the multiple stops, and the cramping, i was elated!! I had not run in almost 9 months, and had not done anything longer than 3 miles when I did. For me this was an accomplishment. I did what I intended to do start and finish.

12/02: 6.38 Miles     1:06:02   10:22 /mi

Now to be honest, i am embarrassed at the 10:22 per mile pacing and the overall hour to do a 10K. I have to let that go however and focus again on the fact that I ran the distance and that was the intention, to complete the distance....still tough to take knowing that a normal 10K run when i was in shape would have been done in 50 min at about an 8:30 /mi pace...so I am 2 min off in pacing and 10 min or so off of my usual finish time. It been 13 days though since I was cleared to run, so i guess I should be happy. I am, i mean I am back running, and like a friend from Brooks said, "a slow run is better than sitting on the couch thinking about running. " I just feel like a kid in the middle of summer thinking about Christmas..."I want it to come NOW!" So I start a new week and with a ton to do today, I will take today as a rest/gym day. I am thinking of a weekly schedule that will be, Monday off, Tuesday run, Wednesday run, Thursday off, Friday run, Saturday run, and Sunday as my long day, which for now will be no longer than 6 miles. So there it is on 17 & 18 July, 2011, this was me:

On 8 February 2012, this was me:

a bit fatter than I would have hoped, and out of shape, but the process has begun to rebuild the 2 and a half dollar man...and he is running Happy!

Running adventure begins again! In Phuket, Thailand.

So it really began again where it all started, in Penang, however I have not been able to get on the road in Penang as of yet, some treadmill runs have been all thus far. We did head off to Phuket, Thailand on Sunday 05/02, I thought about taking this opportunity to run on the beach, although a bit more difficult than your average road training, the sand would make the wear and tear less. I hit the sand and did about a mile, the incline on the beach made it tough...so I figured I would see what was around to get some time on the road. I talked to the security guard in front of the hotel, and he suggested a route around this small pond just across from the hotel. It seemed little used by anyone but local motorcycle traffic, and it covered about 2 miles, perfect!! The start was pretty rough, and I am finding that i favor my left leg a bit to much, if I increase my speed, i even out better, but I cant handle it stamina wise (yet!). Now 5K (3.2 miles) in 30 minuets would have pissed me off before the accident...now I could not be happier. so the combination of a mile or so on the beach and another 2.3 on the road gave me my first non-treadmill run since the accident in July 2011. It was great!
The next day I figured if I felt good physically, I would try it again and see what happened. So i woke up and felt good. i decided to hit the same route, the soreness kicked in for the first mile or so and then decreased. I really felt bad on this run, not physically,let me explain. As I was approaching the end of my run I caught up to another runner, now the morning before i saw no one out, so it was un expected. We had also seen many Russian tourists, who, no offense, are not often socially friendly (that has been our experience) with strangers. so i just passed her...well she said something as i passed so i slowed up and asked her to repeat it, she asked which hotel I was in, I told her, then she asked where I was from, i told her, she asked about the route around the pond up ahead, i told her about the route, and at that time i was done...i felt bad not asking her some of the same questions, i did tell her to "have a good run"...feel like my running conversation etiquette needs some work. Ok so this run was faster 9:16 pace compared to 9:34, and a bit longer 3.4 miles compared to 3.2 miles. I figured I would be sore, I was, so I decided to get a massage before we flew back to penang this afternoon. That was awesome, i needed the deep work done and it was just the ticket. however sitting in a cramped twin prop aeroplane seat for an hour after that, not the ticket! I am sitting here now, sore as hell, but happy, very happy. Loyal reader I appreciate you hanging in there...Run Happy!!

Tools of the trade.

So with my impending Doctor visit on Monday 30th January, I thought I would talk about my 2012 shoes selection, with the hope that my turn towards minimalist shoes will not be thwarted by my injury and recovery. I am not a very good reviewer, mostly because i like what i like and often don't have the ability to express that in a series of scientific explanations, so don't expect to find my insights on toe to heel drop and forefoot, mid-foot, heel strike relativity. I like the shoes i run in because they don't hurt my feet and are comfortable. I am however trying some new styles in 2012 and am excited to do so. I will begin with two shoes I would place in the "old reliable" category, although the Kinvara is now the Kinvara 2 (Saucony's "minimalist", offering). I did not find much in the way of changes thus far with the Kinvara 2, although it goes without saying that I have not run in the shoe yet, a few long walks and some time on the cross fit don't count, but I do have some insights based on those experiences. first, the toe box seems narrow in comparison to the Kinvara, and the lacing seems tighter across the upper. I found with the Kinvara i had a lot of room in the toe box and not so much with the Kinvara 2, although my Kinvaras have a bit of mileage on them and much more break in time. I also found it difficult on the Kinvara to get the shoe "tight" whereas in the 2, it does not seem as difficult. Either way this is a non Brooks shoe that I LOVE, and the color schemes for 2012 are really cool!

I have to talk about my Brooks Launch, this has and always will be my go too shoe, and I also like the color scheme change for 2012 (I think it was a 2011 color release though) There is a new orange color scheme being offered for pre-order by roadrunnersports.com. The Brooks guys have said it will be available sometime in February, but I am not a fan, it looks allot like the Kinvara 2 above, and i am happier with the blue (shown below). I have used the Launch as a training shoe as well as in anything from 5K to 1/2 Marathon. It is considered a neutral shoe, on the cusp of a minimalistic shoe, possibly more of a transitional shoe as it still offers some cushioning and the heal to toe drop is not that significant (ooooo, scientific). I will always run in this shoe and hope that Brooks never alters the design very much, it is a shoe in my opinion that needs no updating, it is perfect just the way it is, and the new white/blue color scheme is perfect, again in my opinion.

One of the new shoes i will be trying is the Brooks Green Silence, this shoe has been around for a while, but i had heard some negatives about it in the past and recently have heard more people sing its praises, so i decided to give it a shot...and of course in my usual fashion, "giving it a shot" meant buying two pair, actually to be honest I won a pair in a Brook Fanatics contest and then when the new color scheme was released, I got the blue (of course). I don't know much about the Green silence, except that it is a recycled materials shoe and a true minimalist shoe. I have again only used the shoe for walking and some time on the cross fit in the gym, but I am impressed, it is light enough to be a race shoe (although I am not sure if it will replace my T7 as my go to race shoe, LOVE the T7!!), and cushioned enough to be a good trainer as well. this is the shoe I have questions about. Especially using it coming off this injury. I am again impressed though by the level of cushioning it seems to provide, while not giving up weight (7.2oz for a size 9). It remains to be seen how it performs as a trainer and if I can handle the minimal design coming back from my injury. more to come on this new edition to my running shoe quiver.

The last of the "newbies" is from Brook's new "Pure Project"line. The Pure Connect. Again a minimalist shoe, lightweight, that offers some cushioning, and seems to be designed along the same lines as the Saucony Kinvara 2. This is new ground for me with this shoe and the one thing thus far i have noticed is the heel seems a bit high, and with a low-cut sock, it rubs. I have worn them with a "higher" low-cut sock and it seemed to be better, but I have read where others have said the same about the connects, that the heel is stiff and causes rubbing, so those people have shifted to the "Pure flow" and found that resolved the issue. I also got some feedback from a Brooks Fanatic friend who said not to blame the shoe for the sock, and he is right. Until I have a chance to put the Connect through its paces on a good run. I really don't feel like i can comment on if it is a good shoe or not. Thus far the jury is still out on it as well as the Green Silence. so my comments are preliminary judgements of what I have experienced thus far. This shoe has gone through a color update as well, which I like (blue, of course) and the Pure Flow has been updated in its color as well.

My Quiver will still include the T7, although again a racing flat may not be the best thing to use while I enter this recovery/rehab phase of my running, but you never know, a minimalist shoe may be the best thing as I get back in the swing of things. Either way I look forward to being back on the road and continuing my adventure, and this is the equipment that I will be using on that adventure. To you loyal reader, thanks for hanging in there, regular blog posts will be norm in the coming weeks and hopefully I will be able to, just like you, RUN HAPPY!!

Re-Beginnings

Well here we are and there are 10 days till i officially find out if i can run again. I really feel it is a moot point as I feel i am back to normal, my stride is no longer compromised, the soreness in my tibial tendon is gone, and i feel really good and strong, i still have about 10 pounds to lose, but once I start running again that is no problem. With that being said i have begun  to plan for my race season...it looks like my first 5K (good way to start back again) will be in march, during the brooks half marathon event, to be held 11 march in KL. I think a 5k is a good way to start off, especially since there is no real pressure in a 5K and after a month of good solid run training, i should be ready for that. I am also looking at the rest of the year and there are lots of cool things coming up, The Standard Chartered KL marathon, the sundowner in Singapore, the Taiping race i missed last year, and of course the Penang Bridge, as well as some local races. the one that i have been planning though is this one, which for me looks awesome!!

Winery Running Festival

I mean wine and running!! what could be better!! It is located just outside of Newcastle NSW Australia, i plan to fly in to Sydney, take the train to Newcastle, stay, race, have fun, then take the trin back to Sydney for a half a day, stay and fly out the next day...AWESOME!! I really miss running and when you see events like this, it makes me love it and miss it even more!!
So hopefully the news is good on Monday the 30th, and the adventure will contiue again!! loyal reader, thanks for hanging in there and as always, Run Happy!!