Racetime

So its another Monday, which means that its time to review the week. Monday was an off day following my first long run since my accident (8 miles on Sunday). I did do some light work in the pool, which means I was able to swim a few laps before Brenna became a Remora. So Tuesday was a normal 5K at 8:28/mile, still a good pace. I decided that with Wednesday being my cross train day, 1 hour on the stationary bike and some core work, I would start to up my regular mileage to 4 miles. Thursday was a 4 miler, at an 8:29/mile pace, so I am able to maintain consistency despite the addition of another mile, which is good. That leads to Friday, I decided with my first race on Sunday, and despite my desire to treat it as a "fun" run, i know me well enough to know that I wont, I took Friday off and decided to run with friends on Saturday, and then do the race Sunday, so I joined my friend Thuan and a colleague of his on their longer run, my plan was for a 4-5 mile run. I ended up doing 4.39 miles at a 8:31/mile, that was on the watch, I shut it down, got a breath and then did some speed work for another mile. So onto the Race. Merentas Desa Pulau Pinang, held in the Teluk Kumbar region of Penang.

It was touted as a cross country race, and looked to be just that with approximately a mile of the course on the beach, another 3/4 of a mile on trails, and the rest on the road. Well the beach run was tough and despite that, it was a blast. It was great to be in a race, it was awesome to feel that adrenaline rush before the finish line, and overall just a great time, especially since I got to share my first race with all of my I-Run and running friends who have stood by me since my accident. Thank you Mei ling for giving me a lift! Thank you Chun How, Karen Geh and Andrew for taking pictures, and all the other photographers. Thanks to Lin Jin Xiang for pushing me at the end! It was not my best race, based on timing and pace, but it did not have to be because it will always be a great memory for me. I also had a chance to wear my kilt towel I got a few years back in Edinburgh. Got some great pictures, and i have another Penang memory that I will carry with me.



w/ Thuan Lin Goh



Kilt Towel!



Brooks Fanatics in Penang

w/ Mei Ling and Choo Hooi Lim

Another week in the books

Well this week was not good, I missed both Monday and Tuesday and went with my usual 3 miler on Wednesday the only difference was that instead if a loop, I took a cab to the botanical garden, figured I would run back from there and a more direct route would be better than an out and back. Saw a few of the I-run ladies there and tried to pace a bit with Karen Geh, not happening, she is way to quick. So that run went well, then Thursday was a cross train day on the bike (in the gym) then another three on Friday, then Saturday off, then my attempt at 10 miles today. Well I made it 8 miles, and although the first 6 was fine the last 2 were very slow. I got to pace for a bit with one of the I-run guys...I hate to say, but I have forgotten his name, that is terrible of me I know. I big thanks to all my I-run friends for a great running day. Another week in the books, and next weekend is my first race! Getting excited for that! Run Happy loyal reader!

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!!