Weekly Totals

M - Nothing (total rest & recovery from Achilles injury)
Tu - Nothing (signed up for UT Medical School gym)
W - 15 minutes aqua jogging in the outdoor pool (interrupted by the weather), 45 minutes on the bike, 10 minutes getting acclimated to weights
Th - 60 on the bike (pool still closed due to weather), 20 minutes of weights
F - 60 minutes aqua jogging, 20 minutes weights
Sa - 60 minutes aqua jogging, 30 minutes weights
Su - 90 minutes aqua jogging, 60 minutes bike, 0 weights
Totals - 3:45 aqua jogging, 2:45 bike, 1:20 weights

Minute Totals:
M - 0 minutes
Tu - 0
W - 70
Th - 80
F - 80
Sa - 90
Su - 150
Total - 7 hours, 50 minutes

Notes:
1) I figured out that wearing shoes in the pool increases resistance and helps get my heart rate up a bit higher
2) The best I can do (and sustain) is about a 130-135 heart rate on the bike an din the pool. My body might be getting a good workout, but my cardio is lacking.
3) I got sunburned on Sunday. I must be the only bonehead in the contiguous 48 to get a sunburn in the middle of November.
4) I'm using the weights to concentrate on my stomach, my hips (which never get a good workout but are always sore after a long run), and my legs (leg curls and leg extensions.)

It's difficult for me to follow this routine because there is no immediate feedback. I can't see what my time was on the last split, and I can't compare it to prior runs. So, being a numbers junkie, I'm having a hard time coping. I tried to count calories but that got old quickly.

W - 1803 calories, 31g fat, 349g carbs, 40g protein, B+
Th - 1156 calories, 15g fat, 200g carbs, 49g protein, A-
F - 2561 calories, 76g fat, 405g carbs, 45g protein,A-

http://caloriecount.about.com is helpful in tracking caloric and nutritional intake if you have the patience to enter your meals. It has lots of common food and serving sizes, plus it allows you to enter custom food. It will grade your diet and give you a nutrition report. Over those three days, plus half of Saturday, my ratios were:

18.0% fat
9.2% protein
72.7% carbohydrates

Looks like I need a little more protein in my diet. This web site recommends a ratio of:
Carbs = 40-60%
Fat = 20-30%
Protein = 10-15%

105.21M

Su - 21.42
M - 10.11
Tu - 16.47M
W - 16.39M (6.14M AM, 6.07 before PIM, 4.18M after PIM)
Th - 10.04M AM, 10+M PM (no record because my watch died)
F - Rest
Sa - 20.78M AM

Weekly total = 105.21M

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I always wanted to see what it was like to run 100 miles in one week, and this week seemed like my best opportunity. It's a while before my next race, giving me plenty of chance to recover in case something happens. I'm in top form, based on recent races, my heart rate during training runs, and the general feeling I have about my fitness level. So I gave it a go, and it wasn't that hard.

The negative stuff first:
1) I should qualify that this is sort of cheating, because I ran my long run on Sunday, and the next long run on Saturday, thereby squeezing two long runs into one week.
2) Top athletes regularly run 140M per week, so I'm under no illusions that I'm doing anything special.
3) This is very time consuming. It took me 14 hours, 43 minutes, 33 seconds to run all of these miles.
4) Most of my easy runs started out REALLY slow for the first mile (9-10 minute miles)

The positive stuff:
1) I felt great. In fact there was never a moment where I was overly tired or slightly injured. In fact, the only thing I had going against me was the unwise decision to descend 58 flights of stairs on Monday, thanks to the fire alarm at my office. This caused burning in my quads at the beginning of runs until Wednesday night.
2) My body could handle this for multiple weeks in a row, although I doubt my schedule could do so. If I did manage to find time, I'd have to dispense with one of my two speed sessions like I did this week. Typically I run fast on Thursdays, but that was out the door.
3) Speaking of speed work, I managed to squeeze a race into the the week (Tuesday's Tour de Bayou)
4) Once upon a time, not so long ago, a "run" meant three miles -- and it wasn't hard but it wasn't easy. Then that three moved to six before I really felt like I was doing a run and felt challenged. Now that's ten. I can run ten miles non-stop at any time now, limited only by my schedule and not by my fitness or fatigue.
5) I actually managed to squeeze a rest day (Friday) into the mix.
6) I was really concerned about doing my Saturday long run on tired legs, but the combination of Friday's rest and my general endurance make Saturday's workout a cake walk, despite finishing the last fourteen at an easy 7:19 pace with only one brief stop.

This week I'll come back down from those heights and post about 50 or 60 miles total. I was originally going to run a 30K race in Dallas on 11/16, but I think that's going to change in lieu of the 25K on 11/9. The 52-38 thrashing of LSU by UGA convinced me not to drive into Baton Rouge for the Alabama game on 11/8, leaving me free to run the HMSA 25K on 11/9. If all goes well it will be my last proving ground before the Houston Marathon.

Health note -- I briefly complained about my right foot. A tendon running from my big toe to the heel has a small bump on it, causing it to be sore to the touch but not painful when running. It also causes symptoms similar to plantar fasciitis, but I'm ok once I stretch my feet out in bed before I get up. I'll monitor this over the next couple of weeks, but I have a strong suspicion that it's because of my shoes. I'm cycling through about five pairs of shoes right now -- none have less than 300 miles and some have more than 500 miles on them.

Totals:
105.21M, 14:43:33, under 8:30 pace overall

Blog Break

I took a break from blogging, but not running. What follows are the boring specifics of the runs I completed in an attempt to catch up.

7/13/08 - 12.19M Long Run, 7:58 pace in the afternoon. The eat and dehydration destroyed me for several days, but it was nice to go back to the old stomping ground and run Hermann Park, Rice, and West-U along the marathon route.
7/14/08 - 4.03M at 8:30 pace in the afternoon.
7/15/08 - #%&@^! Rest. I missed my Tornado Speed Workout because of work.
7/16/08 - 6.04 miles at Memorial Park with Jeff Eisle, 7:55 pace.
7/17/08 - 2.05 Warm Up, 4.01 M Threshold at 6:39, 11% Z5, 72% Z4, Avg HR = 163, Max HR = 162, 3.00 Warm Down
7/18/08 - 7.14M Easy AM Run through Heights, Avg HR = 122
7/19/08 - 16.38M with Steph, 8:35 pace
7/20/08 - 14.10 M Tornado Long Run including some trails at the beginning, Avg HR = 132, Max HR = 157, 4% Z4, 60% Z3
7/21/08 - 6.00 M AM neighborhood with negative splits, 7:50 pace. 6.01 M PM neighborhood, 7:56 pace
7/22/08 - 2.04 Warm Up, .51M in 3:00, .51 in 3:00, .51 in 3:01, .51 in 3:01, .51 in 3:01, .52 in 3:02, 2.06 Warn Down
7/23/08 - 4.04 AM easy at 7:58 pace, 4.90 Striders Trail Run PM at 9:36 pace. Drank beer with the Striders President afterwards. Thanks to Ted for the invite!
7/24/08 - 2.05 M Warm Up, 5.01 M tempo at 6:38, Avg HR = 162, Avg HR = 173, 4% Z5, 81% Z4, 2.23 Warm Down. Luis Armenteros joined us for this on. He is a machine.
7/25/08 - Rest!!
7/26/08 - 16.55M with Stacey at Katy Fit, 8:26 pace
7/27/08 - 10.62M Tornado Long Run, 7:35 pace, Avg HR = 139, Max HR = 159, 33% Z4, 34% Z3, 31% Z2
7/28/08 - 6.06 Afternoon neighborhood run with Julie riding bike, 8:23 pace
7/29/08 - 1.13M warm up, 1.01M in 6:00, 1.01 M in 6:00, .99M in 6:01, 2.07 warm down
7/30/08 - 5M Will's Hills reprise with Erin. She took it to me on a day I was hoping to relax!
7/31/08 - 2.05 M warm up, 4.01 M threshold, 6:51 pace, Avg HR = 161, Max HR = 170, 2.91 M warm down. Jen Brown took it to me on this one. I tried to help her keep her 6:45 pace, but after an ambitious first mile our pace faded, and she pulled away from me with about 800 meters left.
8/1/08 - 9/80 day off and a rest day. I took a 6.24 M easy bike ride.
8/2/08 - 16.23 with Steph's group, Max HR = 137, Avg HR = 117, 8:52 pace. I organized this route and we planned 20 through Heights, but our group kinda fell apart this day and we ended up walking back a few.
8/3/08 - 12.03 Tornado Run, 7:29 pace, Max HR = 155, Avg HR = 139, 8% Z4, 73% Z3. Great run for tired legs -- heart rate stayed low, thanks in part to cloud cover.

Biking in One City, Running in Another

AM Morning Bike Ride along the Baton Rouge Beach Marathon Route, 12.64 miles, 7:07 moving pace, 8:33 including breaks

PM Run in Houston, 8.57 miles, 1:08:18, 7:57 pace, 91 degrees, 52% humidity

I left my shoes at Julie's parents' house, so I couldn't run this morning at my mother's house. So I joined her on a bike ride along the Baton Rouge Beach Marathon. For her it was her longest bike ride in quite some time, but she handled it like a champ. We stopped a couple of times to cool off and hydrate. It was a pleasant experience and a great way to catch up with my mom. Afterwards we picked up one of my two sisters and headed to Lafayette to have lunch with our brother. We seldom have that many of us under one roof at the same time, so it was nice to be able to arrange that.

Even though I'm cutting back my mileage I still want to do a long run every weekend. So I went for a run after the drive back to Houston. It was 5:05PM in the heat of the day, and I wanted to run about 12 miles and I wanted to get it done before sitting down to watch LSU play in the College World Series.

It didn't take me long to reassess my intended 12 miles and cut back. At first I was only going to run 6 miles, and then I decided to run for one hour. But it was brutal. I ran the entire time without water (none along the route) and often without shade. The stretch along Shepard was the worst, particularly crossing over the railroad tracks on the bridge. But I've been wanting to run in the heat for a while now just to see what it's like and to conquer it. Now I know I can do it.

Unfortunately LSU dropped their game to UNC. They play an elimination game on Tuesday.

7:58, 7:43, 7:59, 7:53, 8:13 (bridge), 8:01, 7:56, 7:58, 4:27 for .58 miles (7:40 pace)

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TDLY - 6/17/07 - 3.55 miles with hills at the end, 34:35, 9:44 pace. Blog Entry.

Rolling through the Park

Bike Ride to Discovery Green, Bike Ride to the Medical Center.

After eight consecutive days of running, I took the day off today. Julie and I took a leisurely bike ride downtown to Houston's newest park, Discover Green. We listened to a concert, watched the remote control sailboats, and looked at the kids cooling off in the water park section.

Afterwards I picked up the pace and rode my bike from downtown to the medical center. I averaged a 4:12 pace over 4.53 miles, which is about 14MPH. I think that was pretty good for a dirt bike on city streets with stoplights. I didn't wear my heart rate monitor, but I got a good workout.

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TDLY - 5/25/07 - Kenyan Way Progressive Run, Max HR = 181. After a warm up, I ran each half mile lap progressively faster. My heart rate ramped up linearly. Check out my Blog Entry for a cool heart rate graph.

Memorial Park with Jacques

2.88 miles, 21:12, 7:21 pace, Max HR = 151, Avg HR = 142, 89% Z3, balance below

I didn't intend to run today, since I can't gain any fitness by running at this juncture and the worst case scenario is that I could re-strain my Achilles. But I've been trying to get Jacques to run with me for several weeks, and when he asked me to join him today I couldn't say no. We sit side-by-side at work, so there is plenty of talk about running.

He's like a bunch of us who find ourselves out of shape after a lifetime of relative athleticism, so I didn't expect he would push me too hard. But right out of the gate we hit a 7:12 mile and I started to wonder if it was a good idea to accept his offer. Mile two brought us a 7:15 mile, but my fears of re-straining my leg disappeared because it felt better than it has in many weeks. The remaining .87 of our run was at a 7:42 pace. Jacques could have pushed faster, but he was holding out for a round of tennis on the heels of his run.

Overall he impressed me. There is no way I could have kept up with him one year ago.

The big story is that my Achilles didn't bother me, which validated my decision to drastically reduce my mileage and intensity over the past two weeks. I probably didn't need any further confirmation after last Saturday's long run, but it still feels good knowing that I'm going to be ok for the Ogden Marathon in four days.

Other notes:
I rode my bike with Julie on 5/11/08 and 5/12/08 for some leisurely miles.

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TDLY - 5/11/07 - rest - Blog Entry Last Year.
5/12/07 - Run to Onion Creek for Breakfast, 6.03 miles, 53:49, 8:55 pace, max HR = 177, avg HR = 158, 14% Z5, 59% Z4, 22% Z2. I can remember this run like it was yesterday. Julie and I headed out from our apartment in the Museum District and ran to the Heights for breakfast, where we left a car. It was a daunting task to think about going six miles in one direction, without a safety net of a place to stop if I couldn't make it. I figured I could cover the distance, but I wouldn't have tried it without Julie as company because I KNEW she could make it. The worst case scenario would be that she could leave me behind and drive back to pick me up. It got tough at the end, particularly after mile 4, but that was one of the sweetest beers I've ever had on the patio of Onion Creek afterwards. Blog Entry Last Year.
5/13/07 - Negative Splits around Rice, 2.87 miles, 24:24, 8:30 pace, max HR = 176, Avg HR = 156, 19% Z5, 34% Z4, 31% Z3 This run is proof positive that Jacques in in better shape than I was one year ago. For roughly the same distance run, I averaged more than a minute per mile slower and I red lined on my heart rate (Zone 5) for more than a quarter of the run. But the positive takeaway from this run is that I ran almost every quarter mile with negative splits and the last .86 miles was a 7:25 pace. Even though I wasn't in shape, I was showing toughness that day. Blog Entry Last Year.

PIM - Batons - Week 10

2.31 miles, 36:56, 16:01 pace

Today's Power in Motion theme was "Where to from Here?"

Coach Ted organized a great mystery run in which the Batons finished second. We followed clues to our next destination, answered riddles and exercised our power of observation along the way. A good time was had by all.

Afterwards we gathered at the starting point for two kegs of beer and snacks. The coaches talked about their running clubs and the PIMsters talked about future goals. It was a great way to end the season, and it left me looking forward to the fall session of PIM.

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Unfortunately the minimal exertion required for today's run was still enough to make my Achilles very sore. I ran one mile at Will's Hills (probably 7:30ish) and it still bothers me. It's been one complete week since I've run (PIM exlcuded), and I don't think I'm getting any better. I fear my marathon trip is in jeopardy. I'll stay off of my feet for the next couple of days and hit the ibuprophen regularly. If I'm not in good enough shape for a long run on Saturday then I might have to drop out of the marathon.

(I swam for about 30 minutes on May 6 . . . Warm up of about 500M plus 10x50M sprints with about 20 seconds recovery. I did all of that without a watch so I didn't measure my splits or recovery time.)

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TDLY - 5/4/07 - Hermann and Rice, 4.09 miles, 36:34, 8:56 pace, Max HR = 176, Avg HR = 161, 15% Z5, 65% Z4, 15% Z3
5/5/07 - Julie's 3 Mile Route during High School, 3.03 miles, 26:15, 8:08 pace, Max HR = 180, Avg HR = 154. Out and back -- very slight uphill on the return. Coupled that with a pickup and it's one of my best paces over that distance to date.
5/6/07 - rest
5/7/07 - First Kenyan Way Run, three sets of hills with break between, Max HR = 174. The Kenyan Way program was a giant step forward for me. It marked my commitment to continue running rather than let it expire along with the end of PIM. Not only did it represent my commitment to continue running, but it signified my desire to "train" as opposed to just run. I wanted to be fast, and I was willing to work hard get there. My First Blog Entry.

Bike Ride to Cross Train and Tour de Bayou Standings

14.73 mile bike ride, 1:13:20, 4:58 pace, Max HR = 136, Avg HR = 108, 33% in zone 2, balance below

It's not easy for me to get a good workout while riding the bike. I think I'm working hard, and my legs are burning (sometimes), but my heart rate doesn't get very high and I find myself slacking off since it's possible to coast. If you coast while you run then you will earn yourself a face full of gravel.

I took today off from running in order to give my right achilles a rest. I want to be able to run stage three of the Tour de Bayou tomorrow, and hills are stressful for the achilles. After two stages I'm in sixth place overall, prior to the age-grading adjustment that this series uses.

Person Total Diff
Mark Holland 41:12
Matt Nicol 41:15 0:03
Jorge Alvarado 41:53 0:41
Joe Schwieterman 42:17 1:05
Francisco Garza 43:36 2:24
Jonathan Bennett 44:18 3:06
Nira Flavio 45:18 4:06
Helen Grant 46:17 5:05
Mark Fraser 46:40 5:28
Greg Duvall 46:40 5:28
Phillip Hollacher 47:24 6:12
Jody Berry Rico 47:39 6:27

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TDLY - Rest Day