Month: September 2012

Summary Sept 9-15

On By siegmunaIn Barefoot, barely coherent rambling, fitness, getting hurt, Hours, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Life, Motivation, Music, Random, road running, Running, Running Partners, SummaryLeave a comment
Sunday Sept 9 AM 10 Miles 410′ 1:20 Ran through Parsippany with John, started by hitting a few hills, then running around the lake. Longest consecutive run in months, I’ve hit the distance over the summer, but usually on technical trails requiring at least some hiking, but being on a road leads to really consistent pacing/effort for the entire duration. Knee feels good, also, fantastic sunrise over the lake… should have brought the camera.

Monday Sept 10 AM 5 Miles 740′ :41 Short morning jaunt through the powerline course, the overall run-time is slowly decreasing, and my body seems to be adjusting to the cup of coffee>run>then eat for real schedule.

Tues Sept 11 AM 7.1 Miles 410′ 50:28 Sort of hilly run up the ridge and back down using the local roads. Feeling a bit rough from the get-go after a night hanging out with some orchestra folks. Really content with the time though, letting my stride open up a bit, and trying t get more consistent rhythm/effort over slightly longer distances
PM 1 Mile Barefoot 8:53 Shakeout evening, whenever I’m starting to pile on “real” mileage, the barefooting seems to keep me in-line.

Wed Sept 12 AM 5 Miles 740′ 41:39 Solid effort over the power-lines, sadly it’s taken me this long to feel comfortable/consistent on what is really a very pedestrian course. More importantly, the longer-sustained climbs are becoming relatively easy, and I’m gaining a lot more confidence in my overall foot placement/trusting my right leg to sustain the amount of abuse required for serious trail-running.
PM 1 Mile 8:44 Barefoot When my barefoot miles start to get consistent, I stop feeling like a liar when I tell people I’m a runner…

Thurs Sept 13 PM 5 Miles 360′ 40:25 Broken Shin Loop with John, Bob, and Brian. First time in a while that everyone ran as a cohesive group, conversational at ~8min pace. Pumped up the pace for the last quarter while joking around with Bob, he still has a much better kick than I do.

Fri Sept 14 AM 5 Miles 740′ :41 Another Power Line trip, feeling reasonable.

Saturday Sept 15 AM 5 Miles 550′ 1:14 Pseudo-tempo road-run. I wanted to nail down a baseline 10-mile time/pace on semi-shitty legs so I have an idea of what kind of work I’ve got cut out for myself. Surprisingly happy with the outcome, since the base for this course was in the 1:15 range last April as well…
PM 3 Miles 645′ 28:19 Allamuchy TH>Summit and directly back via yellow>blue blazes. Too nice outside to not get some hill time, even though it was probably ill-advised.

Totals: 52.1 Miles, 4585′ 6h54m
Longest mileage week since May, (although my week in Maine came close in overall time, it was much more vert-oriented, without the actual distance). I think I can begin to consider myself a runner again, as opposed to some sort of recreationalist/hobby jogga type. More encouragingly, if I can continue on this trajectory without re-injuring myself, I should be in much better shape at the turn of the year than I was last year. With the temperatures cooling, and the leaves starting to change, I’m really hoping that I can stay healthy, and begin to enjoy what’s certainly my favorite part of the year to be on-trail.

Summary August 26 – Sept. 1

On By siegmunaIn Auditions, Barefoot, barely coherent rambling, fitness, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Life, Merrell, road running, Running, Running Partners, trail running, ViewsLeave a comment
Sunday August 26
5 Miles 740′ 42:10
Trying to nail down a consistent time/effort on the Power Lines, but things keep on fluctuating well beyond what I’d prefer, both in actual elapsed time, and perceived effort. Averages seem to be in the 42:xx range, which is definitely slow for the course, but it’s still early in the recovery process.
PM 1 Mile 9:06 Barefoot It’s nice to have a proper mile course right around my neighborhood…

Monday August 27
5 Miles 740′ 42:06
Two days in a row with a really similar time… I’m starting to feel the groove again

Tuesday August 28
5 Miles 740′ 42:27
Still a slow ride through the trails, but 3 times in a row with a total diff of 20 seconds is pretty consistent by my (non-GPS wielding) book.
PM 2 Miles 100′ 14:55 Jaunt down to the park and back, feeling too soggy in the legs to really go for a run, but it was just too gorgeous out to not be running. I’m longing for the kind of fitness where I could have gone out for a couple hour run on my second trip of the day… in time… in time.

Wed Aug 29
4 Miles 700′ 39:40
Allamuchy TH-Summit in 16:42 then around the rest of the hill back to my car. It’s nice to be finally getting back on my usual stomping grounds, even if the runs are still much shorter. Hopefully in the next week or 2 I can give a test on the 11.6 mile route, and hit the downhills I’ve been missing on this truncated loop.

Thurs Aug 30
5 Miles, 360′ 38:34
Ran ahead of the pack for the first time in what feels like ages (and quite simply has been ages). Bob reeled me in on the top of the first hill, but as our usual game seems to go, we only got faster from there. I didn’t set out to run sub-8s but it’s nice to know I can. Even better is knowing that I can hang on with a little bit of friendly competition (although Bob most likely could have dropped me with relative ease at any point)

Friday Aug 31
5 Miles 740′ 43:23
Feeling rather sluggish, and battling some gnarly heartburn.

Sat Sept 1
4 Miles 700′ 40:33
Allamuchy TH>Summit around and back to the car. Feeling really awful after the first 10 minutes, dead legs, heartburn, upset stomach, really the whole works as far as shitty sensations on the run. Also it’s the first time in a LONG time I’ve seen any runners on these trails, A group of  8 or so were descending on my first sustained climb…. looked like road runners judging by the hesitation, and most of them had dogs with them. Can’t complain though, there’s only one way to get comfy on that terrain, and that’s to run it, and the more people doing so, the better for the sport.
PM 1 Mile 8:40 Barefoot

Totals: 37 Miles, 4820′ 5h21m

Still a little low on totals, but mostly out of laziness, general tiredness, and getting myself ready for the upcoming semester. Overall, my legs have been feeling really dead, but in the sort of way that I know is temporary, once my body adjusts to running consistently the recovery time should quicken up, and allow me to confidently start raising my mileage from there. Even with that in consideration, it’s encouraging to look in my log book and see several consecutive 30-something mile weeks and not have any knee pain…..