The Holidays

Generally, the the two weeks surrounding Christmas and New Years are not very active for me. Kind of lull in training but this year hasn't been so bad. Since my past last Wednesday I've had four decent workouts.

Friday I went to the gym for my first spin class. Heather and got there early lifted a few weights to pass the time and the got into the class. It was the Friday before Christmas and as expected the class was empty, only 6 people. I didn't really know what to expect and I don't ride my bike that often so my plan was to take it easy as not to be regretting it Saturday morning.

My plan was out the window 10 minutes in and I was huffing and puffing as I pretended to be pushing up a very steep hill. I kept my effort level fairly high, deciding that I might as well put in a good work out, which was evident by the puddle of sweat which quickly accumulated around the base of the bike. I was spent after 50 minutes when we hopped off the bike for some light stretching. Heather surprised me by suggesting we hop in the pool for a few laps to stretch, which we did. I surprised myself by actually completing a few flip-turns and getting a good rhythm going up and down the pool. 10-15 laps and we were done.

Saturday morning was the group run. Shanley, Kevin, Ben, new guy Eric, and a couple others kept together almost the entire way around the drives. The pace was generally in the 7:30-7:40 range. I expected to be sore from the spin class but I felt fine. However, towards the end on the uphill towards the museum I felt drained and I had no oomph to push my way up the hill.

It had been a while since I had seen Ben and I found out he also moved to NYC and was living somewhere in Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan. We now have Ian, Ben and Brian up in the big apple. Perhaps they can start a satellite Philly runners. 9.2 miles 70 minutes.

Christmas Eve - 8 easy miles with Heather in the Wissahickon. It was cool and brilliantly sunny. Heather wasn't feeling so hot so the pace stayed slow with a few walking breaks. By the end, I wasn't feeling so hot. I was searching for a port-a-potty that never materialized. We walked the last mile. 8 miles in 85 minutes. (Does that pace even count as a run? Maybe I should call it 7 miles in 65 minutes and knock out the walking portions)

Christmas - A long trail run, the first in a while. I ran the trails on the west side of the Wissahickon from home up to Valley Green. The up, down, jumping, turning, and twisting make these trails fly by and before I knew it was was 30 minutes in and wishing I didn't have to turn around. I felt great, hopped over to Forbidden Drive and pushed it the 3.5 miles home. A very conservative 8 miles in 62 minutes.

I am currently at work a was just forwarded pictures from the Jingle Bell 5K I ran a couple weeks back. Somebody got a shot of me crossing the finish line, with my Centocor Santa hat on clicking my watch. To me, I look a little to relaxed, I probably should have pushed it more over the last mile but I knew the guy in front of me was out of reach so I just cruised in.

Happy Holidays

Sky Blue Sky

I had a few things to take care of after work and I didn't end up running last night until almost 7:30. I hate getting out the door this late as I know I won't be eating dinner till nearly 9:00 and after that it will nearly be time to hit the bed. To say I was reluctant to head out the door would be an understatement. Not being able to find my gloves was almost all the excuse I needed but at the last second I found them and out the door I went.

Heather asked me before leaving "Where are you going?"... "I don't know."... "How long are running?"... "I don't know." I got to the sidewalk out front and decided to go right instead of left. I made my way out on a Roxborough Loop. Generally up Ridge Avenue without ever actually running on Ridge Avenue, just running across as I stick to quieter streets that parallel.

I felt good. It was cool but humid, my favortie running weather. This is a very neighborhood run and I was treated to 1000's of Christmas lights lining the route. I had Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky" on the iPod and I kind of lost myself in a great album. Before I knew I was just about home and the album had ended. 7 miles in 52 minutes.

A Swim and a Run

Up to the gym on Monday night for a swim. I walked into the pool area and all three lanes had two people. Two people is about the limit in a 25 meter pool so the only thing you can do is wait until someone decides to leave. I then noticed that there were 4 other people waiting to use the pool. Damn, I should have gone for a run... maybe I should just turn around now and retreat to my sneakers and the sidewalk, which never has a line.

I decided to wait it out and was rewarded when 3 of the guys waiting in line left and two pool slots quickly opened. I was soon in the pool and swimming easy laps. I am at the point now where I don't have to concentrate on my form and my mind can wander while I make my way up and down the pool.

10 easy laps and then 10, 50m intervals at 45 secs apiece with 30 second breaks. I used to break my ass to swim these in 50 seconds but now I just push hard to swim in 45. By no means fast but still fast for me. This was followed by about 8 more easy laps and in 30 minutes I was done. A good swim.

Tuesday night I went to the group. It was cold and fairly calm and I was feeling fast. My plan was an easyish first mile and then tempo pace for the last 4. There was a large group in attendance but it looked like I would be by myself for most of the run.

The first mile went by in 6:50 and I felt great. I slowly started to pick it up and was surprised to come through the second mile in 6:15. I kept pushing through the turn around and mile 3 in 6:00 flat. I had to double check my watch a couple times to be sure I read that right. I knew 6:00 pace was not going to last another two miles and I backed off a little for a 6:12 in mile 4. I backed off a little more and finished up with a 6:25 final mile.

A faster night than I expected and I hadn't pushed myself to hard. I cooled down with a few trips up and around the Art Museum steps, wishing I could put in a few more easy miles. 5 miles in 31:40.

Missing a Week

I am week behind on the blog and I guess it is time to catch up. I only made it to the three group runs this week for a whopping total of 20 miles. It's amazing how great each run feels when you are only doing a few week. If fitness is a bank account, I have been making little withdraws each week for these "feel good" runs on low mileage. I eventually have to put some miles back in the bank if I want to keep myself in close to the shape I am. However, along with the two runs were a 40 minute trip to the pool on Monday and hour in the gym today so it's a bit of a trade.

Tuesday - 5 mile group run in 35:00. As I said above, felt good. Started off around 7:20 pace and slowly increased things until the last mile which was somewhere around 6:20.

Thursday - Thursday Night. A quasi-group run that's had about 10-15 in and out members over the 2.5 years I have been with the Philly Runners. Always a little longer than Tuesday at 6-10 miles, usually a little faster overall but that can change based on the crowd, and always good conversation about topics all over the board. Ian, was a key part of the group that me other runners look forward to 8 miles in Fairmount Park each Thursday and this week was his last.

I think we sent him off in style with a fairly large group of about 9 people, and a nearly all out contest in the last mile down MLK, just as many Thursdays in the past have ended. A few beers and couple other Thursday Nighters at the bar afterwards capped things off nicely.

Saturday - The group loop around the drives with Gelman, Ian (yes this was the real last run... but it's just not the same as Thursday), and Craig. 7:20 for the first half and slowly increasing pace to about 6:30 for the second half. A brisk morning that started cold into the wind but warmed up when we had it at our backs. All told, 9 miles in 1:05.

And now a little bitching. I have been logging my runs in on the CoolRunning.com website since May of 2004. All those runs logged on an easy to use, searchable, graphable, website. This week, coolrunning has moved it's log onto the active.com website. Yes, the same site where you sign up for all of your races. It sucks. The functionality is just totality different from the old site and I have already run into problems on three occasions. I don't think I ever had a problem with the old log. I imagine they are just getting a few bugs worked out and it will run more smoothly in the future but I still don't like the setup. This leaves with an archived log that I most likely won't use anymore. I've switched over to Nike's free log. I checked it out in the past and almost made the move before but this Active.com switch has made it a much easier decision.

Jingle Bell 5K

A trip out to Malvern, PA Sunday morning for the Jingle Bell Run , 5K. The race benefits arthritis and the company I work for is a sponsor so we have a large turn out. The morning was cold and damp but luckily the rain held off, race conditions were good. I told myself I wasn't really going to race it but I found myself near the front and feeling good after a 1/4 mile so I just went with it.

I was in sixth place after the 1st mile in 5:45. I couldn't believe how good I was feeling. I passed one runner and fell in behind the number 4 guy. It was a beautiful course along rolling hills and I just relaxed and enjoyed the race. I came even with the guy ahead of me and we exchanged a few friendly words before I slowly started pulling ahead. Not trying to force it, just cruising along. Mile two in 5:45. At this point I am thinking about a sub 18:00 but I quickly realized why the first 1.5 miles felt so good, the second half of the course was generally uphill back to the start

I ran mile 3 in 6:05 and came across the line in 18:15 for 4th place, a decent race.

So now I am up to 6 runs in 3 weeks. I have also been going to the gym and there are a couple good swims mixed in there but I really need to get into a more regular running schedule again. So I am going to shoot for 35 miles/week with one speed workout. on the track or at tempo pace, and at least on run in the double digits.

Tuesday Night

For the first time in a long time I joined the group for a Tuesday night run. It was nice to catch up with a few friends. Most of the 5 mile out and back was run with Steve, new guy Rob, and Kevin. A nice run that was hampered by a stomach cramp caused by to many Clementines prior to the run. I am addicted to the sweet little citrus, and I look forward to their arrival in the produce section every year in the late fall. December has been colder than normal so far this year and we were treated to some light snow during the run that didn't amount to much but could be seen blowing along the street in the headlights of the passing cars. 5 miles in 36 minutes.