Where's the Donuts?

I caved in to my seasonal affective disorder or whatever it is that makes me a pansy about running on rainy mornings, and joined the YMCA. So, I ran on a treadmill and I'll likely do more of that for the next month since it's crummy out all the time. We'll see how this little experiment goes, I've never been a big treadmill guy. Maybe it's Cody's blog subliminally telling me to do it. Anyway, 3.5 at a 7:30 clip, then another one-plus at 7 min and cooled down slower. Not too bad, it was kind of nice to get into a rhythm since I usually battle hills all the time. 

Treadmill weather again. 1 mile at 8 min, 4 at 7:30. I'll head outside tomorrow regardless, can't get too comfy during the winter. I don't love the indoor running, but the option has helped my mindset a bit. 

Another day, another downpour, but this time I'm not trying to whine. I met up with the running club in Port Orchard, groups take off at different times from this dock and run on a nice country road right along the shoreline. I met two other guys for 8 miles at 6:30, when it was pouring and really gusty. A little tailwind heading out and a huge headwind coming back in. Good run though, and having company on a morning like this makes all the difference. We ran 8 min. miles despite the winds, I think I was pushing a little bit (I was reminded once that 'we like to run slow on Saturdays.' I got the hint.) Legs felt good though, nice to feel the road instead of every step on the treadmill.

It was neat being out on the road and meeting other people coming and going out -- it's an out-and-back that everyone does. The only thing I missed out on was the group's post-run breakfast, no hash browns are good enough to justify me sitting there like a drowned rat for an extra hour. Next time I bring a change of clothes. In any case, I'm excited about meeting some other runners.

11th St-Shore Drive loop. Cool morning but no rain, legs felt loose and I warmed up quickly. Kept to a 8 min. pace, easy. 

A rainy night means another round on the treadmill. Missed yesterday because I was in Olympia at the legislature for most of the day then had to do a few hours in the office. Left me without any time. About the same treadmill pace as usual, with the first mile at 8 min. and then down to 7:30 for the next few. This time I tacked on a 7 min. mile for no real reason then cooled down with the last .5. The YMCA bought a slew of new treadmills and were installing them today, so I'll never wait to run again. I've noticed it's hard to run too long on it, my hips start to get a little sore. I think my legs don't stretch out quite as much as they can on the road (especially without any downhill). So I'll keep the long runs outside, wet or not. 

Four on the treadmill, pace from 8:15 to 7:30, gradually increasing. About 31 minutes of very controlled, even running. Tomorrow I'm running a 10k, but it's mostly just an excuse to get some uptempo miles. I'm not in true race shape, but I hope to get an idea of what kind of capacity I have right now. Under 40 minutes I'll be pleased. The rest of the state will be pleased if the Seahawks win. 

So I'm standing at the intersection of 25th and the Burke-Gilman Trail at dawn when a day-glo blur comes screaming at me. I wanted an easy run, and I don't doubt Aaron had planned any different, but while watching him fly down Ravenna Hill I could tell his legs had shifted into the "push the pace" gear already. We tried to start and run easy but the company or something got the better of us. We worked a pretty good pace for 3.5 miles to GasWorks Park, then split up. I tried to calm down a bit since my legs were sore from Saturday, but it was nice out and I did a medium pace back, went around Husky Stadium once and back to 42nd. I was pretty zapped by the end, cumulative from the past two days, but I'm resting my legs now and they'll get used to it. Good weekend of running for January, couldn't ask for two nicer days. (Although I'll ask for a month more of them, if that's alright.) 

Morning treadmill run. I didn't chose it because of the weather, I wanted to hold back to an 8 min. pace and the machine makes me do that. Good recovery run. 

Evening miles on the treadmill. Safe to say I'm recovered from Saturday/Sunday. My legs felt alive tonight, it's been awhile since I've had that pop. Just cruising along -- 8, 7:30, 7:30, 7, 7 -- like it was nothing. Two things kept me from going further -- it reeks in the treadmill room in the evenings, the place is like a slaughterhouse full of people; and I wanted to carefully increase mileage this week. With a long run coming this weekend I want to make sure my increase over last week isn't too dramatic (no more than 10). I realize my weekly miles are still low enough not to really harm by increasing, but I'm playing it safe. If there's counter-arguments to that I'll listen, but if I slowly increase over the next 6 weeks I'll easily be where I want to by Moab (40-45/week) and that'll send me into the spring/summer in good shape.

Morning 3.5 on the treadmill, 7:30 pace, then a friend of mine was at the gym so we ran around the indoor track (it's like running on a basketball court) for another 1.5 or so, I didn't keep really good track of how many laps we did. Nice weather this week, should be a pleasant long run Saturday morning. 

Early Saturday morning out and back on Beach Drive with two guys from the Port Orchard Slugs running club. A lot of club members on that road this morning, we all met for breakfast afterward and there must have been 12 there. Good weather, not too cold and just a little wind. Three of us started at 8 min. pace or so, maybe a little slower, on the way out. We dropped one guy and kept on to the 5-mile mark, then headed back and got to feeling fast for some reason. I don't know the pace coming back in, but we were just short of the point of pushing and finished 10 miles in 75 minutes. 

My left hamstring has a little soreness and pull to it, felt better than it does on the treadmill though. I think it's time for new shoes, so I'll head to the store today. In retrospect I'm glad I decided to take a rest day Friday. Mileage increase was plenty, and I'll probably have a decent jump again next week since Monday is a holiday and next Saturday a guy wants me to join him for 16.  

Beautiful day for a run. I don't mean to rub it in for the Cache Valley folks, but days like this are when I'm glad I've forgotten what the word "inversion" even means. Probably 40 and completely clear and sunny out, makes up for all my bellyaching about damp and dark. I did the Tracyton Beach Road out and back, hit the four mile mark and came back. I meant to run a really slow easy pace but the sun lighting up the mountains and rolling route must have inspired me. I covered 8 miles in 58 minutes, and the last mile was pretty slow coming up the last two hills home. Felt good, and I'm encouraged about the week.

Morning treadmill/indoor track run. My legs were stiff and slow to warm up, never really felt in a groove. I split the run between the treadmill and the track to break up the monotony, and I figure it'd be better to get off the treadmill when my legs wouldn't stretch out. New shoes today, maybe that had something to do with it, and my stretching yesterday may not have been adequate. First mile at 8 min., the rest at 7:30. I start work late tomorrow so I'm going to try and do a little workout in the morning, probably some Tinman miles. 

 supernova - 4

Cold this morning, but the sun came out so that helped. I tried a bit of a workout, it's been awhile since I've pushed on a shorter distance. 3x1 mile uptempo (I initially planned for just doing some Tinman miles, but ended up fast on the first so I changed the workout). Did the Shore Drive loop, repeated once so it ended up at 5.5 miles. 1.5 warm-up, 1 mile uptempo (around 6 min/mile), 400m jog, another mile uptempo (a little slower than the first), 800m jog, then another mile uptempo. 1 mile+ cool down.

My legs felt fine, but my fitness isn't at the workout level yet. I was laboring by the second interval, and really taxed on the third. It's ok, this is the first of the year. After getting home I wasn't too beat though, so I can tell I'll quickly build off of this one (if, that is, I continue to do them regularly). Need to do more striders to get my legs in gear for fast miles in any case.

 supernova -- 9.5

Cold morning, so I went treadmill again. 8, 7:30x2, 7x2, my legs felt fine for running indoors. Nothing more than that. 

 supernova
 

Early morning run along Beach Drive with the Slugs Club. Not as cold as I had anticipated, which was nice and once the sun came up it was perfect winter running weather: cloudy day, between 35-40, no wind or precipitation. I set out for 12, running with this guy Henry. He was going 16 so I met him at mile 2, figuring I'd come back and stop to shave off the four miles. But after the turnaround at mile 8 we really got into a groove and had a great pace going -- right about 7:15 -- so I ran all the way back to his starting point. I was pulling him along by the end, and didn't feel nearly as fatigued as I thought I would for my longest run of the year. The four-mile bump from last week didn't break my legs down at all until the last 800m or so, when I got a bit creaky. Really encouraging run, especially to do the miles at a good clip without too much strain.

The run was a great end to a really good week of running. The mini-workout on Wednesday didn't seem to affect me much, so hopefully I'll have a chance to push another few fast miles in the coming week. I'm going to try and go over 40 for next week, and hover around or just above that mileage for a few weeks.

supernova -- 29

Just a touch of snow on the ground, but enough to head for the confines of the treadmill. Five warm miles at 7:30/min. I felt smooth and strong, the nagging little pull in my left glute/hamstring seems to be going away. Maybe a few days away from the treadmill did that though. Really no soreness or fatigue at all from Saturday's long run, which is a good sign and makes me a lot more confident in my fitness and the distance my legs are getting comfortable with. I took yesterday off to be conservative and keep it that way. 

Morning treadmill run. Started at 7:30, but felt good and stepped up to 7:15 for the last two miles. There's 1/8 of an inch of snow or so on the ground, so of course the gym was almost completely empty. Melted enough now that I should still get a morning bike ride in to work.

supernova -- 38.5
 

Five on the treadmill, 7:15 pace.