Just an easy run today around the neighborhood--the last workout in February. It's been a really good month and I hope March is just as productive. My monthly running total was the highest ever, just a few miles over what I ran in April 2006 which was right before the Vancouver marathon.

Total: 5.49mi Run

Rode to work today. I didn't ride back until almost midnight and it was a fun ride. A little bit wet, but there was almost no traffic and it felt great to ride at night. The only bad part was that I lost my back light (flashing red) that I attach to the rear of my backpack, but they're only about $10. It probably happened when my front wheel hit a curb and I fell; fortunately, there was grass on the other side.

Total: 15.2mi Bike Ride

[Backdated on 02/28/2007]

Today was the best I've felt all year. I was going to run 10 miles, but after about 6 miles I decided to make it a half-marathon. I've been noticing a pattern: I feel good the first mile, pretty crappy the next three or four, and then great until the last two miles or so. Considering I didn't have anything to drink or eat during the workout today, I was satisfied with the results: I got just under an hour at 9 miles (59:55; 6:39 pace) and under 1:30 for the half-marathon. I didn't run the same route as last time--it was less hilly--but it still had the same 200 foot climb at the end.

Total: 13.1mi Run (1:28:33; 6:45 pace)

I finally ran a real "tempo" run: a fast interval, followed by a slow one. Today I did that for 10k. It was a tough run and even though I didn't even manage to go under 6:50, I got good times on the fast intervals.

Mile 1: 5:58 min./mi.
Mile 2: 7:38
Mile 3: 6:08
Mile 4: 7:20
Mile 5: 6:06
Mile 6: 8:03
Mile 6-6.2: 6:56

Total: 10k (6.2mi) Run (42:38; 6:52 pace; 725 cal.; 146 lb.)

I was thinking of taking the day off, but thought better of it and had a good x-training day--I biked to work. I was pretty tired by the end of the day... I still can't fathom how the professional tour riders bike for hours day after day.

BTW, this is the bike I use for commuting. It's a ~1980 Volkscycle; 10-speed Dura-Ace; steel frame; Japanese made. Very solid, and it's a few pounds heavier than my 2006 Cannondale Six13, but back in its day I think it was a good racing bike. I bought it for $30 back in August 2005. If you're just starting out doing long-distance biking, you don't need a $2000 carbon-frame bike. Just make sure the components are good (at least Shimano Ultegra or Campagnolo Centaur) and not too worn down. I'd recommend searching on Craigslist until something good comes along.



Total: 14.8mi Bike Ride

[Backdated on 02/23/2007]

Map created by GPSVisualizer.com

Tracks: Elliot Bay to Discovery Park February 21, 2007

I finally went back to my old stomping ground: the Elliot Bay area near Belltown and Myrtle Edwards Park. I've been delaying a really long run for a while now and today seemed like the perfect day because yesterday I only ran 3 miles and the weather couldn't be any better.

I started out near a parking lot near Pier 70 I think on 16th Ave. W. It's right by the water. To get there you have to get on the bridge at the intersection of Elliot Ave. W. and 14th Ave. W. to cross the train tracks. That's the only free parking lot I know of that gives easy access to Myrtle Edwards Park (the ones near Belltown charge a fee). Anyway, you can figure out how to get there on the map.

I started by going north away from Elliot Bay and made a semi-circle to get to the marina. I turned around and decided to head north all the way to Discovery Park. I've biked this way before, but I've never run it. Once I got there, I made a loop on the dirt path around the park. Going back, I took a different route through Magnolia. This is a very scenic route--there are really nice houses in this area, and more importantly, awesome views of the bay and downtown Seattle. I made my way down Magnolia Bridge, crossed the tracks (if you go this way, be really careful as there are trains passing by often), and ran back towards my car where I got my first drink. This was right about 13 miles into the run. I came across two water fountains along the way before that (Discovery Park and Magnolia Park) but they weren't working, so I actually stopped and drank from a bottle I had in my car. I did take two gel packs which I used at miles 8 and 12.

Continuing on, I ran through Myrtle Edwards Park to the Olympic Sculpture Park and turned around. The distance was exactly 16 miles. I really don't think I could have gone any longer; otherwise, I would have ran 18. After 13 miles, my whole body was aching and my cardiovascular condition wasn't good either by this point. So, I still have a lot more work to do, but this was still a successful run, especially considering that the course was very hilly.

I wish I had a tiny camera with me that wouldn't bother me while I'm running. I only took one picture with my cell phone before I started running. This was a beautiful course--I highly recommend either running or biking it.



Total: 16.0mi Run; (2:08:03; 8:00 min./mi. pace; 1923 cal.; 148 lb.)

I went for a nice little job around Seward Park. It was sunny, windy and cold. There weren't that many people around. My girlfriend took this picture.

Total: 3.0mi Run

I felt good again today so instead of running 9 miles I ran 10 and tried my best to keep my pace at under 6:50. I just barely did it at 6:49. It was a struggle at the end, but not nearly as much as a week and a half ago when I ran 9 miles at a 6:48 pace.

Here's my breakout (at some point I'll graph these to compare make it easier to see how I'm doing over time):

Lap 1: 7:03 min./mi.
Lap 2: 7:03
Lap 3: 6:33
Lap 4: 6:25
Lap 5: 6:37
Lap 6: 6:55
Lap 7: 6:39
Lap 8: 6:42
Lap 9: 7:04
Lap 10: 7:11

Total: 10.00mi Run (6:49 pace)

What a week--I can't stick to a schedule and I've been running just based on how I feel. Well, I felt good today so I pushed a 10k to a half-marathon. It's the same run I did on January 29th. This time I ran a little bit faster-- a 7:23 pace vs. 7:43. As on the previous run, I didn't take any water or gel packs. If I had known in advance that I'd be running that far, I would have taken a gel pack because the last 3 miles were tough (same story as last time).

A 7:23 pace is still pretty slow but this is a pretty hilly run. Next time I'll try something more flat, perhaps a run by Elliot Bay near downtown. I like riding hills on a bike, but I'm not a very good uphill runner.




Total: 13.1mi Run; 1:36:47; 7:23 pace; 1500 cal.

I was thinking of doing another 10 mile run, but instead did just the reverse of yesterday--I ran a 10k. I didn't go too fast because of another mistake I repeated--I ate 1 hour prior to running. Sometimes it's tough to time your schedule just right especially when there's other work to be done.

I've noticed that my weight has been pretty much steady at 150 lb. or so. I think I want to get that down to around 142, 145 lb. maximum. That's when I feel the best and my results have been better at that weight. I'm 5'8" so that's a healthy weight as long as I don't go below 140 lb.

Total: 10k (6.2mi) Run; 6:58 pace; 717 cal.; 152 lb.

I've taken the last four days off and so today I was just going to do a 10k but felt pretty good so I extended the run to 10 miles. I wasn't aiming for time at all but after a couple of miles I realized that I was going at a decent pace and so when I was getting a little bit tired I kept pushing myself to run a little faster. I didn't go under 7:00 min./mi. this time, but it was pretty close.

Total: 10.00mi Run (7:05 pace)

Just a jog around the neighborhood... My pace was exactly 8:00 min./mi. I actually thought I went slower than that. I'm not really sticking to the schedule, but I'm relatively satisfied with how the training is going. I want to pick up the mileage a little bit in the next couple of weeks and I really hope I avoid re-injuring my knee or achilles tendon.

Total: 3.83mi Run

It was a good day to bike--no rain. I pushed pretty hard and I was pretty winded when I got back from work. The bike is squeaking on some gears so I think it's time to put grease on the chain.

Total: 14.8mi Bike Ride

I skipped cross-training yesterday so I moved up the 9-mile tempo run to today. Actually it wasn't much of a tempo run. I just wanted to get under a 7:00 min./mi. pace and it took all of my will power to do it. With about two miles to go I realized that I could make a 6:50 pace and just barely made it at the end (last week I wrote that I wanted to break 1 hour, but there was no way I could do that today). That's an important pace because if you want to go under 3 hours in a marathon, you need to go under a 6:51.92 pace (check out the pace calculator at Cool Running). So, to do that in Boston, I would need to keep the same pace I ran today for another almost 18 miles. That would be impossible for me today, or anytime soon, given the effort it took just to do it for nine miles. So, I have a lot more training to do if I want to even start thinking about braking three hours. Here's my breakout:

Lap 1: 7:00 min./mi.
Lap 2: 7:00
Lap 3: 6:30
Lap 4: 6:42
Lap 5: 6:49
Lap 6: 6:33
Lap 7: 6:54
Lap 8: 6:39
Lap 9: 7:05

Total: 9.00mi Run (1:01:16; 6:48 pace; 1076 cal.; 149 lb.)

The weather was supposed to be 54 and partly sunny; instead, it was 45 and foggy. Based on the forecast my girlfriend thought it'd be a good idea to go some place new. We decided on Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park near Bellevue. It's very close to Seattle and over 3,000 acres, making it the biggest park in King County.

I charted out my course last night on the park's trail map. We started out at the Coal Creek Trailhead, which is actually outside to the northwest of the park, but it connects with it. It is also 3 miles long, which automatically makes my run 6 miles because that was the only way to get back to the car. BTW, I was "supposed to" run 16 today. So, once in the park, I picked out a route (shown in the map below) which I thought would be another five miles. It turned out to be much shorter and my final mileage was probably about 9.5-9.75 miles. My Forerunner read 9.29, but I lost the signal a couple of times and the trails I took were curvy. They were also muddy and hilly which made for a slow run--it took almost 2 hours!

The mud aside, the trails are great--there is lots of very green vegetation typical of a temperate rain forest, such as ferns, moss, and various deciduous and coniferous trees. I only saw two groups of 2 people along the way. The only drawback was that I could hear construction at the western edge of the park. It was actually barely noticeable, but it annoyed me that suburban sprawl is so close to a park that looks almost like a primeval jungle.

Total: 9.5mi Run

It was going to be an eight mile run; instead, I only ran half of it. Part of it was because I ran by my girlfriend who was walking our dogs and they started chasing after me. The other part was that I didn't feel like running the whole distance. My goal was to run under a seven minute pace but I started out too fast.

It was very misty outside today. With Lake Washington and Mt. Rainier in the background it almost looked like a magical world, not unlike in the computer game Myst.

Total: 4.41mi Run

I ran four miles. I felt weak again (???), but my schedule called for an easy run, so it wasn't a problem.

That's it for today...

Total: 4.0mi Run

It's been five months since I last posted my monthly summary of my workouts. I think I must have been dispirited by my poor performance at the New York City marathon. January was much better and I think the next two months will be great. I noticed that I also worked out very little during the last winter. I am positive it has to do with the limited daylight and rainy weather.

By the way, I'm back to wearing my knee strap (the one I have is called the Knee Pro-Tec Patellar Tendon Strap). I thought it was back to 100%, but I now think it may never be. I injured it in January of last year. It started hurting after I ran a half-marathon this past Monday. The good news is that it feels pretty fine right now after an 8-mile run. I've been taking anti-inflammatory drugs and that seems to be helping along with the strap.

I didn't feel too solid today. It seems that some days I feel really good and on others pretty crappy. It reminds me of my high school days when I was running cross-country--in some races I'd do awesome and in others I'd suffer like a dog. I think the problem today was a combination of too much food for breakfast and not waiting long enough before running. I have to be more cognizant of timing my runs better. Secondly the tongue of my right shoe kept shifting sideways and was hurting the top of my foot so I had to stop three or four times to adjust it. That's not the sort of thing you want to be doing during the marathon so it's another example of why paying attention to such details is quite important.

Interestingly, all of my recent 8-mile runs (same course) have been within a minute:

1/24/2007: 56:29; 7:03 pace
1/27: 57:28; 7:10 pace
2/1: 57:01: 7:07 pace

I have another 8-mile run on Sunday and I'll try to go under a 7:00 min./mi. pace. Then next Thursday I have a 9-mile run and I'll try to go under 1 hour.

Total: 8.00mi Run (57:01; 7:07 pace; 958 cal.; 149 lb.)