Has it been 3 weeks?

Has it been 3 weeks? And that last post was about how I'm not updating my blog enough? I'm such a hypocrite. Anyways, knee issues are still present and the more I work out, the more they creep back into the spotlight. I knew this was going to happen so I'm going to get a knee brace this week and see if that helps a lot. I am hitting swimming and biking/spin class once a week consistently and I'm trying to increase them to something reasonable. Over the last few weeks, I have been increasing my run mileage from 6 to 9 to 10.5 miles. I'll shoot for about 12 miles this week and see how it goes. I'm also going back to Texas Iron workouts which is what I need. It just sucks because it is so damn hot out already.

Weekly run mileage: 10.5 miles
Asics run mileage: 162 miles

My poor neglected training blog

My poor neglected training blog. It isn't that I don't love you. It is just that although I enjoy training, it is kind of a chore to write down about training. But I know it is important to pay more attention to you in order to make this relationship to work.

OK, let's get this out of the way. In the last 5 weeks, I've ran about 50.5 miles for an average of about 10 miles per week. Pitiful, but I have an excuse. I've been suffering from knee issue and I had orders to take it easy so I cut back my running to only 6 mpw some weeks. I've lost my top end fitness, not that I had much to begin with, but I need to start fighting to get it back. However, the good thing is that my knee is feeling much better now. I'm only cycling once per week with 1 spin class and that is just sad. I'm getting my ass handed to me on the rides and I may drop down to the J&A intermediate ride this coming week. I am swimming a bit more though and that is a good thing. Oh, Coach Fish had me doing freaking breaststroke and my back is feeling it today.

As for the knee, long story short is that I had a lot of pain in my knee and it is because I have alignment issues with my knee caps. They tend to drift off laterally which stresses the tissues medially which is where I'm getting the pain. I'm working on exercises for them as well as trying to get a brace to help. So, it is good to know what is wrong and that it is up to me to get it better. It is great to be able to go up and down stairs without wincing.

As for my diet, it fucking sucks. I've come to the conclusion that I am a stress eater and I have too much of an emotional connection with food. If I'm feeling stressed out, I want to eat or drink something to make me feel better. If I'm sad, I want to eat or drink something to make me feel better. If I do something great, I want to eat or drink something as a reward. Also, I probably think about food more than sex and that's bad. I just don't like being hungry at all and I love the feeling of being satiated. Once I start to get the hunger pangs, I'm looking for food within minutes. I really need to stop this emotional connection with food and suck it up and go hungry for a few hours if I need to. I've gained 5 pounds easily in the last few weeks and that shit has to stop. I need to break these habits and connections that I have in order to be able to maintain a healthy weight without 10+ hours of exercise a week especially as I get older and it is tougher to maintain a healthy weight.

So, that's that.

Asics mileage: 136.5 miles

Well, look who has been lazy

I've been lazy working out and lazy posting on my blog. Well, here goes. The last few weeks of work have been kicking my ass but I didn't cut out working out completely. Everything dropped in half for a few weeks but I'm getting back into it. Speaking of, I swear it seems that swimming is my sport. The 2nd swim since September and I'm still in the fast lane. WTF? I didn't have as much range of speeds nor "endurance speed" but I still felt fluid and easy to swim. I'll take it I guess.

Had an MRI on my right knee last week. Got the results back and I'll post them below but things look weird and I'm going to see an orthopedic specialist to get his expert opinion on it. However, I'm still running but not as much as i would like and not as pain free as i would like either. 6 miles 3 weeks ago, 9 miles 2 weeks ago, and then 11 miles last week. It's getting hot out there so I'm going to significantly enjoy running less over the next 6 months.

Asics mileage: 86 miles

Bricks Still Hurt

Today was my first brick run in probably 6 months. Yep, they still hurt. I was just trying to get through the run and didn't feel good at all. Last week was a lighter week with only a 3 mile and then about an 8 mile run. The 8 mile run was really tough though. I didn't run in the morning and in the afternoon, I had plans. I worked at My Park Day and helped tear down a BBQ pit and tear up some tree trunks. Man, swinging an axe for an hour or so is fun. After I did all of that, I was ready for a nap. But, I went and ran nearly 8 miles in stead. After that, I was ready for bed at 6pm but struggled to stay up until 9pm. It was a good mental toughness workout because I had to do a long workout when I wasn't up for it and it turned out OK. This week was a longer. Not much to really say besides the brick workout. Well, the Tuesday run kicked my ass and I didn't have enough food and sleep before it. Thursday was just a quick, fast neighborhood 5k. I decided to take yesterday's long run nice and easy and it actually felt pretty good. I kept my heart rate low and I really didn't feel trashed afterward which was nice. And surprisingly, it wasn't that slow either. Then, I did the painful brick today.

Weekly run mileage: 17 miles
Asics mileage: 60 miles

Angry Knees

I don't know what it was about yesterday's run but my knees really hurt after it. I ran 8 miles instead of my usual 7 and I guess that really pissed them off. Stupid knees. I wish they didn't hurt so bad after running. Other than that, it was a decent 16 miles of running for the week.

Weekly run mileage: 16 miles
Asics mileage: 32 miles

Shoes are done & cholesterol

Well, after 287 miles on my Asics Gel Nimbus 12, I've broken in a new pair and will retire these. I think they have some life left in them but I don't want to push it and risk injury again. My knees bothered me more than usual after my long run this week and at the end of my long run last week, my metatarsals started hurting. So, new shoes starting on Tuesday. This week, I ran 16 miles and it went OK. Tuesday was actually a good run because although I felt like crap for the workout, I actually did pretty well. I did my long run on Friday which was OK. Today was basically 4 miles of junk but I did do some sprints in there to get my heart rate up. Next week is my last week of running and weights only and then I'm going back to full triathlon training which I'm kinda looking forward to. It's been a long time since I've been in the pool and it'll be fun to get back to it.

Also, I got some blood work done last week and I'm still healthy. HDL of 62, LDL of 98, triglycerides of 71 and total cholesterol of 174. TC/HDL ratio of 2.8. Not bad at all for a fatlete.

Weekly run mileage: 16 miles
Asics mileage: 287 miles (retired)

Another 9 Miles: Recovery Week

Had a lighter week this week after ramping up the last 3 weeks to 17 miles last week. A speedier workout on Tuesday with Texas Iron and then just an easy run yesterday to the gym and back. Nothing spectacular at all. I did ride my bike today and although it was windy as hell, I enjoyed it. Also, I need to start getting back to swimming soon and having been off of swimming for 6 months, it'll be interesting to be back. Oh, and I'd like to see how my shoulder does, too.

Weekly run mileage: 9 miles
Asics mileage: 271 miles

Another 17 Miles

This is another week where I'm increasing my mileage and hit 17 miles this week. Not bad at all. I may shoot for 18 miles this week and then take a "rest week" at only 14 miles. Anyways, I split these miles across 3 runs and each run was actually really good. Tuesday was a hill workout with Texas Iron and we did Wilke And The Six Dwarfs which was a bitch of a workout. It was also below freezing. Friday was an early, easy Neighborhood 5K but there was about an inch of snow on the ground. It almost never snows here and it was awesome running in the scrunch, scrunch, scrunch. Did a 7 miler on Sunday that was actually a pretty fast LSD run for me. I was pushing it and averaged 7:53/mile for 7 miles. So, that's it. It's about time to change my shoes, too.

Weekly run mileage: 17 miles
Asics mileage: 262 miles

Another 16 Miles

Hey, I'm showing some consistency with running. 15 miles the last 2 weeks and then 16 miles the past week. Very nice for me. My hip flexor is feeling much better this week as well and I'm getting it worked on. It's almost a non-issue at this point with the exception of a few ab exercises. Stretching it out beforehand definitely makes it feel better. At this point, my knee is the problem. I'm getting it worked on as well and it's actually getting worse before it is getting better. I know that it'll happen but it is still frustrating. I did have a great workout with Texas Iron on Tuesday. Friday was my long run instead of Sunday and it was nice being lazy today. Well, not that lazy since I went to yoga today to get my downward dog on. Also, I ordered these guys which should be here within a week. My current pair are feeling fine so we'll see how much longer they last.

Weekly run mileage: 16 miles
Asics run mileage: 245 miles

Another 15 miles

Yep, another 15 miles. Had a good interval workout on Tuesday with Texas Iron and then a short run on Thursday. Sunday was a decent long run that felt rough. I think the weight lifting has made my legs heavier. I got through it, but it wasn't easy and it wasn't super rough either. But it was a run which is better than not a run.

Weekly run mileage: 15 miles
Asics mileage: 229 miles

Slimy Hat

Yes, this is something that I never expected to talk about. I went for a run this past weekend and I wore my running hat since it was cold and rainy. When I got done with my run, I took off my hat and it felt weird. I threw it on the counter and walked away. I came back to pick it up and it definitely felt weird. I felt around more and my hat felt slimy. Not just a little bit but a lot over a large portion of the hat. Something about it getting wet made the nastiness on the hat congeal and become disgust. Oh, and when I picked up the hat, there was slime on the counter where it had been. That hat went into the washer 5 minutes later and now it isn't so slimy.

Run mileage last week was about 15 miles. Not bad and my body is feeling soso. Sometimes it feels good and sometimes it feels bad. Who the hell knows what will be hurting when I run. I did have a good TI workout on Tuesday with mile repeats of 7:41, 7:27, and 7:08. Felt great. Did a run to the gym, workout, run from the gym on Saturday and a longish run later Sunday. I really should've done the Sunday run earlier in the day.

Weekly run mileage: 15 miles
Asics mileage: 214 miles

I was lazy

I was lazy last week. Nothing to it besides that. I could've done a few more workouts but just didn't feel like doing them. So, I need to dig deep and find some motivation again because I feel like I've regressed in nearly everything the last 2 weeks. I was doing well up until Christmas and then I just said "Fuck it!" and have been off the wagon since then. Well, I'm back on the wagon damnit.

Weekly run mileage: 10 miles
Asics mileage: 199 miles

My body remembers

Well, I think I'm fairly healthy again. My knee isn't bothering me nearly as much anymore. Well, I can't say that because I have good days and bad days. For my sports hernia, it is much better although I've been doing nearly nothing for PT. Anyways, on Tuesday, I did a run workout with Texas Iron and it hurt like hell. Had an easy run on Thursday and then did the New Year's Underwear Run where I was actually running fairly fast for me uphill and downhill. It was about 4 miles but I was definitely pushing the pace. Then, tonight, I did the neighborhood 5K and I set a PR for it. I don't know what was up with me but it felt good running that loop at a 7:36/mile pace. And I still had gas left, too. My total time was 23:33 and I started off well because I got to the stop sign in under 10:00 which was a first for me. I don't know what it was, me being well rested, I had a full belly, it was cool outside, but this was a nice, quick run. I guess my body does remember how to run fast (for me). We'll see how it goes this week with Texas Iron workouts.

Weekly run mileage: 15.5 miles
Asics mileage: 189 miles

2010 Run Mileage

I ran a total of 545.75 miles in 2010. How many did you run? That averages to 10.5 a week and 45.5 per month. I really wanted to average more like 15mpw but I had a couple of injuries that laid me up for awhile. I hope that 2011 is better for me for running and I can run more consistently. I had a good workout on Tuesday which helped and I'll have another "easy hard workout" on Tuesday before I start cranking up the intensity and speed again. The great thing about 2010 running is that I PRed the 10k distance by about 1:40 and I hope to take another 1:40 off of my time in April. As usual, injuries is going to be the big thing and I hope to get my weight down a bit as well. I lost 3 pounds this year so at this rate, I'll be down to my goal of sub 180 in about 3 years.

Another Mileage Update

Man, work has been busy which has prevented updates, but really hasn't prevented training that much. It has had some impact but I've been working out in the mornings more. Well, here's my run mileage the last few weeks:

Two weeks ago: 14 miles
Last week: 9 miles
Asics run mileage: 173.5 miles

Mileage Update

Been busy lately so not much time for updates. Yeah, I've used that excuse WAY too much before. Anyways, my toe is getting much better and I don't really think it is bothering me much anymore. But my hip flexor still bothers me frequently but it is getting better also.

Weekly run mileage, 3 weeks ago: 5 miles
Weekly run mileage, 2 weeks ago: 12 miles
Weekly run mileage: last week: 14.5 miles
Asics run mileage: 150.5 miles

Frustrated/Injured

After my long run two Sundays ago, my toe started hurting. I was concerned because it felt like a stress fracture. I went to see my PT later in the week and he thinks I have a stressed out flexor tendon in my foot. I took all week off of running and then ran 3 miles this past Sunday. My toe hurt again so it looks like I'm back on the DL for the time being. This is really frustrating because I seem to be injury prone. I try to ramp up my training regarding running and I keep getting hurt. This is preventing me from making progress running because as soon as I start making progress, I get hurt and then I can't train for awhile. This is difficult mentally since I am trying really hard to get better at running but I need months (6-24 months) of consistent, injury free running to really see some gains and that just isn't happening with my body. This fucking sucks!

Weekly run mileage: 3 miles
Asics mileage: 119 miles

An on time update OR 19 miles!

For once, I think I'm getting an update on time this week. Not much to add this week except that I am increasing my mileage fun and actually ran 19 miles this week. I don't want to hit 20 quite yet since I know my body tends to get injured once I start doing 20+ per week. I think I might hover in the 19-20mpw range until the end of Dec and then ramp up to about 25mpw. I do have a story to share. I had a date planned for Friday night. I got downtown about 45 minutes early for my date and had some time to kill. I had access to a shower so I decided that I had enough time to go for a 3 mile run and shower before my date. Ah, the life of an athlete. I did my 7.2 mile long run this morning and it was absolutely perfect running weather in the low 50s. The breakfast tacos and coffee afterward were great as well. I love this time of the year. Everything seems to be going well at the moment and I'm pretty happy about that. My weight is stagnant but my body composition seems to be changing.

Weekly run mileage: 19 miles
Asics mileage: 116 miles (my 3 mile run were on my old shoes)

Two Weeks Of Updates

I think I'm owed 2 weeks of updates. Damnit, me being lazy. Well, I'm still running and weight lifting and I feel like I'm making progress with both so everything is going well. I can't drop weight but why complain about that anymore since I haven't been able to do that for a couple of years now it seems. I am going to try to throw in more spin classes and/or bike rides. Well, only 1 per week but I'll try to fit it in.

2 Weeks Ago: 11 miles (yeah, not a good week)
Last Week: 18 miles
Asics Mileage: 100 miles

Last Week & Donkey Dash 5K

Not much going on last week. Weight lifting is going well and so is running. I put in about 16.5 miles last week which is OK. I did the Donkey Dash 5K and it was my first 5K in awhile. I really need to work on my pacing in 5Ks but still did 22:40 for a pace of around 7:18/mile. Not that bad but first mile was 6:40 and last mile was 7:49. Yep, need to work on pacing. It was good though.



Weekly run mileage: 16.5 miles
Asics mileage: 71 miles