I'm still a week away from my acupuncture appointment. But one of the things Kevork mentioned on the phone last week was that bronchitis is usually aggravated by dry conditions.
I ran the humidifier all weekend and feel slightly better.
I did a "hard" mile on the treadmill today at lunch and didn't feel like I was going to die.
So that's good.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Bronchitis Update
The bronchitis is still lingering. It's killing me that I can only do a mile or two at a time.
I'm going to take a different approach with treating it. Rather than do another round of antibiotics (I've already done 3) , I'm going to try acupuncture.
Wish me luck.
I'm going to take a different approach with treating it. Rather than do another round of antibiotics (I've already done 3) , I'm going to try acupuncture.
Wish me luck.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Me bitching - feel free to skip.
I'm still only about 75 - 80%. I can do anything for 10 minutes, then I feel like I'm going to hork. My lungs feel like they're getting crushed.
I'm lifting weights. I'm running a mile or two at a time. But I'm still not all the way back yet.
Bluh.
I'm lifting weights. I'm running a mile or two at a time. But I'm still not all the way back yet.
Bluh.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Mission Statement
Training for the Buffalo 2010 Half Marathon starts this week.
My goal is 1:50.
Yes, that would be 30 minutes faster than my time last year. It's a stretch, but it's not impossible. Even with the bad bout of bronchitis, I'm a much better runner than I was at this point last year.
And considering how little attention I paid to nutrition and strength training last time, there's definitely some room for improvement there. Speed work will also be playing a larger role in my training this time around.
Right now, I'm in the "rebuild" stage. I'm guessing it's going to take six weeks or so to get back to where I was before the bronchitis began. After the rebuild comes the distance and the speed work.
I've answered the "Can I do this?" question. Now I want to do it well.
My goal is 1:50.
Yes, that would be 30 minutes faster than my time last year. It's a stretch, but it's not impossible. Even with the bad bout of bronchitis, I'm a much better runner than I was at this point last year.
And considering how little attention I paid to nutrition and strength training last time, there's definitely some room for improvement there. Speed work will also be playing a larger role in my training this time around.
Right now, I'm in the "rebuild" stage. I'm guessing it's going to take six weeks or so to get back to where I was before the bronchitis began. After the rebuild comes the distance and the speed work.
I've answered the "Can I do this?" question. Now I want to do it well.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Mileage Report
I'm at 399.8 for the year.
If I'm completely over this bronchitis by the end of the month, I should have no problem reaching my goal of 500 miles for the year.
Should I go for 750 for next year maybe?
If I'm completely over this bronchitis by the end of the month, I should have no problem reaching my goal of 500 miles for the year.
Should I go for 750 for next year maybe?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Bronchitis Report
Two weeks without a run.
I'm on an inhaler, an antibiotic and cough syrup with codeine.
I'm really missing running, and I'm probably 10 days away from being able to pick it up again.
Damn.
I'm on an inhaler, an antibiotic and cough syrup with codeine.
I'm really missing running, and I'm probably 10 days away from being able to pick it up again.
Damn.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Good Week
Had another great week. 18 quality miles.
The adjusted speed workout seems to be paying off.
Why are good running shoes so expensive? Because they're worth it.
The adjusted speed workout seems to be paying off.
Why are good running shoes so expensive? Because they're worth it.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Gimme Some Carbs
After taking a week off in August, I've had two solid weeks of training. No missed workouts. No low effort days. I'm even getting the dog out for morning runs twice a week.
And man am I hungry.
Around 8:15 PM each night, I've been having unbelievable cravings for carbs. Usually something of the cereal or cracker variety.
I'm doing my best to eat as healthy as possible, but sometimes I just need mass quantities.
Don't get in my way.
And man am I hungry.
Around 8:15 PM each night, I've been having unbelievable cravings for carbs. Usually something of the cereal or cracker variety.
I'm doing my best to eat as healthy as possible, but sometimes I just need mass quantities.
Don't get in my way.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Long Run Sunday 8/30/2009
Had a great 7 mile run on Sunday.
Felt faster than last Sunday. The increased speed work is finally helping.
It's funny how adding miles seems to be easier than making those miles faster.
Felt faster than last Sunday. The increased speed work is finally helping.
It's funny how adding miles seems to be easier than making those miles faster.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Progress
For the first time on Speed Work Tuesday, I was able to do 3 x 1/2 miles under 4 minutes (3:58, 3:56, 3:49).
So I feel pretty good about that.
So I feel pretty good about that.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
No Run Sunday 7/12/2009
Skipped the solo run on Sunday and did a bike ride with the whole family instead.
It was awesome.
It was awesome.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Long Run Sunday 7/05/2009
Had a lovely 8 mile run.
Still no upcoming races to work toward. At this point, it's really just for my mental health.
I felt much better after.
Still no upcoming races to work toward. At this point, it's really just for my mental health.
I felt much better after.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Long Run Sunday 6/26/2009
The running has been spotty since my race. I got out there and forced myself to do 6 miles yesterday.
And I feel OK today.
I was afraid I'd feel a lot worse.
But man... It's much tougher to make yourself get out there when you don't have a goal to be working towards.
And I feel OK today.
I was afraid I'd feel a lot worse.
But man... It's much tougher to make yourself get out there when you don't have a goal to be working towards.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Long Run Sunday 05/17/2009
Just 4 miles Sunday. I'm enjoying the tapering phase.
I made it a "family run" kinda day. I did 1 mile with Daisy Dog then 3 miles with Liam.
My legs feel great. My sinuses feel terrible. My allergies chose this week to reappear. The post-nasal drip is just awful. Ugh.
The Sunday forecast for Buffalo is 76 and partly cloudy. That'll work just fine. Assuming my head is clear by then.
My running gear is already packed. "Nervous excitement" is probably the best way to describe what I feel right now.
39 miles for the month. 233 for the year.
6 days until race day.
I made it a "family run" kinda day. I did 1 mile with Daisy Dog then 3 miles with Liam.
My legs feel great. My sinuses feel terrible. My allergies chose this week to reappear. The post-nasal drip is just awful. Ugh.
The Sunday forecast for Buffalo is 76 and partly cloudy. That'll work just fine. Assuming my head is clear by then.
My running gear is already packed. "Nervous excitement" is probably the best way to describe what I feel right now.
39 miles for the month. 233 for the year.
6 days until race day.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Long Run Sunday 5/10/2009
I left the house planning on doing 14. I ended up doing 13.5 (bad mental math on the fly by me).
But I did great.
I was actually faster doing 13.5 than I was doing 12 in the heat 2 weeks ago.
The weather was GREAT. 61 degrees is infinitely better for running than 83 degrees.
It's also a good thing I've got 6 years of allergy shots in me, too. The pollen count was off the charts. I would have been dying. I was covered in a yellow crust by the end of my run. Not good.
29.7 miles for the month. 203 for the year.
12 (!) days until race day.
But I did great.
I was actually faster doing 13.5 than I was doing 12 in the heat 2 weeks ago.
The weather was GREAT. 61 degrees is infinitely better for running than 83 degrees.
It's also a good thing I've got 6 years of allergy shots in me, too. The pollen count was off the charts. I would have been dying. I was covered in a yellow crust by the end of my run. Not good.
29.7 miles for the month. 203 for the year.
12 (!) days until race day.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Long Run Sunday 5/3/2009
Had a pretty good run yesterday. OK, but not great. Lightened the load a little bit (8 miles) and tried to go a little faster.
Weather was great. 62 degrees and cloudy. My legs felt fine. I was just tired.
And it has finally occurred to me that maybe I'm just not that fast.
As a side note, Daisy Dog has been given clearance by her vet to start running again. I shut her down back in October after she was getting gimpy. But an X-ray showed no signs of hip problems. I'm building her back up slowly. It's fun to have my running buddy back again.
9 miles for the month. 203 for the year.
20 days until race day.
Weather was great. 62 degrees and cloudy. My legs felt fine. I was just tired.
And it has finally occurred to me that maybe I'm just not that fast.
As a side note, Daisy Dog has been given clearance by her vet to start running again. I shut her down back in October after she was getting gimpy. But an X-ray showed no signs of hip problems. I'm building her back up slowly. It's fun to have my running buddy back again.
9 miles for the month. 203 for the year.
20 days until race day.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Long Run Sunday 4/26/2009
I did 12 miles Sunday. Longest run yet.
It was hot. 30 degrees hotter than my long run last Sunday. After running in the mid-50s, 83 feels super hot.
Needless to say, my times were not good.
I made two "rookie mistakes" yesterday. I didn't sunscreen under my shirt (the lightweight running shirts don't offer much sun protection). And I left the house with room temperature water. It was practically boiling by the end of the run. Next time I'll do a partial freeze.
I'm going to start adding a little more protein in my diet. I'm still somewhat surprised by how "squishy" I am while running more than 20 miles a week.
I'm a little sore today, but it's certainly manageable. I think I've done a good job of building up to this point.
60 miles for the month. 187 for the year.
27 days until race day.
It was hot. 30 degrees hotter than my long run last Sunday. After running in the mid-50s, 83 feels super hot.
Needless to say, my times were not good.
I made two "rookie mistakes" yesterday. I didn't sunscreen under my shirt (the lightweight running shirts don't offer much sun protection). And I left the house with room temperature water. It was practically boiling by the end of the run. Next time I'll do a partial freeze.
I'm going to start adding a little more protein in my diet. I'm still somewhat surprised by how "squishy" I am while running more than 20 miles a week.
I'm a little sore today, but it's certainly manageable. I think I've done a good job of building up to this point.
60 miles for the month. 187 for the year.
27 days until race day.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Long Run Sunday 4/19/2009
Ten miles on the bikepath. Fifty two degrees and sunny. Light wind.
Legs are a little sore today but OK. My knees feel great.
I had the miles in me yesterday. I just didn't have any "fast" in me. I had a terrible week for sleep and diet. I'm guessing that didn't help. I'll try to improve that for next week.
Twenty mile week (yay!). 38.7 for the month. 166 for the year.
Legs are a little sore today but OK. My knees feel great.
I had the miles in me yesterday. I just didn't have any "fast" in me. I had a terrible week for sleep and diet. I'm guessing that didn't help. I'll try to improve that for next week.
Twenty mile week (yay!). 38.7 for the month. 166 for the year.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Speed Work Tuesday - 4/14/2009
Just did 4 miles of speed work. Beautiful day out. I feel pretty good.
The weekend was a complete wash-out. Zero miles. I had the bad barfies Saturday. I spent Sunday relearning how to eat solid food.
I'm down to 40 days until race day. I'm feeling confident about finishing. At this point, I just want to get faster.
The weekend was a complete wash-out. Zero miles. I had the bad barfies Saturday. I spent Sunday relearning how to eat solid food.
I'm down to 40 days until race day. I'm feeling confident about finishing. At this point, I just want to get faster.
Monday, April 6, 2009
10
I got my first 10 mile run in yesterday (two weeks ahead of schedule). It felt great.
Sunny. 52 degrees. 20 MPH wind gusts. 3 minutes faster on the second half.
It's funny... I'm relatively new to running longer distances. But lately I don't even feel loose until mile 5.
Gel shot packs at 3.5 miles and 7.5 miles (I'm stretching those out as my runs get longer).
My legs feel good today. My knees feel much better since giving up the treadmill two weeks ago.
14.7 miles for the month. 141.7 for the year.
48 days until race day.
Sunny. 52 degrees. 20 MPH wind gusts. 3 minutes faster on the second half.
It's funny... I'm relatively new to running longer distances. But lately I don't even feel loose until mile 5.
Gel shot packs at 3.5 miles and 7.5 miles (I'm stretching those out as my runs get longer).
My legs feel good today. My knees feel much better since giving up the treadmill two weeks ago.
14.7 miles for the month. 141.7 for the year.
48 days until race day.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Speed Work Tuesday - 3/31/2009
I just did a 7:25 mile on the track.
Not as good as I hoped, but 14 seconds faster than my last personal best.
Not as good as I hoped, but 14 seconds faster than my last personal best.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Long Run Sunday 3/29/2009
Straight up 9 miles on the bikepath. It was 42 degrees with a light rain. And I felt great.
I was almost a full 2 minutes 30 seconds faster on the second half, so I'm either doing a good job of pacing myself or not pushing myself hard enough on the first half (depending on where you stand in the "glass half full v. glass half empty" debate).
I did a gel shot pack at 3.0 miles and another at 6.5 miles. The gel shots seem to help with energy and focus. I no longer forget where I am and just start thinking about pancakes.
I ended up taking Saturday off. My knees were so bad after Thursday that I thought I was going to be making a call to the doctor. Two days off seemed to help. But I'm staying away from the treadmill for a while.
63.5 miles for the month. 123.5 for the year.
55 days until race day.
I was almost a full 2 minutes 30 seconds faster on the second half, so I'm either doing a good job of pacing myself or not pushing myself hard enough on the first half (depending on where you stand in the "glass half full v. glass half empty" debate).
I did a gel shot pack at 3.0 miles and another at 6.5 miles. The gel shots seem to help with energy and focus. I no longer forget where I am and just start thinking about pancakes.
I ended up taking Saturday off. My knees were so bad after Thursday that I thought I was going to be making a call to the doctor. Two days off seemed to help. But I'm staying away from the treadmill for a while.
63.5 miles for the month. 123.5 for the year.
55 days until race day.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Long Run Sunday 3/22/2009
I got 9 miles in, but not the way I wanted to. I had to split it up and do 7 and 2.
The seven miler in the morning was awful. It was cold. My tummy was rumbly. I had no music. I was slow. It took me as long to do 7 yesterday as 8 took me the week before.
The 2 in the evening seemed great by comparison. And it gave the opportunity to break in a new pair of shoes.
As discouraging as the morning run was, checking my notes from a year ago, 9 miles would have been a whole week's worth of running at that point. So that's encouraging.
Today - I'm hungry and tired. But surprisingly not too sore.
I'm at 46.5 miles for the month. 106.5 for the year.
62 days until race day.
The seven miler in the morning was awful. It was cold. My tummy was rumbly. I had no music. I was slow. It took me as long to do 7 yesterday as 8 took me the week before.
The 2 in the evening seemed great by comparison. And it gave the opportunity to break in a new pair of shoes.
As discouraging as the morning run was, checking my notes from a year ago, 9 miles would have been a whole week's worth of running at that point. So that's encouraging.
Today - I'm hungry and tired. But surprisingly not too sore.
I'm at 46.5 miles for the month. 106.5 for the year.
62 days until race day.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Long Run Sunday - 3/15/09
I did 8 miles yesterday. Eight beautiful, flat bike path miles.
I wasn't supposed to do 8 until next week. But it was nice out and I felt good, so I went for it.
I let myself do a 30 second walk every 1/2 mile. And a 90 second walk to suck down a gel pack at miles 3 and 6.
I was 11 seconds faster on the second half than the first, so I think I paced my self pretty well.
I'm a little sore today, but I think I'll be OK.
I'm at 31.5 miles for the month. 91.5 for the year.
69 days until race day.
I wasn't supposed to do 8 until next week. But it was nice out and I felt good, so I went for it.
I let myself do a 30 second walk every 1/2 mile. And a 90 second walk to suck down a gel pack at miles 3 and 6.
I was 11 seconds faster on the second half than the first, so I think I paced my self pretty well.
I'm a little sore today, but I think I'll be OK.
I'm at 31.5 miles for the month. 91.5 for the year.
69 days until race day.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Running Report 3/9/09
Good week. Didn't miss a workout. Got 17 miles in (new weekly record).
The Sunday plan was for 7 miles. I ended up having to do 5 in the morning and then another 2 in the afternoon because Jen would have killed me if I didn't get her out of the house at some point for, uh, political reasons.
I feel good. A little sore and tired, but nothing overwhelming.
But I'm really appreciating the coffee this morning.
The Sunday plan was for 7 miles. I ended up having to do 5 in the morning and then another 2 in the afternoon
I feel good. A little sore and tired, but nothing overwhelming.
But I'm really appreciating the coffee this morning.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Running Report - 3/3/09
Missed Long Run Sunday again. I was coughing my brains out. And it was snowing.
I know I can't miss too many more long runs. But I felt like I would have been doing more harm than good.
Just did a solid 4 miles at lunch. Feeling pretty good today.
I know I can't miss too many more long runs. But I felt like I would have been doing more harm than good.
Just did a solid 4 miles at lunch. Feeling pretty good today.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Hill Work Thursday
Getting back into the groove after missing last week due to illness.
It was warm enough here to do Hill Work Thursday outdoors... on actual hills!
The treadmill for hills just doesn't cut it.
It was warm enough here to do Hill Work Thursday outdoors... on actual hills!
The treadmill for hills just doesn't cut it.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Speed Work Tuesday
Back to running today. First time since the 15th. That "fatigue" I felt coming on last week was either a cold or another bout with bronchitis.
Still not feeling 100%, but the antibiotics are helping.
I sound horrible.
Still not feeling 100%, but the antibiotics are helping.
I sound horrible.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Running Report - 2/16/09
Had a great Long Run Sunday yesterday. Six miles. Switched back to the bike path after 3 weeks at Lincoln Woods. There's still some icy spots, but it's nice to be running on flat ground again.
Joel had me do a gel pack at the 3 mile mark. The gel pack shot was fantastic. I felt it almost immediately. It's just a little bit of caffeine and sugar, but it worked wonders. Perked me right up.
I'm a little sniffly today. I don't know if I'm coming down with the cold that Jen and Liam had, or if it's just from spending an hour outside yesterday in 35 degree weather.
I've also been tired lately. REALLY tired. I fell asleep on the couch Saturday night at 8. I'm hoping it's not some kind of fatigue or anything setting in. But my legs feel fine. So there's that.
I'm at 27 miles for the month. 51 for the year.
97 days until race day.
Joel had me do a gel pack at the 3 mile mark. The gel pack shot was fantastic. I felt it almost immediately. It's just a little bit of caffeine and sugar, but it worked wonders. Perked me right up.
I'm a little sniffly today. I don't know if I'm coming down with the cold that Jen and Liam had, or if it's just from spending an hour outside yesterday in 35 degree weather.
I've also been tired lately. REALLY tired. I fell asleep on the couch Saturday night at 8. I'm hoping it's not some kind of fatigue or anything setting in. But my legs feel fine. So there's that.
I'm at 27 miles for the month. 51 for the year.
97 days until race day.
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