Day 58: 2/27: 1.25mi, 10:45, Jersey City NJ

Days like this make me realize why I always had such a hard time running more than three times per week in the past.  Client dinner meant I had to wake up at 5am to go to the gym, which meant I was getting less than 6hrs of sleep for the second night in a row.

The Workout
5  Rounds - Row 250m/12 pushups

Day 57: 2/26: 1.25mi, 10:05, Jersey City NJ

Today was day number one of increasing my rest days from 1mi to 1.25mi.  It's time to start bumping the mileage up and this should help a little bit.  After a legs workout with Nick my legs felt totally dead but eventually loosened up and I ran my last quarter at 6:57 pace. 

The Workout
Squats - 1x12x45, 2x10x95
Push Press- 12x60, 10x70, 8x80, 6x90
Kettlebell Swings- 25x30, 20x35, 15x40, 10x45
Superset Ham/Quad Machines- 3x10x50

Day 56: 2/25: 1.35mi, 11:30, Newark NJ

Stopped at NYSC in Newark today before going to Dinosaur BBQ, before going to a basketball game that I'd like to erase from memory.  Easy treadmill run after lifting.

The Workout
Crooked Bar Curls - 45x12, 55x10, 65x8, 75x6
Tricep Pullover w/Rope- 70x12, 80x10, 90x8, 100x6
Cable Curl- 2x65x10, 2x80x8
Crossbody Tri w/Rope - 2x10x35, 2x8x40
Ab Machine- 2x15x65, 2x12x80

Day 55: 2/24: 2.39mi, 16:57, Caldwell NJ

A lot of downhill in this run to the gym today.  I tried to keep my strides short and managed to feel pretty good.  Single mile day tomorrow in beautiful Newark.

Mile 1: 7:10
Mile 2: 6:55
Final 0.39: 2:52
Avg Pace: 7:06

The Workout
5 Rounds:  5 pullups/10 pushups/10 bosu squats
3 sets of situp machine till it hurts a lot

Day 54: 2/23: 3.10mi, 24:15, Hoboken NJ

Cold rainy day in Hoboken on Saturday.  It was nice that there weren't a lot of people around but something about the rain makes people not clean up after their dogs.  I did some slick maneuvering and manged to avoid stinky shoes.  Times are getting better but pace consistency still sucks:

Mile 1: 7:48

Mile 2: 8:14

Mile 3: 7:26

Final 0.10: 0:45

Avg Pace: 7:49

Day 53: 2/22: 1.00mi, 8:30, Jersey City NJ

Another early morning mile since I had plans after work.  I was supposed to lift as well but I left my work clothes in Kia's car and had to take the train out to Liberty State Park to get them - fail.  Looks like rain this weekend but highs in the low 40's are a welcome change for sure. 

Day 52: 2/21: 2.01mi, 17:32, Hoboken NJ

Busy day today - gym, run, volleyball, run.  Leg feeling a bit better with some glucosamine and anti-inflammatories. 

The Workout
Deadlifts - 12x65, 10x85, 2x10x105
Lat Pulldown- 3x8x120
Incline Dumbell- 10x50, 2x8x55
Cable Twists - 3x10x70
Fly/Closegrip Dumbell Combo- 3x8x30

Day 51: 2/20: 1.00mi, 8:40, Jersey City NJ

This 5am thing is getting old pretty fast.  I was so exhausted this morning that I fell asleep on the light rail on the way to the gym.  Didn't have much time so just ran a mile (calf still bugging me) and then did this:

The Workout
5 rounds:  Row 200m, 10pushups

Mileage to date: 92.53
Time to date: 14:08:01
Days on Road: 20
Days on Trail: 7
Days on Treadmill: 24

Day 50!: 2/19: 1.00mi, 8:45, Jersey City NJ

Day 50, wow.  Time flies when you're running slow.  My old calf injury was pretty beat up from slipping and sliding up and down the mountain yesterday.  Went to the chiropractor again, did a quick gym workout and hit the treadmill. 

The Workout
Hang Clean/Jerk - 10x60lb barbell, 8x70, 6x80, 6x90
Shoulder Press Machine- 6x90lb (single), 10x90lb (double). 6x110lb(single), 10x110lb(double)
3 sets of 15 squats on the Bosu Ball (post-run)

Day 49: 2/18: 3.50mi, 41:37, South Orange NJ

I thought I'd have a nice long run on my day off today but it turned out to be pretty difficult. Despite there being no snow in Hoboken, South Mountain was covered in crunchy snow and ice. The footing was uneven the entire way and it slowed me down incredibly. I turned my ankles all over the place and couldn't get a decent stride going- so much for my long easy distance. Today marked the end of week 7, I'll post updated stats tomorrow.

Day 48: 2/17: 1.00mi, 7:42, Hoboken NJ

After drinking a few too many on Saturday I woke up and puked on Sunday, sat in a car for 3 hours, slept for an hour and then drove 3 more hours home. After finally dragging myself into the freezing cold night, I ran a mile like I wanted to get it over with at around 10pm.

Day 47: 2/16: 1.00mi, 8:39, Deep Creek MD

Waking up at 7:30am to run in the snow at a bachelor party is not my idea of a good time. 4 hours of skiing today following the 6 hours yesterday and my legs are toast.

Day 46: 2/15: 1.00mi, 10:00, Elkridge MD

This was my second midnight mile of the year with early morning skiing on deck Friday. With a stopover at our friends house just outside of Baltimore, I jumped on their treadmill right at midnight to get Friday's run in. Unfortunately their treads were slipping and I had to hold on to the railings so I didn't wipe out. It was probably my toughest mile to date! My legs felt strong skiing on Friday, probably because of my mileage base from running.

Day 45: 2/14: 1.00mi, 8:30, Jersey City NJ

Arms workout at the gym followed by a quick mile. Happy Valentine's Day!

Day 44: 2/13: 1.00mi, 8:30, Jersey City NJ

Time crunch at the gym today and my legs are hating the treadmill.  I've been listening to my legs as much as possible so I don't get derailed and this week there has been pain in various spots.  Running these next few days is going to be difficult in terms of schedule so I might just turn this into a "rest" week of 10 miles or so.

Gym
Decline Bench - 4 sets starting at 135lb working up to max of 2x195lbs and a final set at 1x135
Bent Over Rows- 4 sets working up to 100lb barbell

Day 43: 2/12: 1.00mi, 8:45, Jersey City NJ

A little bit of leg soreness today after a couple of harder days and the squats yesterday.  Today was a 5am wake-up so I did a short workout at the gym and followed it up with an easy treadmill mile.  My schedule this week is crazy and it's going to be tough to find running time.  It's one week from day 50 though, gotta keep working.

This Morning's Quick Workout- Shoulders
Clean & Jerk - 4 sets working up to 6x80lb barbell
Upright Cable Row- 4 sets working up to 7x120lb

Day 42: 2/11: 1.75mi, 14:45, Jersey City NJ

Today I went to the chiropractor for the first time since October and got my neck and back worked on.  I also got my hips adjusted and felt pretty good afterwards.  They checked the strength in various parts of my hamstrings and identified a few issues in my hips.  I had x-rays done too some hopefully I can get straightened out and prevent any injuries. 

Once I got to the gym I did a pretty simple treadmill workout, an interval format that's a good way to train your legs for a certain pace, or even your race pace.  After a 0.25mi warmup at 6.0 to 6.5 speed, I did 0.50mi at 8.0 speed, or 7:30/mile.  I then dropped back down to 6-6.5 for 0.25mi and amped back up for another 0.50 at 7:30 pace.  Ideally, this workout would be done on a track (because treadmills suck), but the treadmill is a good way to force yourself into a consistent stride and pace. After a 0.25mi cool-down at 6.0, I was done for the day with a little bit of tempo to follow yesterday's LSD (Long Slow Distance for you non-runners). 

Afterwards I did 5 sets of 15 squats on the Bosu Ball.  The Bosu Ball looks like a big exercise ball cut in half with a platform on it.  Squats on the ball (standing on the flat surface) strengthen a lot of your smaller balancing muscles (key for injury prevention), while working your big leg muscles with the squat.  After doing these a few times you would be amazed to see the way your balancing muscles respond.  I followed that up with three sets of 15 situps and headed out.  Early one tomorrow. 

Day 41: 2/10: 3.67mi, 31:37

Today was my first "long" run since I raced last weekend and really the first day that my legs felt pretty fresh again.  I was supposed to do a trail run today put I thought that running in the snow again might be frustrating so I stuck to the roads around Hoboken and the Weehawken waterfront.  I lost my IPod Shuffle and have been running in silence for weeks but I finally loaded up my Nano today and enjoyed getting some tunes going.  It would have been a successful day if I didn't totally wipe out and tweak my neck pretty bad.

Now I'm a little bit notorious for wiping out while running.  I fell several times during the North Face race last year, and I fall on training runs on the trail more regularly than most.  So I ended my run at the grocery store today and as I was WALKING home with my groceries, I slipped on some black ice and ate it.  Somehow I ran close to four miles on icy and snowy sidewalks without so much as slipping and then managed to be lying on the sidewalk during my three block walk back from the grocery store. 

On a positive note, I found this pace calculator:  http://www.runnersworld.com/tools/pace-calculator

Day 40: 2/9: 1.32mi, 13:00, Hoboken NJ

Urban Trail

Having to run every day means having to get creative and plan ahead.  As a blizzard rolled in to the Northeast on Friday, I had to figure out my run for Saturday.  Running in the street with cars didn't seem like a good idea, nor did running on some shoveled and some un-shoveled sidewalks.  Trekking to the gym in these conditions to get a mile in seemed like a pain in the ass since it's over a half mile away.  After midnight on Friday seemed like my best bet.  I grabbed my new Nathan reflective vest and my snow trail shoes (best $35 I've spent in a long time) and headed out.  I ran right in the middle of the streets, going against traffic so I'd be able to see the occasional taxi from blocks away.  I actually ran past my turnaround point because when everything is covered in snow, it all looks the same.  It was strangely peaceful finally being able to run in Hoboken without hopping up and down curbs or worrying about inconsiderate motorists.  Now I get a long rest for my sore hips and back and avoid a inevitably frustrating run.

Day 39: 2/8: 1.10mi, 8:59, Hoboken NJ

Another 5am run before work, and before the blizzard rolls in.  My lower back is killing me, I feel like an old fart.  Should be interesting slash terrible running in the mountains of snow tomorrow. 

Day 38: 2.25mi, 20:00, Jersey City NJ

Treadmill interval workout at the gym.  Started at 6.0 for 3 minutes and then worked up to 7.0, 7.5 and 8.0, dropping back down to 6.5 after each one- one minute on, one minute off.  Had to quit lifting afterwards because I felt trashed, triceps starting cramping. 

I can track the gym and volleyball as well on the plus3network.com site that I mentioned yesterday.  Getting credit for everything should help me become one of the top fundraisers for my charity.  I went back and entered all of my running to date and I'm already in the top 20, so I assume regularly recording all of my other activity should get me up near the top.  I've got a long way to go to catch that zumba instrutor in frist place though!  If you're actually reading this blog, jump on the site and help raise some money for the American Heart Association, it take two seconds to enter your physical activity for the day and they have every exercise category from Zumba to football. 

Fundraising Update

I'm very happy to have stumbled across two websites while reading Runner's World this morning that will help me fundraise this year. 

I am making a page on Crowdrise.com and linking it to the National Parks Foundation.  This is the charity closest to my running heart because of my love for trails.  I want to run some of the great national parks across the country at some point- maybe even one or two this year.  The cool thing about Crowdrise is that I should be able to link the fundraising meter right to the blog.  This is the one that I'll ask people to donate to.

I'm making a second page on plus3network.com, this one partners with corporate sponsors to make donations to charities for your choice based on hours in the gym and miles run.  The sponsors donate to your cause, which is the American Heart Association.  My two grandfathers who passed their love of running to me both suffered strokes at some point so this is something that is very close to my endeavor as well.  I encourage anyone who is active to make a page and be friends with me on the network!

I plan on making a separate donation of $1 per mile that I run to the American Heart Association at the end of the year.

Day 37: 2.10mi, 21:06, Hoboken NJ

It flurried all day yesterday and made the ground just wet enough so that a thin sheet of ice formed on all of the sidewalks overnight.  This morning's 5am run was way more slippery than Sunday's snowy trail race.  Literally every step of this slipping and sliding 2.10 miles involved some sort of bad footing.  Had I realized that the whole run would be like this, I would've gone back to grab trail shoes.  Being that it was 5am and I wasn't planning on running very far, I just went with it.  I definitely did not feel like I was running 10-minute pace but I guess I was just sliding in the same spot enough that I wasn't getting very far.

Great underrated running/training/performance brands:  Stoic, Zoot, Mountain Hardwear, North Face

Day 36: 1.00mi, 9:00, Jersey City NJ

Crossfit workout today and a really sore quad limited me again on the treadmill.  Lubed up the quad with some stinky orange Tiger Balm, I think I'll be good in a day or two.  Today definitely would have been a rest day without this streak, I really don't know if light running on sore muscles will end up speeding recovery or prolonging the pain. 

Today's Crossfit Workout w/Nick
Warmup: 2 Rounds- Row 500m/20 pushups
Workout:  4 Rounds- 10 burpees, 10 dumbell clean/jerk (20lb), heavy rope swings (for duration of other person's burpees)

Day 35: 1.00mi, 8:40, Jersey City NJ

Just an easy treadmill mile after strength training to try and flush some of the soreness out of my legs.  Hips and quads are tight from all of the climbing and descending out on the trail.  I also started feeling my old debilitating calf injury start to flare up at random times throughout the day.  I'm going to start doing calf-strengthening exercises which I stupidly haven't been doing all along and hope that it goes away. 

Day 34: 4.91mi, 45:37, Morristown NJ

Today was the first race of the year -at Lewis Morris Park in Morristown, NJ.  When Matt and I pulled up, temperatures were around 20 degrees and it felt even colder.  The course was all snow or packed snow after a couple of inches fell the night before so I switched from my usual trail shoes to my heavy duty snow trail shoes.  The decision proved to be a good one as I had great footing in the snow despite a clunkier ride in the heavy-duty shoe.

The start of the race was a little unorthodox, as Matt and I stood alone at the front of the line.  Once we took off, we had company after a couple hundred yards, and after the climbing started I let Matt and the a few others take off.  It seemed like endless uphills for the first couple miles and the cold air was zapping my lungs and my legs.  I got passed by one or two people and tried to focus on not trying to hammer up the hills too hard.  I knew that all of the climbing would eventually lead to snowy downhills.  I'm usually the fastest running down a trail, and down a snowy trail would make my advantage even bigger.

I got my first break when I was about to be passed about halfway through the race.  I hurdled a fallen tree in stride and took off down a series of hairpin turns in an all-out sprint.  After gaining about a hundred yards on my chaser, I never saw him again.  Pulling away from someone like they're standing still can really be demoralizing, and there's no better feeling than doing it.

After some more climbing, I had a couple runners in my sights and after a slightly sloped downhill I was quickly on their heels.  I rested behind them for about a minute and then took off as soon as the course turned downhill again.  Another demoralizing pass- I was in a stride that these guys had no chance to match at this point in the race.  I left them way behind and approached another group of five runners.  With all of the snow, it was hard to pick out spots to pass.  Aside from the packed path of snow, even where the trail was wider it was tough to tell what kind of rocks and branches might lay beneath.

After a quick rest behind the new group, I was growing restless.  Only a mile left and I had ground to make up.  A huge fallen tree lay across the course with one big piece on the ground and another piece a couple feet above it.  A line was forming to get through the biggest opening and I had no patience - I went to the lower side, planted my hands on the low part and swung myself through, passing the entire group and taking off on a full sprint down the hill.  I heard a faint "whoa good job" from one of the pack that was now quickly fading.

As the final mile zig-zagged downhill, the trail was narrow and I had to pick the slightly wider spots to bolt past people that I was waiting behind.  After picking off five or six more people, I got stuck behind another group of four.  My watch was creeping towards 5.0, I still had a lot in the tank, and we were still heading downhill.  I needed to pass more people.  The last trail marker on this stretch was about 10 feet before the actual course sharply turned almost 180-degrees.  In European trail running, you can just jump down the slope to the lower hill but in the US it's frowned upon to cut corners.

Once I got to that last marker, I grabbed it and swung myself around it, cutting off the entire group and sprinting towards the bridge ahead.  I freaked out the leader so bad that when he tried to stay with me, his feet went out from under him and if it wasn't for the railing, he would've slid right off of the bridge into a freezing cold stream.  After pausing and seeing that he was alright, I targeted the next pair ahead and was on their heels in no time.  Unfortunately we were on a 6-inch wide trail above the stream and I was stuck with nowhere to pass.  I could feel the finish approaching and was becoming increasing frustrated.  Finally after almost a minute I found an opening and took off, crossing the finish line in an all-out sprint and ending up 6th overall out of 69 people.

I was happy with the result, especially since this was the longest I had run all year and considering it was a snow-covered trail.  Some of the runners that I was passing were from the 10 and 15 mile races so I don't think I positioned myself too far back in the pack.  I still need to get stronger on uphills for sure and will certainly add some hill training before my next race. 

And how rude of me to not mention - Matt finished 3rd overall.  Full results:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AicDo8QO8h6gdGxBSkVBcWN0Mm5oMWlfSzAxeW9hZ0E&usp=sharing


Placing
Age Group 1/8
Overall 6/69

Splits
1.00  9:48
1.00  9:17
1.00  9:18
1.00  9:35
0.91  7:40

Day 33: 2.00mi, 24:00, Verona NJ

My wife braved the cold with me to take a jog on the West Essex Trail over by Verona High School.  It was great to run with her for the first time this year and the perfect slow day before a race. 

Day 32: 2.00mi, 17:40, Jersey City NJ

Gym workout followed by some treadmill work.  Started at a speed of 6.0, worked up to 3-minute intervals of 6.0/7.0/8.0 for a minute each and repeated a few times. 

Thinking ahead in month number two, I have some scheduling challenges as usual.  So far I already have a client dinner on the calendar every Wednesday this month and a skiing bachelor party over President's Day weekend.  The one advantage to the hectic schedule is that I really don't need to plan very many workouts.  I don't feel obligated to get my long run in on any particular day, or to rush into speed work before I'm ready.  I can kind of just run what I'm feeling up to on any given day for now and still be progressing.  Next month once I've put a base in, the weather will be warming up a bit and running harder and longer will be a little easier. 

Day 31: 1.00mi, 8:40, Jersey City NJ

One month down.  11 to go.

Just a mile on the treadmill today after a shoulders and legs workout.  Hoping some of the soreness that I have right now subsides by Sunday.  Continuing to do the Pyramid Workout with Nick, which I invented a couplle years ago.  It basically hits each muscle group three times every six workouts.  I'll outline it sometime in the next couple days. 

Month 1 Stats

Miles:  57.93
Time:  8:44:29
Cities:  8  (Hoboken, Jersey City, Millburn, Clifton, West Caldwell, New York, Charlotte Amalie USVI, South Orange)
States:  2  (NY, NJ)
Countries:  2  (USA, St Thomas USVI)
Months To Go:  11