Great dane miles

Day 8: Today's run was something unique in that I had every excuse in the book to not run.  First off I technically had the day off, but I knew that my threshold workout scheduled for tomorrow would be difficult to complete in Jerusalem so I had to get it in today.  Secondly my shoes were stolen at the Arab place yesterday so I would have to use my Brooks which had been "retired" for a long time now.  Thirdly I woke up extra early to shit my brains out as I had a ten something that didn't agree with me so I felt a little off. And fourthly the bike trail I was anticipating to do this on was straight quicksand as my shoes clumped with mud and it became clear if I wanted to do this it would have to be on the road.  I wanted a good start to the new year so I sucked it up and hammered down the mountain for my first rep of a 2 x 2mile 2 x 1mile workout. For a practically all downhill 2 mile rep I hit 11:10 in the rough wind / rain.  I took a minute rest then climbed back up which was rough.  I hit 6:10 for that first uphill Mile, then around 6:45 for the 2nd for about a 13 minute 2 mile for uphill I considered alright.  The next single mile was 5:10, followed by another at 5:19.   I cooled down back the 2 miles up the hill for a total of an 11 mile day.

We went right into Jerusalem to the old city where we went to the Jewish Quarter. The weather was rough.....very windy cold and rainy as we made the hour walk/tour to the wall. When we arrived the sun came out and I put my small note into the wall and said the Shema.  I was surprised to see a small synagogue next to the wall where many rabbis were praying.  We didn't stay for too long and headed back to the bus.  We then drove to a nearby mall which was packed.  I got some bomb Subway type stuff and walked around and got some ruggala from a really good bakery.  The mall closed quickly and we headed to the hotel: The Jerusalem Gardens.  The hotel was much nicer than what we had been staying in.  We did a few Shabbat activities and I worked out for the first time in the gym they had since I got to Israel.  Dinner was amazing, so much food.  Afterwords spent some time doing a couple activities and then everyone went down to drink at the bar, I just hung out and then went to bed early.

Day 9:  It's Shabbat so this is the first relaxing day in a while, Woke up around 8 to go see if the gym was available for the treadmills, since they weren't I just went to breakfast which was pretty decent. We had several activities and then Lunch followed by my first Treadmill run in years.  Ran 7.5 at a fastish pace, had another group activity and then straight back.  We later went to a smaller mall where I got some inexpensive pasta which was awesome.  Came back to the hotel to relax 

Day 10:  Last run of the trip: Long run on the treadmill, not as bad as I would've thought.  Got to the gym at 6 on he button, I started up the first couple miles at low 7's to get into it, brought pace down to 6:40's by the 4th Mile where I cruised until about 50 minutes in when I dropped it to more of a 6:20 pace.  The Treadmill was in Kilometers so I was going off of that for distance.  Around 70 minutes in I brought pace down to around 6 flat, Just as I hit 20K (around 12.5 miles) I was kicked off for being on it too long, I only had about 10 mins left anyway, which may have brought be to 14 miles, but I'll take what I can get. 

Quickly got to breakfast Androcles we were off to MT. Hertzel right away.  The memorial of fallen Israeli soldiers was one of the most moving of the trip.  Our own soldiers knew personally people buried there.  It reminded me of Arlington National Cemetery in the US except more personal because of the age of the kids buried here.  Afterwords we said goodbye to our soldiers which was sad, but I hadn't really formed any super close relations with any of them so it wasn't particularly tough for me.  I had a massive salad at some nice restaurant, then we went to the holocaust museum.  I already had knowledge of most of the stuff they talked about but it was still interesting to see such a beautiful place.  We headed back to Nev Shalom , had a great dinner and a good chat with John and AJ, and a nice closing program where I got some candy which Illl be giving to my siblings (I don't need any more of that shit in my body) and a T shirt.  I couldn't have asked for a better group to spend these last 10 days with.

Day 11: Off day from running, hip is feeling a little sore probably from running in bum shoes these last few days, so it's a good idea that I give myself the next day and a half off.  Said goodbye to the rest of the group that's extending, found my long lost GoPro stuff, and Hopped on the plane, that's all she wrote, until next time Israel.

Woke up early, (Jet Lag), got in 3 miles that felt great. Later went to practice to do a few miles with James, Julio and the team, little tempo at the end had me feeling rough.  Got in some quality weight room time for the first time in a while.

Rough workout, 6 x 800's with 400 jog rest.  I'm currently still Jet lagging hard and have developed a sore throat, feeling sick.  I blew the first couple in 2:29 somewhat easily, however once I hit the 3rd one it began to feel a lot tougher than it should've as I consistantly hit 2:30 for the remainder of the reps.  Even working hard those last couple I just couldn't push past 75 pace.  If I was healthy I would have hoped to drop down into the lower 2:20's, but afterwords I went to relax at home for awhile.  Need to recover from this quick.

A sick couple of miles around Boyce, feeling better than yesterday, but still not quite up to par.  

Quick 8 miles in the morning around the King Street area, suprisingly felt really great, moved at a 6:40ish pace the whole way despite the hills.  I've pushed my mile repeat workout to tomorrow.  Just because of this whole sickness.

Workout day early on the DHS track:  5 x mile with 90 seconds rest in Bradley's T7's, followed by 6 x 200's in the Matumbos.  I started out the first mile in 5:24 pretty comfortably, hit 5:24 again for the 2nd, 5:22 for the 3rd, 5:19 for the 4th, and 5:23 for the 5th.  This is a slight imporvment from where I was before break doing these at 5:30, especially alone.  The 2's were a bit more rough on me, I started slow at 34, then another 34, then 32, 32, and my last 2 I pushed for 31 high, then 31 low.  I'll admit I've lost some speed over this past break, but I have a solid base and I'm feeling good going into the season.  

I was initially going to get this done in the AM in New Milly, but had a good time cooking with my close friends who I went see for months until late at night, some of them slept over, so I decided to just move the LR to the evening after I arrived in Albs.  For some reason I felt really really good.  My first campus loop was quick under 7 minute pace off the bat,  I floated through the next 7 miles around 6:30 pace, and then once I hit 10 miles I started really moving at a sub 6 pace.  In total I hit around 14 with the last few miles around 5:40 pace.  Great first run back.

Todays workout caught me way offguard, coming off of a workout 2 days ago, and then a fast long run less than 18 hours ago, my legs were understandably tired.  12 x 400's every 2 minutes, something that's not incredibly hard for me to do normally, but in these circumstances it was rough.  I kept with the group for the first few hitting 69-70 for each one.  I was really starting to feel fatigue around the 5th one from the past two days work.  On the 7th a small noticeable gap formed between me and the other guys as I hit 71.  The 8th that gap grew as I dropped down to 72.  The 9th was tough mentally at this point i think I was somewhere around 73-74.  I decided that the 10th would be my last, as going any further would this would do no benifit to my fitness if I were to drop to a slower than 75 second pace.  I hit the last in 74, obviously not a workout to be proud over, but considering the circumstances I'd day I'm content that I was able to keep up for as long as I did, and although I fell back, it wasn't by more than a couple seconds, had I kept going would have done me no real good.  

Solid paced long continues run through Colonie and back, felt great, first easy day in a while.

Rough workout on the track pretty much solo, 6 x 800's on a very windy, slippery track with 200 meters rest.  The goal would have been to start around 2:30 pace and drop down from there.  However given the circumstances, things did not go to plan.  I started up around low 2:30's and could never push past that, hitting as slow as 2:38 for a later rep.  Afterwords, went onto the indoor track for 200's at 33, 32, and 31.  Still recovering from a cold, but not feeling 100 % right now, looking to train lighter and smarter over the next couple of days.

Finally easy running with Liam around campus, Achilles pain from last couple days is still felt, hoping this does not evolve into something serious, sought treatment before and after the run.

Ran through straight pain today, Achilles really flaring up, while that isn't a smart thing to do, I have gone through pains like this in the past, and after running a mile or twop they go away, not this one.  I may not race if this persists tomorrow, I really want to race, but I may be restricted.

Well, after much realization to my situation, I made the decision that running today wouod not have been smart.  It absoluely sucks to be at a meet all day and not run, but I firmly believe that its for the best.  It especially sucks to not do any sort of activity all day either.  I now have a new appreciation for a spot on the starting line.....

Interesting trip downtown to the local YMCA where I swam about 2 miles in their small 3 lane pool.  I first did a mile at an easy pace but after looking at my low heart rate of not much more than 100, I knew I had to raise it to get anything out of this session.  So I did a mini workout of 2 x 5 laps, 2 x 3 laps, 2 x 2 laps, 2 x 1 lap.  I managed to work the heart rate up to 150, which isn't very high for running, but in the pool getting it high is difficult.  I was in there for around 90 minutes, in total it took 4 hours of my day from when I left my room to when I returned, thankfully that should be the only day i have to do this.  Also it cost $10 to workout, i don't intend on paying that again.

Came back to Joe in the trainers room to prep for what would hopefully be my return to painfree running.  I spent some time warming uo my foot and doing various stretches, 10 minutes on the bike, and then tried to run.  After about 3 minutes the achilles started flaring up and this time I made the wise decision of not working against myself, so I stopped, and walked all the way back.  I finnished off with 30 more minutes on the bike, and the diagnoses that I need a week off from running.  Not a great way to start the semester, and how this happned is nothing but obvious from

-moving Sundays Long Run from the morning to the evening on hard concrete, 

-  Doing a workout about 18 hours later

- Going right into a 10.5 mile "Continues run", right after that

- And then hitting another workout the day after that.

Mistakes were made, but the best thing I can do now for myself is simulate what I would be doing outside on the bike, and in the pool swimming.  I have my heart rate moniter to help me with checking my effort.  First exteneded period of time not running since I started this blog at the beginning of last summer, should be interesting.

Hopped on the bike to simulate a 5 x 4 minutes hard with 3 minutes rest.  The thing about the bike is that you start sweating almost instantly, and by the end of the 15 minute WU I was drenched.  How I went about this was moving the "Workout level" on the bike up 1 for every rep, keping my RPM over 100.  The first 4 minute segment was at a 6, and my HR reached a little over 150.  The 2nd segment was at a 7, my HR hit the lower 160's towards the end of the rep.  the 3rd segment was at an 8, I was hitting 170 by the very end of the rep, and staying over 160 for practically the whole thing.  The 4th segment I started at 8 again, then bumped to a 9 with a minute to go peaking at 174.  The last segment I started at an 8 for 2 minutes, then bumped to a 9, and the last minute pushed to a 10.  I hit a HR of 180 at the end.  I did a cool down of 25 minutes afterwords at a 140 HR.  The bike is high quality and should be excellent for my heart rate, but I can't do it all the time as it kills my back, I don't want another injury resulting from this, so to the pool it is tomorrow.  

Spent some time in the pool doing laps to simulate 5 x 600's, follwed by 4 x 200's.  Gave a hard effort, but the difficulty of getting my heart rate over 120 while swimming is a huge factor.  considering just aqua jogging next time.

Did a mile swim followed by a 20 minute aqua jog, on the aqua jog was able to get HR at a steady 140, so from now on when I'm on the pool I'll be aqua jogging rather than swimming.

Hopped on the bike for 45 minutes, really chaffed up my inner thighs but was able to hold a continues 140 for the first 15 minutes, then bumped up to 150, and finally for the last 10 minutes I was hovering around 160 which is a good HR for a fast paced continues run.  Probably going to get some sort of a moderatley hard effort in the pool aqua jogging tomorrow.  

Workout of 10 x 2 minutes hard in the pool, had to be quick as I didn't have a ton of time to get this in.  My first few were at an HR of high 150's / low 160's.  Around the 6th one i hit 170.  The remainder i managed to get to 170 about a minute into the rep and hold it for the next minute.  I peaked on the last one 176.  Next time I do this workout I think I'll cut this rest down from 1 minute to maybe 30 seconds.

Hopeful last day of no running:  Started with 45 minutes really easy, too easy, of aqua jogging but I wasn't getting much out of it, and kyle and tyler were heading out of the pool for some extensive core so I joined in.  I came back to the gym later at ight to get in 45 minutes on the bike, holding an HR over 145 the whole way, and towards the end hitting around 160 which is good for a nice tempo pace.  

Well I tried to get back at it today, and about 5 minutes in I started to feel pain.  By the end of the 10 minutes I was in just as much pain as I had been when I stopped running 9 days ago.  I had a feeling this was going to happen by the slight nagging pain I'd been feeling all this past week when I walk down stairs. Scheduled an appointment with Joe to see a Professional for an MRI on wednesday.  Also now doing this Ultrasound thing in addition to the other treatments for the achilles.  This is very frustrating and it absolutely sucks not being able to do what I love most, but I've been through shit like this before, and handled it properly, so this is no difforent.  I'm going to do everything I can to keep fit through the biking, the aqua jogging, and the swimming.  Therefor, I did 30 minutes hard on the bike right after treatment.

While I can't make gains on land, I can still make them elsewhere.  Weight check in this morning at a new low of 143.6.  I was 152 at the end of cross country, and around 148 when I got back to Albany 3 weeks ago so I've made incredible progress with my eating habbits that i aim to continue as the semester progresses.  Todays workout was a ladder of 1 minute, 2 minute, 3 minute, 4 minute, 5 minutes hard with a goal of 30 seconds rest in between each rep.  I started up the first couple reps barely scratching 160 on the HR.  By the 1st 3 minute segment I was up to 168.  After this segment I actually decided to extend rest to a minute, which I later regretted.  The 1st 4 minute segment and 5 minute segment I hit 170 midway through each rep and held.  After that 4 minute rep I dropped back down to 30 seconds rest.  I hit 174 for a minute on the 3 minute, then 176 for a minute on the 2 minute, and then on the final minute I peaked at 179, a new pool best.  As boring as this aqua jogging talk is I have to act like its exciting or the thing will just get depressing.

After waiting about 2 hours at the doctors office, I finally got my answer to whats been bothering my achilies:  Achilis Tendonosis.  Translation, its nothing awfully serious, but it will put me out for the next two weeks.  The doctor who, himself is an experienced runner, did an ultrasound on my heal, and showed me visiby how my right Achilles is swolon, something that probably developed over a long time.  I'm going to take Ibuprofen for it, 600 milligrams with breakfest, and then another 600 with dinner.  I'm also going to be icing 3 -4 times a day, which will probably require me to get an Ice Gel pack like I have at home.  I'm continueing the Ultrasound therapuidc treatment, and of course the aqua jogging and biking will be keeping my fitness.  Today Joe reccomended to take it light so I just 30 mins on the bike.  

Tried another test type of workout :  2:30 on at a hard pace, with 30 seconds rest x 8, with 4 x 1 minutes hard at the end.  My first couple of reps I was barely hitting 160, but I was moving up slightly every rep.  By the last one I hit 172, holding 168 for most of the rep.  On the 1 minute reps I reached up to 174.  This actually wasn't super ideal as I wanted to reach my typical max of 178- 180, so the next time I do a rep based workout (Tuesday), I'm going to adjust a few things.  

60 Minutes on the bike reached about 25 miles, good long effort, HR was gradually moving up from around 145 the first 15 minutes, 150 around 30 minutes, mid 150's around 45 minutes, and the last 10 or so minutes was at 160 or slightly over, very very sweaty.

90 Minutes aqua jog, wasn't actually as bad as it sounded, Kept a good moniter of the HR which stayed around 145 -150 until the last 10 minutes where it actually started to drop more towards 140.  I would give this a good effort, patience is key to this recovery.