Tough hill training

Took a few days off to celebrate birthdays.  It was nice to rest a little!

My run yesterday did not go very well.  After the first hill climb, I could not catch my breath.  I'm thinking the hill might be too steep...

I finished my run at 1.7 miles.  I hope today's goes better.

Ran to work again.

Quick update.  Ran to work for 3.9 miles...  I've now conquered 5% of my 1000 mile resolution!

And a happy one month of Race Ready Ryan!

Monday Workout Forecast and Mercer Slough

I remembered!  Hooray!!  This week looks like an easy one with a 5K on Sunday...  I haven't found one to race so I might just skip that and go for another long run.  I've had a rough day at work so a long run might be just what the doctor ordered!

After work today I ran around Mercer Slough with Glenn.  I run through Mercer Slough during my commute, but I haven't had the chance to really explore... and you know what?  We found some pretty cool stuff!  About 1/2 of the course is mulch which was great on my joints (which are a little sore from yesterday's long run) and the other half was boardwalk. 
On the East side of the park, there were many steep, but very short hills.  Glenn encouraged me to use Kate's advice (it looks like somebody has been reading my blog!).  We also missed our turn a couple of times, but that's OK!  You'll never know what you will find...

Speaking of that, we ran into an old building.  This was apparently the boiler for the greenhouses that were here more than 100 years ago.  Due to development in Bellevue, the landscape had changed a lot and the building is now submerged in the wetland.  I'm glad I had a chance to find it before it's lost forever.  It was nice to learn a little something out there today!

And here's my forecast!

Monday, January 13, 2014:  3M run and Strength Training
Tuesday, January 14, 2014:  7 x Hill Repeats
Wednesday, January 15, 2014:  3M run and Swim
Thursday, January 16, 2014:  30 min Tempo
Friday, January 17, 2014:  Easy Run
Saturday, January 18, 2014:  Rest, Stretch, and Beer
Sunday, January 19, 2014:  5K Race (still looking for one)

Today's Long Run - Phantom Lake

Today I was scheduled for a 90 minute Long Run.  I'm not too strict on these so I found a place that's about 5 miles away to make a 10 mile trip.  I found Phantom Lake in Bellevue near Lake Sammamish.

I left my house about 830AM.  It's supposed to rain today so I wore long pants and my brooks jacket.  I also covered myself in BodyGlide today because last weekend's long run gave me a rash that freaked me out.

And I was off!

I ran down Main Street from my place toward the Bellevue Botanical Gardens.  It looked like they were having some construction going on so I bypassed that and just ran into the park.

There were various uphills and downhills so I tried to use Kate's advise.  Shoulders down-ass up on uphills and longer strides on downhills.  She was right!  I felt that my running was a little more efficient today.

After the first two parks, I ended up at Larsen Lake.  Lots of ducks and a cute little lake.  Most importantly for me, there were trash cans!  GU stop!  I had the vanilla bean flavor... good stuff!

I then ran through what I believe is called the GreenBelt.  Pretty boring, but looks nice.

I finally made it to Phantom Lake.  What a cool place hidden in Bellevue.  When people think of Bellevue, they think of downtown... who knew such cool places were available to those looking.

Anyway... I came home...  one more Salted Caramel GU later and I've had a few beers with lunch...  today's post is very rant-like.  Bye.

Pre-Long Run Thoughts and Planning

I had planned to run with a buddy today, but it looks like she was in a car accident last night.  I assume everything is fine or else I believe I would know different.

That said, I decided to change up my course a little.  I think I'm going to head East today and try to connect a few of Bellevue's parks.  I saw that there is the Lake to Lake trail already, so I'll modify that a little for mine.

I picked up some interesting GU flavors last night.  We'll see how those go!

Group Run with Running Elements

Last night I went on a group run with my LRS.  We did almost the same loop as the last time, but we skipped the terrible hill at Meydenbauer Beach.  My running buddy was Kate from Running Elements.  She gave me some advice on running hills and said to look into run-walking races. 

This is what I learned:
Uphill - lean forward with a straight back and shorten your stride.  The idea behind this is to use less energy while propelling yourself forward. 

Downhill - lengthen my stride a little and expand my chest.  Take full breaths.  Running downhill needs to be the recovery from running uphill...  I know that seems like common sense, but prior to this advice, I had been exhausting myself uphill and downhill.  The goal is consistency!

Tough running commute

Yesterday on my run home, some guy in an SUV pulled into the shoulder to splash me.  He then honked and took off...  How would you react? I just kept running. 

If karma is real, I must have done something to deserve it.  More though, the splash was likely a product of that guy already having a life that I don't envy.  Either way, moving on...  Running on...

7.8 tough miles done!

Monday Workout Forecast

I forgot to post this yesterday!!!  Noooooo!!!

So here's my schedule this week:

Monday, January 6, 2014:  3M run and Strength Training
Tuesday, January 7, 2014:  7 x 400 @ 5K pace
Wednesday, January 8, 2014:  3M run and Swim
Thursday, January 9, 2014:  45 min Tempo
Friday, January 10, 2014:  Rest, Stretch, and Beer
Saturday, January 11, 2014:  3M @ 13.1 Pace
Sunday, January 12, 2014:  90 min long run

It looks like it's going to rain all week so not only will I get in some good training, but I'll be diving deeper into insanity...  Bring on the Summer already!!!

Quick Library Run

I ran to the library to return a book about running!  Success!

2.25 in 18 minutes...  I thought the library was further.

Newcastle beach Easy Monday

Yesterday, I had an easy run to Newcastle Beach after work for a total of 3.3 miles.  It was nice that my buddy Glenn could join me.  The weather was chilly and ground was a little wet, but not bad.

Newcastle Beach is a nice park on the west side of Lake Washington with a view of Mercer Island.  I wad surprised to find a ton of mosquitoes at the dock so we kept moving.

Back at work we did some stretching and ran into a coworker who has been using couch to 5k.  Perhaps it was a tiny moment of inspiration.

First Long Run of 2014

Today I completed my first long run of the year!  I live in downtown Bellevue and ran out to Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island for a total of 9 miles.  It took me about an hour and 40, but I wasn't looking to make good time today.  Just a relaxing, endurance building run.

In this run, I also got a little preview of what to expect in the Mercer Island half... and that, my friends, is soreness from the many, many hills!!! 

This was also the first long run that I completed with my Saucony Triumph 10s.  My feet feel fine, no numbness, no pain, but I do have some shin splints which I don't usually get.  This could be due to the amount of hills I've been running this week though.  Compared to a treadmill, my times are definitely slower, but I'm glad that I've pushed myself to get outside this time around.  Not only do I feel its effect on my training, but my mood in general has been a lot better...  One thing I do wish though, male bikers and runners on I-90 bridge, try cheering up a little!  I've never seen such a group of bitchy athletes before.

Up Early On A Saturday

My sleep schedule is crazy! I can never sleep in on the weekend...  Never have been able to either! I guess it makes sense though.  I wake up early every weekday... 

It looks like I've got a 3 mile easy run today! Sounds good.  Maybe I'll plan it with the sunrise!

Anyway, it's only the fourth...  Resolutions intact?  Here are some lifehacks for your health:

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/view/83774669/