365Runners
Welcome to 365Runners! We are here because we all share a running addiction. Whether training for a first marathon, a new PR, a new race distance, or anything else... welcome!

To stop the banner ads, please register and login. Otherwise, please enjoy browsing as a guest.

Join the forum, it's quick and easy

365Runners
Welcome to 365Runners! We are here because we all share a running addiction. Whether training for a first marathon, a new PR, a new race distance, or anything else... welcome!

To stop the banner ads, please register and login. Otherwise, please enjoy browsing as a guest.
365Runners
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

Long Hot Summer

+13
Nick Morris
Jerry
Michael Enright
KathyK
Kenny B.
Michele "1L" Keane
mul21
Julie
Alex Kubacki
Mark B
Lauren
ounce
Mike MacLellan
17 posters

Page 1 of 7 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7  Next

Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Sun Apr 29, 2012 4:27 pm

Despite having yet to fulfill Mark's requirements for becoming a "true" northern Californian - I think it was some type of ice cream bar and a specific BBQ sauce brand? - I'm allowing my place of residence to be the inspiration for this blog in two ways.

First, although it's still April, it's more or less summer here. And after running in 80+ degree weather (painfully reminiscent of Boston...) just now, I can open this with a representative workout log.

Second, the title of this blog is also the title of a Keith Urban (I know, fake country) song and, well, that's one of the things this part of the state has done for me: turned me into a fake country boy. Yes, I dream of back roads, creeks, bonfires, cold beers, hot sun, and women in sundresses. So be it.

Now then, where did we leave off? Right, the Boston thing.
My disappointment with the race itself has washed away, though the recovery process is still very much in order.
The left knee is still giving me some complaints, although now it's on the level of "niggle" rather than "oh shit, is this going to blow up on me?" In fact, the discomfort seems to have migrated to the patella itself, indicative of nothing at all except that it's inconsistent and non-localized... Kind of like a niggle.
It's allergy season here in Davis, and whether or not I have a cold to go with my sudden hayfever flareup, it sure as hell feels like it. I've been pretty run down the last couple days, so I actually took an... wait for it... unplanned rest day yesterday. Can you believe it? It's like I'm being sensible.

I'm not quite sure that this blog will have much excitement to it, since my one and only definite goal for the summer is a very gradual recovery into a ginormous base in preparation for CIM in December. As of now, I have only a few concrete plans for the next couple months:

May 11-13: camping in Santa Rosa with Aileen to watch the beginning of the Tour of California. Also, running a 2hr trail run with her on the 12th as her longest run prior to her half marathon.
May 19-22: backpacking with my brother in either Lassen or Big Sur, depending on snow conditions. Long, low intensity hikes.
June 2: Aileen's half marathon. Sub-2 or bust. I am 90% sure I could push her to something like 1:52, but I don't want her to blow up. So we'll go for 9:00 pace (what she's been training for).
July 30-Aug 1: DeafNation World Expo in Las Vegas. 3 days of a lot of sign language.
Sometime either just before or just after the World Expo: week-long, ~350mi bike tour with Aileen from Half Moon Bay to Santa Barbara. A good way to cap off my base season before taking a couple weeks then starting with the "real stuff."

But fear not, what this may lack in impressive statistics it will surely make up in adventures and stories of youthful enthusiasm. That you can count on.

---

As I mentioned above, today was a warm run. It was also my first run over an hour since Boston. I felt the need to wait, to be honest. My week following the race was pretty lazy, and my first week back has just been a bit weird, so I didn't want to push my body or my knee. Good thing, too, since I'd been getting kind of bonky around 3.5mi into all of my runs (which, fortunately, ended between .5 and 1.5mi later).

So, I went out with the goal of ~8mi today. My standard loop is just over 7mi, so I figured I'd just tack on some extra streets if all went well.

I found that after 30min, things got a bit easier (as they generally do), and I wasn't too bonky. My quads were a little shot from the hike with my brother 2 days ago (2k' gain/loss in just 5.5mi) so my form wasn't spot-on, but I felt okay. I focused on running easy and light, not pushing it, not allowing my breathing to get too deep.

Finished up the 8mi about 3 blocks from home and 90sec short of 1:10, so of course I finished up the 90sec for an even number. Total of 8.31mi, for an average pace of 8:26. Right in my easy/LSD zone.

Now if only I could've tasted that PB&banana sandwich I made. Stupid allergies.
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  ounce Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:54 pm

It's always good to know the body can recover from something difficult.

As far as the PB & Banana sandwich, do you slice it in a coin shape or planks? I'm planks/strips.
ounce
ounce
Needs A Life
Needs A Life

Posts : 6750
Points : 19653
Join date : 2011-06-26
Age : 66
Location : houston

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Mon Apr 30, 2012 2:21 pm

Oz - coins. Never even thought of planks. Seems like a good idea. Next time...

---

I can taste today! But running is still kind of an exhausting affair. C'mon, body, recover!
4mi recovery, quick stop (3min) at Trader Joe's at mile 3 to get some groceries (about 8lb worth; oof!). Yes, I'm "that guy" who runs his errands. 35min on the nose.
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Tue May 01, 2012 3:20 pm

Bike ride today for a bit of variety and to preemptively give my knee some time off from the constant pounding associated with running. It hasn't bothered me at all since my rest day, but yesterday it sort of threatened to as I sat in class all day. I think it's a combination of my "dress" shoes (though stylish, they're cheap... and old) and sitting at a desk all day that aggravates it a bit. Either way, figured I'd get some good base miles in on the bike and explore a bit west of Davis.

The plan was to head out to Winters on a semi-direct route with a bike path for most of it, then head back along a different road. As the bike path ended, I remembered that the remainder of my originally planned road was pretty shitty pavement, so I headed on the other one instead. My memory of riding out here is definitely distorted, as I hit the graffiti bridge (my name for it; real name Stevenson Bridge) almost exactly halfway between Davis and Winters. I remembered it being very close to downtown Winters. Oh well.

Almost missed my turn to Winters, but when I doubled back and made it, I learned I was on the 10mi individual TT course. It's not really an official race, but weekly (I think?) during the summer, all the UC Davis and Davis Bike Team guys (and girls) head out there in the evening and try to best their previous times. So the road has permanent spraypaint km/mi markers (up to 10km/5mi with a 180 turn at those points).

Of course, seeing numbers on the road got the adrenaline going a little bit, so I eased in to my aerobic threshold (not anaerobic or lactic!) and treated the interval as just a little bonus effort. Definitely not going for a PR - "you're still recovering, Mike; if you have to open your mouth to breathe, you're going too hard" - but putting in a little more effort than just a Sunday afternoon cruise.

Between the two intervals (5mi out, 5mi back), I used the remaining distance to Winters to recover and eat half a pb&banana sandwich (with planks this time, thanks to Oz's suggestion!).

I admittedly hammered the last 1k, getting my HR up to 170 by the end and holding a steady 25-26mph. So shoot me.

Then a nice half hour cool down back to the house for a total of 29.3mi in 1:42. Like I said, not going for any sort of speed records yet (that's only 17.2mph average), but just getting back into the comfort zone on the bike. Plus, for the first time since Boston, a workout felt absolutely great.
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Lauren Tue May 01, 2012 4:59 pm

Nothin' wrong with fake country. Smile Good to see you're back at it post Boston. It just gave you a nice prep for the hot summer, right?
Lauren
Lauren
Newbie
Newbie

Posts : 43
Points : 4609
Join date : 2011-09-28
Age : 41
Location : Tennessee

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mark B Tue May 01, 2012 4:59 pm

Mike MacLellan wrote:Despite having yet to fulfill Mark's requirements for becoming a "true" northern Californian - I think it was some type of ice cream bar and a specific BBQ sauce brand? - I'm allowing my place of residence to be the inspiration for this blog in two ways.

*Sigh* What am I going to do with you, Mike? Deliver a Care Package?

Long Hot Summer Origin11
Behold: J Lee Roy's Original Dippin' Sauce

Long Hot Summer Itsit11
And.. San Francisco's immortal It's-It Ice Cream Treat

Try them! Embrace all the good that is Northern California.Very Happy
Mark B
Mark B
Needs A Life
Needs A Life

Posts : 8139
Points : 19816
Join date : 2011-06-15
Age : 60
Location : Vancouver, Wash.

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Wed May 02, 2012 1:50 pm

Sounds about right, Lauren. Hopefully Boston will just serve as a baseline against which I can compare my late-summer runs, post-acclimation/"real" training.

Mark - Should I head to SF for the ice cream? Or grocery store it?

---

36min recovery today. Had I stuck to recovery pace (9min/mi) it would've been 4mi even. Alas, I still can't seem to get my legs that slow. They're just super comfortable in the 8:45-8:30 range. So, I let them be. I did notice that I had to dial myself back two or three times as my pace dropped to around 7:45. All good things, I think. No knee pain.
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Alex Kubacki Wed May 02, 2012 4:33 pm

Sounds like you're getting the recovery thing working out well. Just have fun with it all.
Alex Kubacki
Alex Kubacki
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 1252
Points : 6285
Join date : 2011-06-23

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Julie Wed May 02, 2012 8:23 pm

Sounds like recovery is going well. It's already hot and humid in Nebraska, too. That's what makes summer training fun, right? Getting up super early to beat the unbeatable heat?
Julie
Julie
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 2747
Points : 8913
Join date : 2011-06-17

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Thu May 03, 2012 3:12 pm

After three good days in a row, I'd say that the brunt of Boston's damage has passed and we're onto our regularly scheduled programming. As always, keeping in mind that ramping it up too much, too fast is a terrible, terrible idea.

Speaking of ramping it up... Hey, I at least have an excuse for this one.

Went to turn on the Garmin today and it turned on... Then immediately turned off. Sweet. Apparently I left it on yesterday. I actually freaked out for a second before realizing how stupid that was - seriously, I can't run without a watch? Sad. Then I laced up, set a stopwatch, and walked out the door.

The route I'd been mapping out was ~7.5mi so I figured I'd finish in an hour or so if it was a good day. That was the plan, anyway. An hour. So I ran. I felt pretty good, and after a mile, any sort of knee thing (class all day yesterday = clutch driving + sitting around = knee wakes up) went away. So I let myself ease into a GA effort level. Ah, felt great. Kept on moseying along... I have to admit, the run felt excessively long. Not tiring or anything, just felt like it went on and on and on. Granted, I'd never done most of this route before, so it was all unfamiliar, and every turn was a "I hope that one was the right one," as it was on a bike path with many, many splits.

By the time I got to a recognizable place (~2mi from home) I was easing into something closer to MP effort. Shhhhh. It just felt so good! Held onto that until I rounded the corner and got to my stopping point, about a minute's walk from the house. So I cut 2 minutes from the stopwatch and made that my time.

Final result? 7.6mi in 57min = 7:30s. ...What a Face

Tomorrow's a rest day.
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mark B Thu May 03, 2012 3:19 pm

Nice (sorta) unplugged run, Mike. Isn't it weird how some perfectly normal distances feel long sometimes? Probably a good idea that you're taking tomorrow as a rest day. Approval

Yes, you could drive to SF for an IT'S IT, but I think they have them at all quality stop-n-robs in Northern California. Not to mention Raley's, Nob Hilly, Lucky, etc...
Mark B
Mark B
Needs A Life
Needs A Life

Posts : 8139
Points : 19816
Join date : 2011-06-15
Age : 60
Location : Vancouver, Wash.

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  mul21 Thu May 03, 2012 7:22 pm

I'm squarely placing all the blame for the ridiculous humidity I had to run in this morning on this blog and you for even mentioning hot weather unnecessarily. Oh, how I hate humidity!
mul21
mul21
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 1481
Points : 6921
Join date : 2011-06-15
Age : 47
Location : St. Louis

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Michele "1L" Keane Thu May 03, 2012 8:31 pm

mul21 wrote:I'm squarely placing all the blame for the ridiculous humidity I had to run in this morning on this blog and you for even mentioning hot weather unnecessarily. Oh, how I hate humidity!

Not sure there is enough humidity in No.Ca for Mike to take the blame - so I blame you Jim as you are west of me. Wink
Michele
Michele "1L" Keane
Needs A Life
Needs A Life

Posts : 5030
Points : 14201
Join date : 2011-06-15
Age : 62
Location : Atlanta, GA

http://1lranthere.blogspot.com

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Sat May 05, 2012 2:40 pm

Mark - I'm too neurotic/sentimental to completely unplug. I like being able to look back at how much I've run. And I like numbers. Go figure. I'll check into the ice cream once the wind goes away.

Michele/Jim - It was actually cool (60ish) and pretty humid for my last run. Since then, it's warmed up day by day and gotten extremely windy. Allergies are going nuts. Seriously, I kind of look like I'm stoned most of the day, my eyes are so bloodshot.

---

Easy hour on the schedule today. When sub-7:30 pace felt all-too-comfortable, I realized I was really going to have to discipline myself and dial things back a notch. This is one of the few runs I've ever done where I actually noticed the wind affecting me; when it was at my back, I was cruising down to 7:00s. At my face, 8:15 or so.

That said, I was able to stay disciplined enough to average 7:53s for a total of 7.35mi in 58min. Knee kind of sore at times, but absolutely no residual sensation after the run. Weird.
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Sun May 06, 2012 1:55 pm

Wish I had something fun to report about from last night, but Cinco de Drinko became Cinco de Snoozefest and I took off around 11:45. I don't remember when playing video games and having absolutely no music became the new definition of "party." I could do that all at home, thank you. Oh well. Just meant that I was well-rested and ready for today.

On a similar note, Aileen headed up to LA (she's back home, now) last night to go dancing and ended up asking one of her friends to walk her back to the car around 12:30 so she could go to sleep until everyone else was ready to leave. We. Are. So. Old.

---

Had ~60-75min on the schedule. Wanted to see if I could hit the upper end of that, but wasn't going to push it if not, since yesterday's run was a good enough workout as is.

Noticed a bit of fatigue in the first mile, and the 9:00+ split reflected that. I was hoping to get some more LSD/recovery running in, though, so this was fine. Until civilization disappeared and I was left facing 2mi of a 20-25mph steady headwind. Seriously?

I'll just go into the data at this point:
Mile 1 - warm up, 9:08 pace
Miles 2-3 - into 20-25mph headwind, 8:33 pace
Mile 4 - 20-25mph crosswind, 8:16 pace
Miles 5-7 - of course, the golf course on this stretch had huge trees that blocked my tailwind for most of it; rare 20-25mph tailwind, 7:47 pace
Miles 8-end - through Davis, some tail, some head, some cross, 7:58 pace

This was a little bit tougher than yesterday's run, but still in the easy range. GA/moderate at some points, but I'd dial it back when that happened. Overall, 1:17 @ 8:12 pace for 9.4mi.
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mark B Sun May 06, 2012 2:46 pm

Mike MacLellan wrote:We. Are. So. Old.
Long Hot Summer Hyster10

Oh! My! You're killing me, here, kid. Killing me!

Mike MacLellan wrote:Had ~60-75min on the schedule. Wanted to see if I could hit the upper end of that, but wasn't going to push it if not, since yesterday's run was a good enough workout as is.

Noticed a bit of fatigue in the first mile, and the 9:00+ split reflected that. I was hoping to get some more LSD/recovery running in, though, so this was fine. Until civilization disappeared and I was left facing 2mi of a 20-25mph steady headwind. Seriously?

I'll just go into the data at this point:
Mile 1 - warm up, 9:08 pace
Miles 2-3 - into 20-25mph headwind, 8:33 pace
Mile 4 - 20-25mph crosswind, 8:16 pace
Miles 5-7 - of course, the golf course on this stretch had huge trees that blocked my tailwind for most of it; rare 20-25mph tailwind, 7:47 pace
Miles 8-end - through Davis, some tail, some head, some cross, 7:58 pace

This was a little bit tougher than yesterday's run, but still in the easy range. GA/moderate at some points, but I'd dial it back when that happened. Overall, 1:17 @ 8:12 pace for 9.4mi.

Nice run! The headwinds are annoying -- especially as all the grass and rice in the valley to the north of you ripens and becomes allergenic -- but there's nothing quite as fun as sailing along with a 25 mph tailwind. Very Happy

You didn't mention if you take antihistamines, but it you don't... you should consider it. The grass pollens are only going to get worse in the Sacramento Valley over the next month. Then, weed pollen will take over. Might as well prepare yourself.
Mark B
Mark B
Needs A Life
Needs A Life

Posts : 8139
Points : 19816
Join date : 2011-06-15
Age : 60
Location : Vancouver, Wash.

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Sun May 06, 2012 7:36 pm

Mark - Every year around this time, I break out the Zyrtec... Often a week late, so I play catch up. Lately I've been adding some nasal spray to the mix for an extra boost of goodness. It's sort of working.

---

Planned 45min easy bike ride this afternoon, just to keep myself familiar with the bike. Well, I invited my brother - who used to race as a Cat 3. I keep forgetting that I need to drop 3-4 notches off the effort level description when I tell him what I'm planning, not just 1. So when I say "really easy," he means anywhere below 200 watts. What I mean is ~130. My threshold is just over 200. So it'd be like me running a 6:30 pace instead of a 9:00 pace.

So that was fun.

49min total, only about 10 of them painful, but the rest were definitely not easy. Probably more in the GA range. Think I'm gonna cut half a mile off my run tomorrow and just do 4.5 instead.
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Kenny B. Mon May 07, 2012 2:28 pm

I like the half a mile of cutting tomorrow. Why seems like a unusual # to cut off.
Kenny B.
Kenny B.
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 2042
Points : 7128
Join date : 2011-06-15
Age : 51
Location : Jersey Shore!

http://www.365Competitors.com

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Mon May 07, 2012 2:48 pm

Kenny - The logic behind it may defeat the purpose of your approval; it was either 5mi @ 9:00 pace (45min total) or 4.5mi @ ____ pace (40min total). I haven't been able to keep myself down at 9:00 since Boston, and my recoveries have been closer to 8:45, so the 4.5 in 40 seemed more realistic. What a Face

---

Aaaaand nailed it. Exactly 4.5mi in exactly 40min. Legs are fatigued from the weekend - as am I, especially since the allergies flared up again last night and made my 9hr slumber rather unpleasant - so this was perfect to just shake them out.

2hr easy on the bike tomorrow. Hoping for around 33-34mi; I'd like the even 35, but that might require pushing it more than I want to.
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Tue May 08, 2012 3:41 pm

Today's ride took a bit of mental toughness and patience, but fortunately both kicked in at the right time after faltering a bit early on. The ride started with a few miles headed east, then a few south, then a long stretch (~9mi) west followed by a long stretch (~8mi) north.

Just so happened that there was a 5-8mph wind coming from NNW today. Sweet.

The westerly stretch was tough, but fortunately it was broken up about 2/3 through by I-80 and a few turns to go up and over the highway. After that, I was able to settle into a groove (coincidentally I was just about halfway done, which is when things tend to start feeling much easier) so that by the time I turned into a near-direct headwind at mile 17, I was able to just ease up and keep my HR steady ~140bpm. It was slow going for a few miles, but some I got some shelter later on from a few orchards and eucalyptus groves.

As I was starting my 9min (forgot to watch the clock, oops) cooldown, I was looking at the Garmin when someone decided to pull onto the road from a driveway without even looking. Mind you, this is an extremely bike-heavy road, and it's an extremely bike-heavy town. What was she thinking? So, of course, after swerving to avoid getting hit, I asked her that... plus a few (many) expletives. I think I scared a pedestrian on the other side of the road. Oops.

Aside from that excitement, the ride was pretty steady, with close to 80% of it being spent smack in the middle of my aerobic HR zone (135-145bpm).

2:01 total, 34.34mi, 17mph even. Still slow, but still not too concerned about speed.
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Tue May 08, 2012 3:41 pm

Today's ride took a bit of mental toughness and patience, but fortunately both kicked in at the right time after faltering a bit early on. The ride started with a few miles headed east, then a few south, then a long stretch (~9mi) west followed by a long stretch (~8mi) north.

Just so happened that there was a 5-8mph wind coming from NNW today. Sweet.

The westerly stretch was tough, but fortunately it was broken up about 2/3 through by I-80 and a few turns to go up and over the highway. After that, I was able to settle into a groove (coincidentally I was just about halfway done, which is when things tend to start feeling much easier) so that by the time I turned into a near-direct headwind at mile 17, I was able to just ease up and keep my HR steady ~140bpm. It was slow going for a few miles, but some I got some shelter later on from a few orchards and eucalyptus groves.

As I was starting my 9min (forgot to watch the clock, oops) cooldown, I was looking at the Garmin when someone decided to pull onto the road from a driveway without even looking. Mind you, this is an extremely bike-heavy road, and it's an extremely bike-heavy town. What was she thinking? So, of course, after swerving to avoid getting hit, I asked her that... plus a few (many) expletives. I think I scared a pedestrian on the other side of the road. Oops.

Aside from that excitement, the ride was pretty steady, with close to 80% of it being spent smack in the middle of my aerobic HR zone (135-145bpm).

2:01 total, 34.34mi, 17mph even. Still slow, but still not too concerned about speed.
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Wed May 09, 2012 1:30 pm

Went out for a 40min GA run today... ran 35min MP effort with a 5min cooldown. Oops.

Combination of this week being finals week, Aileen getting here tomorrow, and my roommate having a little party that kept me up half the night = heavy legs.

Tomorrow is 5 recovery miles with Aileen then I think I'll take a rest day Friday.
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Alex Kubacki Fri May 11, 2012 8:22 am

I used to do a lot of riding before I got heavily into running. I've gotten hit by a car before from those not looking. Not hard or anything because I saw it coming but enough to get p'd off.
Alex Kubacki
Alex Kubacki
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 1252
Points : 6285
Join date : 2011-06-23

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Fri May 11, 2012 12:56 pm

Alex - Yeah, that isn't the only close call I've had. One of the closer ones, though. The worst for me has been when a car passes and then turns right when I'm going straight. Or doesn't completely pass. I've been ridden into the curb, my hand going into their window to keep myself upright, twice. Ironically, the only time I've been hit by a car, I was running. Not too hard, but enough to get me screaming at the top of my lungs.

---

Did 5.45mi with Aileen yesterday here in Davis. After a .45mi warm-up with a 15min break - ...women... What a Face - we started again and I just reset the timer. The first 3.1 were in exactly 30min, which would leave 90min for the last 10 of a half marathon... and her goal pace is 9min/mi. And she wasn't working too hard at all. So, again, another confidence boost for me as her coach that she's ready.

We're headed to Santa Rosa to set up camp and watch the Tour of California take off on Sunday. Gonna do a 2hr trail run tomorrow, ride to the race Sunday, then I'll be running again Monday morning. Catch everyone in a few days!
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Mike MacLellan Mon May 14, 2012 1:58 pm

Ah, back in civilization and able to just sit and be still. Busy weekend...

We got out of the house at about noon on Friday and headed westward towards wine country. Little did Aileen know, I had a side-trip to a winery just outside Sonoma planned on our way to the campgrounds in Santa Rosa; needless to say, she was excited to be there. We sampled 7 or 8 Italian varietals - I had my first American-made Italian red (Barbera) that actually tasted like the Italian version - as well as some olive oils before having a tailgate picnic of, what else, turkey/tofurkey sandwiches on rosemary French bread. Nice pairing with the wines and good enough to help dampen our buzzes before driving onward.

Made it to camp around 3pm and it was blazing hot. Set up the tent, got all our stuff put in the food locker, and passed out. Woke up in time to start appetizers - more bread and hummus with a bottle of white zinfandel (don't knock it til you try it when it's 80+ outside) - and then a big dinner of fish tacos. Aside from my allergies having gone completely bonkers by this point, the day was a great success.

I woke up with one eye swollen almost shut - sweet, allergies - and spent the morning trying to dose myself into oblivion so we could head out on Aileen's longest time-on-feet run before her half marathon. It was a planned 2hr, 10-12mi run on some trails that I knew had considerable elevation change but knew little else. Well, I'd say about half of it was extremely technical, covered in rocks and boulders, a quarter of it was some of the most beautiful redwood groves I've ever run in, and the last quarter of it was a typical trail/fire road. Aileen took a spill on one of the easiest sections of the run and scraped up her arm pretty good. But, like a champ, she got right up, assured me she was fine, and started running again. Little did I know, she apparently knocked the wind out of herself and was panicking so she didn't want to say anything. ...Women... What a Face

All in all, that run was 2hr4min, 11mi, with 2000' gain/loss. The best part is that she didn't have to walk once, never felt like she was trying too hard, and had a great attitude (she was acting like a dragonfly and "flying" around the trail at the hour and a half mark...) the whole time. I think she's more than ready for her race.

We celebrated the victory with a hodgepodge lunch of whatever fruit/veggies/bread/hummus we had, plus some homemade tortilla chips on the camp stove. Then a 2 hour nap and another winery with a turkey/tofurkey sandwich picnic.

Sunday morning, my allergies were finally quelled a bit, but the temperature had dropped considerably and it was pretty overcast. Perfect for a morning run, so after a quick cup of coffee, I laced up and headed out (leaving Aileen some hot coffee in a thermos in one of my other running shoes; adorable, right?). We were camping on a lake/reservoir, so I just looped it 3 times for a total of 5mi in 43min. Definitely creaky and my knee was a little achy from all the elevation change on Saturday, but nothing to be worried about. Then we packed up and headed out.

About half a mile outside the campgrounds, we parked and got out the bikes to head downtown for the start of the Tour of California. It was still pretty cold, but much better than the awful heat from Friday. We got to see a few teams leave their buses to head to the start line, and I got some good video of Jens Voigt (if you don't know, google him) on the Nissan/Radioshack/Trek team.

After the race start and first sprint through town an hour later, we went to Peet's for a caffeine fix and happened to meet a deaf man. A very well educated one, at that. We chatted with him for about 20min before heading back to the finish line to nab a good spot. The sun came out shortly after, so we stood in it for 2+hr while waiting... but it's always worth it. The energy just builds and builds for the last 45min until the whole town is in an uproar for this race. And then Peter (sp?) Sagan came flying through the finish line and gave a pretty confident and stylish salute to the crowd. After having a mechanical ~3-5mi from the finish (I forget where exactly). Strong young guy.

We finally got back here around 7:30pm (hit a lot of traffic), ate, then went to Antioch.

---

And 5:30am came too early today. Aileen started her internship in Oakland today at 9, so she wanted to be out the door by 7... Man, I didn't want to get up. Actually, I didn't, until 6. Then made us breakfast and headed back to Davis when she left.

Then I pounded out a 9.8mi fartlek/GA run that felt absolutely amazing. I just wanted to keep ratcheting it up until I was screaming. A ton of pent up energy, I guess. But instead of finishing the 10mi, I stopped at my planned 1hr15min to keep some sort of discipline. Among the various intervals on today's run were 2 short (~1min) VO2max bursts, a few 5min progressive tempos (from MP to LT), some longer GA intervals, and some easy intervals.

Yep. Good trip, great to have some time to reconnect with Aileen, but also good to be home and comfortable again.

Happy belated Mother's Day to all the moms!
Mike MacLellan
Mike MacLellan
Explaining To Spouse
Explaining To Spouse

Posts : 3191
Points : 10057
Join date : 2011-06-14
Age : 37
Location : Arlington, VA

https://www.facebook.com/mike.a.maclellan

Back to top Go down

Long Hot Summer Empty Re: Long Hot Summer

Post  Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Page 1 of 7 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7  Next

Back to top

- Similar topics

 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum