Day 44

Missed my evening run Wednesday night. There was some kind of major accident on I-40 and it took me 3 times longer than usual to get home (1.5 hours)! No big deal though.

Thursday morning: Computer down at work, so I went to the indoor track and ran...130 laps!!! 20 miles in 2:58:17 (8:55 pace), including water/gel and bathroom breaks. I ran it in 10 x 2 mile segments. I'd run 13 laps then drink. After warming up (first 2 miles), I ran a lot of it at ~8:40 pace, then had ~ 40 seconds to drink each segment. Felt fine thrughout in terms of breathing. Never really above conversational pace. My muscles tightened up a little near the end, and my left foot started hurting, but nothing too bad. Overall, kinda cool.

42 runs/44 days

Day 43

Got out at lunch today for an easy 5.5 miles around NCSU Centennial campus. Well, was supposed to be easy, but my legs protested early then quieted down after about 4 miles. I got stung by a wasp of something near the end. Hurt like hell!

Going to try and sneak in another run before going home today. But we'll see.

41 runs/43 days

Day 42

Ran 4 miles on the indoor track at NCSU in 38:04. Absolutely sucked. Felt like crap the whole time. Just an unfun run all around.

Going to see Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, and Willie Nelson tonight at the Durham Buills Park. Hopefully that will make me feel better.

(edited to note that Day 42 was Tuesday, July 28th)

40 runs/42 days

Day 41

Cool, 2 runs today. ~11:15 I got outside for a HOT 6 miles, probably in about 50 minutes of so (no watch). Then after that, I ate a lot and drank plenty of water, then hit the gym in the afternoon for another 4 miles on the dreadmill, then some weights.

The 'mill took me 47 minutes, but I threw in some intervals at 15% incline for powerwalking practice. Legs feel good, but tired.

39 runs/41 days

Days 38-40

Friday, ran a nice 5 miles in 45 minutes. Nothing special. Then n0 run on Saturday (oops!), but got in a very uncomfortable 6.2 miles today with the kids. Ran with J for some of it (she did 15!). Really going to try and get in a long-ish run this week, even if it is on the indoor track. My mileage for July is kinda low (currently 114.9 with 5 days to go), and my projected for the year has dropped to right around 1800 again. Will need to do some doubles as well!

37 runs/40 days

Days 34-37

Well now...let's see here. Getting further and further behind, but totally worth it. Monday and Tuesday were "stay-cation" days with my daughter, so no running for me (unless you count running alongside a bike!). Then Wednesday I ran twice: 3.5 miles (31:32) in the morning around NC State campus, followed by some weights. Then a quick 4 miles ( 37:56) in Umstead State park in the PM. Today was a very busy day at work, but I snuck in a 4.5 mile run at the indoor track, finishing in 32:00! That's a 7:06 pace. For me, that is...well, fast.

Monday = Day 34 = No run (stay-cation with G)
Tuesday = Day 35 = No Run (stay-cation with G)
Wednesday = Day 36 = 2 runs (3.5 and 4 miles)
Thursday = Day 37 = 1 run (4.5 miles)

35 runs/37 days

Day 32 & 33

Day 33, Sunday July 19th. Yesterday got in a 4 mile run with the kids, had to power-walk some of the hills as my legs just didn't have any oomph. The rest of the day was...taxing. But a fun day.

Today...whoa...J went for her long run (13 miles) in Umstead State park. I met her at mile ~8 and ran the last 5 with her, again pushing the little ones in the double wide. Mostly was OK, but the last hill nearly killed me. She flew up it, I was severely struggling to not get dropped off the back! That section gave me 5.5 miles and it took 1 hour, including a short break when she stretched.

I then got an awesome surprise by getting to run solo back to the car. I ran ~2 miles of single track and then dirt road for ~5K, for a grand total of 10.6 today. The last 5.1 was in 49 minutes. Spent the rest of the day at the pool, so my legs are a but tired (about 30 trips up the slide stairs)! After logging my miles, I saw that I am...0.2 miles short of 1000 for the year! Oh well.

So...almost a third done with this 100 in 100 challenge, and only 1 run down. I'll take it!

32 runs/33 days

Day 31

Wow, that was tougher than I expected. After taking D to his 18 month checkup (3 shots, but that stud did awesome!) and dropping the kids at daycare, I stopped off at Umstead State Park for a run. Down Reedy Creek Lake road, up the Corskscrew, then Cedar Ridge Trail, returning on South Turkey Creek and then the Loblolly trail (~2.75 miles of single track).

Maybe the humidity and 70F+ dew point did me in. I covered ~7 miles in ~70 minutes. That was with walking some of the early uphills for practice and the later ones because I had to. I had 20 ounces of lemon-lime Nuun, but it was gone in ~40 minutes. I drank another 12 ounces of water when I finished and then another 20 ounces of Nuun on the drive into work. Safe to say I was a bit dehydrated.

Need to finish up some work now and enjoy my last caffeine binge day. Starting tomorrow I begin cutting back and will hopefully be caffeine free by next Wednesday or Thursday. Plan to stay that way for 1-2 weeks, just to spice life up a little bit!

30 runs/31 days

Day 30

Yet another maintenance day. Nothing special, just logging the miles. Dreadmill run at the gym. Ranged from 2 to 8.5 MPH (30 to 7 minutes per mile pace) and 0-15% incline. Did a total of 4.5 miles in ~45 minutes. I think it said ~800 feet of climb, too.

Details

Started at 6 MPH (10 mpm) and increased 0.1 MPH every minutes for 25 minutes (final was 8.4 MPH (7:09 mpm). Covered about 3 miles, all at 0% incline. Then did 5 minutes at 5% incline/6 MPH, then 5 minutes at 10% incline/5 MPH, and finally 15% incline starting at 2 MPH, increasing 0.1 MPH every 30 seconds until 4 MPH, staying until 4.5 reached.

29 runs/30 days

Day 29

Short easy run today. 4 miles in 38 minutes. It was hot out, and sunny, but I ran by new golf course here on Centennial campus and checked out the practice range. Will probably have to move my long run to next week. Bummer.

28 runs/29 days

Day 28

After a night of ~5 hours sleep, I decided running early was my best chance of actually going today. It was surpisingly cool (mid 60's with a breeze) so was a very pleasant run. Started at NCSU gym and ran towards the Vet school and back. Campus starting to buzz with new people!

Lots of paperwork and other stuff to get done today. Still hoping for a mega short lap long run sometime this week.

27 runs/28 days

Day 27, b

Cool! After wrapping up what I could in my office, I was able to run another 4.5 miles (in a hair under 40 minutes) this afternoon before picking up the kids. Felt really good too, except for the drenched shoes. True, I'll be up late doing some work at home, but two runs in a day is worth a little lost sleep!

26 runs/27 days

Day 27

This is getting real now! Day 26 was a wash. I coudl have gotten out, but decided not to for various reasons. So down two runs now. Day 27 (today) was supposed to be a double run day...yeah...kids didn't wake up until 5 minutes AFTER I was planning on being out the door. So looking doubtful.

But making lemonade out of lemons...I looked out my office and saw a DARK sky, wind, and rain. So I immediately grabbed my stuff and headed out for a run. I'm 37 going on 10! A fun 4.5 miles around NC State campus. Soaked to the core and feet drenched. Had a blast.

25 runs/27 days

Day 25

25% done today. Got in an early morning run with the kids in the double-wide stroller. 4.5 miles, probably 45-50 minutes. Felt pretty good, considering my right knee was really sore when I woke up this morning!?!

So still one run down, and looking back at my running log, I've done a 20+ mile run in the first week of the month in March, April, May and June. So I need to get in a long run sometime next week if possible. I'm thinking of trying a "physically easy but mentally challenging" run: 20+ miles on the indoor track at work. At 6.5 laps per mile, that's 130 laps for 20 miles. Flat, climate controlled, access to food and liquid...but 100+ laps! Could be tough to stick it out past the first hour!

24 runs/25 days

Day 24

DOH DOH DOH! I'm now down 1 run again. No run yesterday (day 23). I gladly dropped off and picked up the kids, which in and of itself is still consistent with getting a run in. But the technician in my lab also had some tire issues with their car and had to take the day off. There was a DNA prep that needed to get done, so...no run for me! I can't believe I'm so responsible that my work and family comes before running! 8-)

So today, day 24, I did get in a run (proving my earlier contention that it can be done even when I drop off and pickup the kids!) of 5.7 miles around NC State campus and downtown Raleigh. Thrpw in some stretching, ab work and 4 minutes (Tabata workout) on the "double cycle" and I feel...sore.

My calves have been cramping the last 2 days for some reason. Maybe I need more than 3-4 hours sleep a night. Have to test that out, if possible.

23 runs/24 days

Day 22

Easy recovery day. An easy 4.5 course (from work) finished in 43-44 minutes. It was hot out, but I stuck to shade whenever possible. Back on track and hopeful to stay that way for at least another week. Might be tough this weekend though, so next week I may have to play catch up again.

This is tougher than I thought!

22 runs/22 days

Day 21, back on track!

Alright...a busy day at work made more so by taking time for two runs! Meant to go in the early morning, but couldn't quite fit it in, so I ran a quickie before lunch (~11:10-11:45A), 4 miles in just under 34 minutes. Legs felt OK, a little sore from Monday's effort. It was hotter than I expected and took me quite a while to fully cool down.

Then I snuck out early (~3:30P) and went to the gym and got in another 3.5 miles on the indoor track: 23 laps of monotonous-ness in 27:21. Focused on a good fore- to mid-foot strike. I can feel that effort in my calves today!

21 runs/21 days

Day 20

Day 20...20% done with my 100 in 100 challenge. So far I've logged 19 runs, so I'm one down. This morning I did 7.2 miles of rolling hills in Umstead State Park. Out in 30:27 and back in 28:20, putting my overall pace at ~8:15/mile. That's pretty good for me, considering I went out a little too fast, and did the forst mile easy as a warmup. The nagative split is likely because there are two good hills that go up on the out, and only 1 significant uphill on the back. I was probably at 85% effort during this run. I definitely could have run faster had it been a race, but I also wasn't lolligagging.

19 runs/20 days

Days 17/18/19

OK, so no run on Day 17 (Friday). Today (The 4th of July) I got in a cool 5.5 miles pushing the double-wide and both kids on the American Tobacco Trail. I got to run with J for the first time in a while. It was, as always, immensely better than running alone (and I LOVE to run alone!).

The rest of the 4th was good, if not exhausting. 5 hours at the pool with the kids. G got the nerve to do all three play areas (bouncy slide, bouncing cage, obstacle course) and is finally jumping into the pool, but just barely. D is a maniac and just walks off the deck, assuming we'll catch him. He also just face-plants into the water when we hold him. Comes up laughing. The force is strong in this one, for sure!

Today I just didn't get out for a run. I could have, just didn't. Had other things that took precedence. So that puts me minus 1 on the days/runs tally. I'll need to find some time for a few doubles this week to get back even (preferably ahead)! May try a moderately hilly 9.5 run tomorrow morning (Umstead state park) and see how fast I can go. I'm tentatively scheduled to do the run leg on a half-Ironman triathlon relay in late September. The distance is no problem, but the cycling leg guy, and I'm fairly certain the swim leg guy also, are...shall we say, much closer to elite status than I am. I want to do well, so will be working on my mid-distance speed in addition to training for the hills and distance of Mountain Masochist (and possibly Hellgate...)

18 runs/19 days

Day 16

Very easy day today. 3 miles total, 2 on the treadmill (in 17 min) and then 1 on the indoor track, barefoot. Afterwards I threw in some weights, trying out some "Tabata" type workouts on both squat thrusts (with 10 pound dumbbells) and also the "double cycling" machine: the one where you pedal with both your arms and legs.

The squat thrusts I made it through 4 repeats, the cycling machine I made it through 6. Repeats were 20 seconds of all out effort, then 10 seconds of rest. I can feel it in my hamstrings already!!!

Possibly doing a Fat-Ass 50K on Saturday, the "Sweaty Butt"! I made it 2 laps last year in just over 4 hours. We'll see how the weekend shapes up.

17 runs/16 days

Day 15

Dropped the kids off at daycare, then stopped by Umstead State Park on the way in to work for what was supposed to be a quick morning run. Turned out to be 9.5 miles in 1:29! Not bad (for me) considering the hills and 3 x 1 minute walk breaks I took.

I ran the Loblolly trail (~2.1 miles), then turned right onto the Bike & Bridle trail. For some reason I thought that if I ran the South Turkey Creek & North Turkey Creek trails, then ran down Gralyn (Powerline Hill) and down the corkscrew, finishing with a push up Reedy Creek Lake Road, it would be ~5.5-6 miles. Oh well. It was a fantastic run and a good workout. I even passed some casual cyclists on the final hill!

Legs feel good, but I did have some right leg IT band tightness in the middle of last night (DMC was up several times again!). It's coming back now so I may need some new shoes. My current pair (Saucony Ride) have ~600 miles on them but still feel great.

16 runs/15 days