Sunday, August 28, 2011

Week 5

After last week's disappointing result, the plan was to push the mileage back up to around 50.

Monday - 5.4 mi @ 7:32 - Warming Hut

Tuesday - 11.6 mi @ 8:51 (2064') - Rancho San Antonio - Upper Meadow and Wildcat loops. Pretty steep 1200' climb

Wednesday - 8.0 mi @ 7:36 - Embarcadero

Thursday - 5.0 @ 7:52 - Back in Columbus for my sister's wedding. I had forgotten how brutal the humidity is in the midwest in August. Ran at a pretty slow pace and still averaged a HR of 167.

Friday - Rest

Saturday - ~20 mi @ 8:30 - Headed out early to Highbanks to get my long run in. Back in high school, we used to run here during the summer for cross country training. Running the whole loop used to seem really long - turns out it's under 5 miles. Just not feeling it in the first 5 miles so I ditched the Garmin at the car and just ran for time. Never felt great but got into a rhythm.

Total: 50 mi (2768')

Week 4

Nothing to really mention this week. Big deadline at work pretty much cratered my running plans throughout the week and then I headed to AC for a Bachelor Party over the weekend. Just a handful of runs - maybe 10-15 easy miles. Just looking to get back on track next week.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Week 3

The goal this week was to hit 50 miles, get some more elevation in, and hopefully get back out on the mountain bike. (Also, get rid of the poison oak I got on Sunday somewhere along Matt Davis). Pretty solid week overall.

Monday: 6.1 mi @ 7:56 - Ran through the Presideo and up Lover's Lane. Nice steady 300 foot climb.

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: 10.0 mi @ 8:48 (1614') - Hit up Rancho San Antonio and looped the 500 ft ascent Wildcat Loop 3 times. Felt good.

Thursday: 8.0 mi @ 7:45 - Easy miles along the Ebarcadero

Friday: 6.2 mi @ 7:33 - Easy out-and-back to Fort Point

Saturday: 15.2 @ 9:20 (2548') - Met up with Mike at the warming hut, ran out across the GG bridge to Coastal to SCA to Rodeo to Bobcat to Alta to Sca to Coastal and back. Good run along the course

Sunday: 5.0 @ 9:32 (965') - I haven't been on the bike since I started my training so I headed out to Tamarancho for an 11 mi mtn bike ride with plenty of climbing, then headed down to the headlands for and out-and-back on from the lagoon. Legs were a little tired after the ride, but managed 12 minute miles on the ascent and 7 minute miles on the descent.

Total: 50.5 mi (5991')

Monday, August 1, 2011

Week 2

This week is a continuation of the last in that I'm just getting the mileage up. Starting next week I have some more specific workouts planned.

Monday: Rest. I intended to head out for 5 miles but I got home from work at 9PM, pulled on running clothes, and promptly got a got from my boss conferencing me into a meeting with some co-workers in Costa Rica. That lasted most of the night so I had to cancel my run.

Tuesday: 3.0 mi @ 6:24 - I was meeting some friends at 6 for dinner. Since there was a bottle of 2003 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon (100 pt Robert Parker) waiting at dinner, I didn't want to be late. Hit Marina Green for a quick 3 miles.

Wednesday: 8.0 mi @ 7:12 - My heart rate was a little higher than I wanted it to be during the run (ave 169 bpm), but I felt relaxed. It was probably due to not having slept in 36 hours - brutal work week already. Easy run along Embarcadero to the ball park.

Thursday: 5.0 mi @ 7:58 - Hit Rancho San Antonio again this week after work for Wildcat Loop. Felt strong up the climb and fell into a 6:20ish pace with some other runners on the way back.

Friday: 6.3 mi @ 7:46 - Easy run along the Marina out to Fort Point and back.

Saturday: 12.8 mi @ 9:17 (2193') - Met up with Mike at the Warming Hut and headed across the bridge to the Headlands. Coastal Trail to SCA to Rodeo and back.

Sunday: 10.2 mi @ 10:06 (2114') - Ran out from Stinson Beach up Dipsea to Steep Ravine to Matt Davis to follow the race course. Finished up with a few easy miles along the beach. 10.2 mi on the Garmin, but probably a half mile short on the descent down Matt Davis - seemed to have had some difficulty picking up the distance down the switchbacks since the loop only came out to 6.2 mi. Really fun run up Steep Ravine, which is pretty much what the name implies.

Week Total: 45.7 mi

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Week 1

It seems as though most of my running friends have started blogs so I figured I better start mine before I end up in Dillon Edwards' predicament. (Actually, you can get here from jeffwittich.com as well.)

After watching my buddy Chad run Western States a few weeks ago, I started hitting the Bay Area trails again. And when my high school cross country teammate Mike told me he had signed up for the North Face Endurance Challenge event up in Marin in December, it seemed like a good chance to train for an ultra-marathon since the course is only 3 miles from my place.

I've got some time to kill right now while waiting to add a pound of hops (ok, just 11 oz now and 7 oz into the secondary) to the wort for my latest IPA batch so here is a summary of my training during week 1 (out of 20) for my first 50-miler.

The goal this week was just to get my mileage up so there are definitely some slow runs in here.

Monday: 3.0 mi @ 6:55 - Didn't get home from work until 9PM so just a short run across Marina Green then over to Planet Granite to boulder/lift

Tuesday: 5.0 mi @ 8:37 - After 2 hours of sleep, stopped by Rancho San Antonio on the way to work. This is a trail run that gains 650 feet over a mile and a half. I had wanted to keep my HR below 170, but ended up in the 180s for most of the climb. Felt good though.

Wednesday: 7.1 mi @ 8:51 (1067') - Headed out over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Marin Headlands. Unfortunately, I didn't time it right and ended up on the north side of the bridge after the 9PM pedestrian closing time for the bridge. After getting yelled at over the intercom for trying to get through the gate and run back, I got a ride back to the toll plaza in the back seat of a squad car from one of SF's Finest.

Thursday: 8.0 mi @ 7:47 - Easy run down to AT&T park along the Embarcadero and back

Friday: 5.4 mi @ 7:25 - Out to the bridge along the water into some pretty strong wind.  High-7s on the way out - Mid-6s on the way back.  Hamstrings felt pretty tight after the run even after stretching.  Lifted.

Saturday: 12.0 mi @ 9:09 (2234') - I thought there was no way I could run after waking up with extreme muscle soreness in my lower back. I rolled out of bed and limped hunchback while getting ready. I was meeting up with Mike to run in the headlands so I didn't want to bail. I figured I'd try to run a bit, stretch out, and see what happened. Amazingly, after heading out from the warming hut at the base of the bridge, it turned into a case of Wobble Girl. I couldn't walk without wincing in pain, but running was fine.  We ran across the bridge and hit the Coastal Trail to the lagoon and back.

Sunday: 7.6 mi @ 8:28 - Just a matter of getting some miles in. Shins felt pretty sore from the hills the day before, but everything loosened up after a few miles through the Presideo.

Week Total: 48.1 mi