Monthly Summary - March 2009

Here's March:

Swim: 9,700 yards
Cycling (outdoors): 0 miles
Cycling (indoors): 1:00 (hours)
Run: 116.95 miles
Strength Training/Yoga: 7 sessions

Approximate monthly total training/racing time: 28.5 hours

Weight: 164. I've been eating like shit. I haven't gained any real weight, but I feel soft and heavy. I wouldn't mind shedding a little water weight and fat before Boston, but I'm not worried about it.

What a month. From a personal/life-outside-training perspective, I can't stress enough how happy I am that March is just about over. Between the move, and Charlie's incident, and looking for another place to move, and trying to get used to LA, and the job search and everything else, I welcome April with open arms. I think April is going to be a good month.

On the training front, March wasn't half bad. I managed to get in all my runs and explored a fair amount of this part of LA on foot. I had some good swims - and feel like I'm maintaining most of my swim fitness, even without the volume. I didn't get on my bike a single time in March - in fact, it's still packed up in the box in which it was shipped cross country. In the next week or so, I'm going to take care of that and hopefully get out on the bike again. With Boston less than three weeks away, it's been fine to concentrate on the running, but I feel like cycling makes me a better runner and I'm looking forward to exploring the local cycling routes. I think that any serious cycling is going to have to wait until after Boston at this point though.

HELLO APRIL!

Swim - March 25
Distance: 2,400 yards
Time: 47 minutes

Strength - March 25

Run/walk - March 26
Distance: 5.75 miles
Time: 52 (10 min. walk warm-up, 7 x 5 min. run/1 min. walk)
Average heart rate: 131
Course: Carthay/Pico
Conditions: Evening run, low 60's

Run/walk - March 28
Distance: 5.5 miles
Time: 52 min (10 min. walk warm-up, 5 x 8 min. run/1 min. walk)
Course: Carthay/Fairfax
Conditions: Evening run, mid 60's

Run/walk - March 29
Distance: 14 miles
Time: 1:57 (10 min. walk warm-up, 13 x 7 min. run/1 min. walk)
Course: West Hollywood, Beverly Hills
Conditions: Overcast, high 50's

Indoor bike (spin bike) - March 30
Time: 30 minutes

Strength - March 30

Run - March 31
Distance: 4.1 miles
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 143
Course: Pico/San Vicente
Conditions: Sunny, low 60's

Boston: T minus 27 days

Boston is four weeks from yesterday. Fingers crossed that four weeks from right now, I'll be sitting in the sun in LA happily recovering from a decent* performance in Boston.

I haven't missed a scheduled run this month, including my long runs. I had a good run/walk on Saturday - did over 18 miles, including a four mile crazy hard climb up Coldwater Canyon to Mulholland Drive. I didn't intend to run up the hill, but I wanted to check out the trails in Franklin Canyon and that seemed like the logical way to get there! Also, my knee and back are doing really well and I'm enjoying running again. (No doubt the weather here and the fact that I'm unemployed have been pretty huge in the enjoyment factor.) But, I'm still doing a lot of run/walking and my longest straight run during this training was less than 40 minutes. Even my longest run/walk was only around 18 miles, which doesn't really cut the mustard for a marathon. I'm not sure how that impacts my race plan - will I run for as long as I can and then, run/walk when I have to and hope to hold on until the finish? Or should I run/walk from the beginning and try to finish somewhat comfortably? This will be a topic for Coach John in the coming weeks.

Also, with this move and all the chaos surrounding it, I definitely have not been eating like I normally do. I'm not eating terribly, but it's a little too much starch, a little too much sugar, and just plain a little too much. Another thing about New York that I never really appreciated is how much fitness you gain and calories you burn by walking everywhere. Nearly every weekday in New York, I walked a mile each way to and from work. I also walked Charlie, walked to go on errands and walked to meet friends. Here... not so much. I still probably walk more than the average Los Angeleno, but it's a far cry from what my body was used to. I'm not getting "fat", but I do feel heavy in some of the wrong places. I definitely feel this when I'm running.

I am excited to make the trip to Boston and run the marathon, no matter what my time is or how I feel. I feel fortunate that I qualified, and getting across the finish line will be an accomplishment no matter what. Right?

p.s. Charlie got his stitches out yesterday. His incisions are still healing and covered in scabs, but he is pretty much back 100%. It's such a relief. What a trooper. I think spending the day on our front patio lounging in the sun and having an unemployed "dad" to hang out with have been big factors in his speedy recovery!

* Right now, I still don't know what decent means in this context. I can say "I just want to finish" but that's not entirely true. On the other hand, I'm not running anything close to the 3:13 that I ran at NYC in 2006. I'm going to set a realistic goal in the coming weeks.

Run - March 17
Distance: 3.75 miles
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 148
Course: Carthay/Wilshire
Conditions: Sunny and warm (low 70's)

Swim - March 18
Distance: 2,400 yards
Time: 47 minutes

Run/walk - March 19
Distance: 5.25 miles
Time: 52 minutes (10 min. walk warm-up, 4 x 9 min. run/1 min. walk + 2 min. run)
Average heart rate: N/A
Course: Grove/Carthay
Conditions: Hazy and humid, low 60's

Run/walk - March 21
Distance: 18.25 miles
Time: 2:52 (10 min. walk warm-up, 27 x 5 min. run/1 min. walk)
Average heart rate: 148
Course: Carthay through Beverly Hills, up Coldwater Canyon Drive to Franklin Canyon
Conditions: Overcast, high 50's

Elliptical - March 22
Time: 30 minutes

Elliptical/Indoor bike - March 23
Time: 35 minutes

Strength - March 23

Run - March 24
Distance: 4.5 miles
Time: 36 minutes
Average heart rate: N/A
Course: South Beverly Hills
Conditions: Sunny, warm, high-60's

Charlie update

Because what else matters, really?

He's doing much better. Thanks for the emails and notes of concern.

Each of the past few days he has significantly improved. It's the little things that excite us - the first time he was at the door wagging his tail when I came home, him trying to get into my lap or into our bed to sleep. He even ran a little on the grass in our yard yesterday afternoon. Those things showed that he was getting back to his regular "Charlie-self". And were such a relief.

This morning the vet said that everything looked good and he was healing quickly. His drains were removed today and if I had to guess, based on how disgusting they looked, he was instantly much more comfortable. He still has a ton of stitches, but those don't seem to bother him too much.

It is really amazing how resilient the little guy is.

Run/walk - March 14
Distance: 11.6 miles
Time: 1:46 minutes (10 min. walk warm-up, 16 x 5 min. run/1 min. walk)
Average heart rate: 142
Course: West from Carthay Circle, Culver City, Palms, Rancho Park, Pico
Conditions: Evening run, mid-50's

Elliptical - March 15
Time: 30 minutes

Indoor Bike - March 16
Time: 30 minutes

Strength - March 16

A Rotten Day

Charlie got attacked by another dog today and, while he is now doing relatively OK and should be fine, he had a couple of pretty deep puncture wounds and spent a good part of the afternoon in surgery. He has three drainage tubes sticking out of his belly and one in his chest. He also has too many stitches across his belly and chest for me to really count. The poor little guy is still pretty spaced out from the anesthesia and pain drugs. I'd be happy if he stays in that state for a little while. The picture above is from a happier day in Charlie's life. I got scraped up pretty nicely pulling the other dog off him, but I would gladly take more injuries for him to have less.

It was a long end to a long week and I'm ready to go to bed and start fresh tomorrow.

Elliptical - March 9
Time: 30 minutes

Strength - March 9

Run - March 10
Distance: 4.3 miles
Time: 33 minutes
Average heart rate: 147
Course: Carthay/Wilshire/Pico weaving
Conditions: Sunny and nice (low 60's)

Swim - March 11
Distance: 2,500 yards
Time: 49 minutes

Strength - March 11

Run/walk - March 12
Distance: 4.5 miles
Time: 45 min. (10 min. walk warm-up, 7 x 4 min. run/1 min. walk)
Average heart rate: 145
Course: Carthay/Beverly Hills
Conditions: Sun and clouds, mid-50's

Hello LA!

I'm here.

It hasn't been without it's pain and aggravation, and stress, but I am here and we are "moved in" to our new place. I say "moved in" with quotes because we're in our new relatively large house with a couple suitcases of clothing, a card table, 4 folding chairs and a borrowed pull-out couch. The rest of our furniture and stuff should be here in, well, seven to ten (or so) days. BUT, I am writing this from our front patio, sitting in 60-something degree sunshine. So there's that.

I took Friday and today off from training, but I did do my scheduled long run yesterday. I didn't really know where to run for 2:30 hours, so I got up early and just ran and tried to see some of the LA sights. I ran from here (around Fairfax and Olympic) east on Olympic, then through Hancock Park and up through Hollywood, about to the 101, where I was just below the Hollywood sign. I turned back and ran west down Hollywood Boulevard, over all the stars in the sidewalk, past Grauman's Chinese Theater to Fuller Avenue, where I turned north and ran into Runyon Canyon. I ran up one side to the peak, from which point you can see all of LA - from way past downtown to the east all the way to the ocean in the west. Supposedly, on a really clear day you can see Catalina. Yesterday wasn't that clear. The run up to the top is SICK. It's close to a mile of really steep switchbacks, without much of a break. Yesterday morning I was about the only dumbass actually running up the hill. I'd like to think that the people hiking/walking up looked at me and thought I was tough, but it's more likely they looked at me and thought I was an idiot! I ran back down the hill to Melrose and weaved my way south-west back towards home. I got back here with about thirty minutes to spare and finished my run exploring the streets immediately around my new home. It was a fun way to see LA, and best of all my knee and back held up pretty much fine. My knee is a little achy and sore today, but nothing worth really complaining about - especially since I did put 17+ miles on it yesterday before 10:15am. I'm getting closer and closer to Boston and feeling better and better about my chances of being there.

For my next long run, I think I'll head west towards the ocean.

We have a lot to get done here before I'll feel even somewhat settled, but I guess we're on our way.

Run/Walk - March 8
Distance: 17 miles
Time: 2:40 min. (10 min walk warm-up, 25 x 5 min. run/1 min. walk)
Average heart rate: 144
Course: All over LA
Conditions: Sunny and clear, high 50's/low 60's!

Goodbye New York!

In a few hours, I'll be getting on a plane to finally say goodbye to NYC. Even though I've been planning - and pushing - for this move for a long time, I have pretty mixed emotions. Excited to start our "new" life in LA; sad for what I think we're leaving behind.

I got up before dawn today for my final run in New York City (for now, at least). I've been staying with a friend in the West Village and decided that for my final run, I'd do the course that I've done the most often in my time here - running along the path on the West Side Highway/Hudson River. In the seven years that I've lived in the Village, I've run on path at least a few hundred times. When I was training for the marathon in 2006 and my races in 2007, I was on the path a few times a week. It's a great place to run - flat, smooth, nice views, no cars, running company at pretty much all hours of the day and night, and it's been no further than a mile from my various apartments over the years. I got out there today just as the sky was turning light and ran south towards Battery Park. I brought my blackberry to get a few pictures.

The New Jersey "skyline" (above, behind me) across the river is one of my favorite views and seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (just barely perceptible below) is always an inspiration.

It was a great way to close out this chapter of my life.

I'm finishing up things at work this AM and then headed to JFK and then LA. Thanks again for following along. You'll be hearing from me again on the west coast!

Elliptical - March 2
Time: 30 minutes

Strength - March 2

Treadmill Run - March 3
Distance: 3.75 miles
Time: 40 minutes (10 min. walk warm-up; 30 min. run)
Average heart rate: 147

Swim - March 4
Distance: 2,400 yards
Time: 52 minutes

Run/Walk - March 5
Distance: 4.2 miles
Time: 45 min. (10 min walk warm-up, 7 x 4 min. run/1 min. walk)
Course: West Side Highway
Conditions: Clear, high-20's, relatively nice!

Monthly Summary - February 2009

Here's February:

Swim: 9,300 yards
Cycling (outdoors): 0 miles
Cycling (indoors): 1:30 (hours)
Run: 75.15 miles
Strength Training/Yoga: 3 sessions

Approximate monthly total training/racing time: 20 hours

Weight: 162

This month was ok. I feel like the ART sessions helped both my back/hip and my knee. I'm still not running (or walking) pain-free, but I have been able to get in all of my training runs and still feel like things are on course for Boston. I'm still mostly run/walking so I'm not sure what Boston's going to look like, but it's still seven weeks away, so I have some time to figure that out.

The good news and the big accomplishment for February was moving. And it's done, at least for now. After a few pretty painful days, I get a little time to relax. I'm here and Elizabeth and Charlie are in LA getting settled in our new home. Elizabeth's out there taking care of things, but there's not much I can do from here. After a very long Thursday night of packing, we spent all day Friday with the movers and finally crashed at our hotel Friday evening. Elizabeth and Charlie took off yesterday afternoon (right after we took the picture above) and I spent yesterday and today taking care of last minute things - cleaning out the apartment, bringing my bike to Cadence to have them ship it (no way was the Guru going on the truck) and other odds and ends things that needed to be wrapped up. I'm finally done.

Elizabeth's been kind enough to inform me that it's 75 degrees in LA. Meanwhile, we're bracing for the "storm of the winter" which is supposed to pass through here tonight and early tomorrow morning. At least I'll get to experience one more snowstorm before heading to the land of sunshine!

Treadmill Run/Walk - February 21
Distance: 10.5 miles
Time: 1:40 (10 min. walk warm-up; 15 x 5 min. run, 1 min. walk)
Average heart rate: 147