HammerinHank Runs for St. Jude Children's Hospital

Happy 4th of July!  Last night, I went to bed wearing a Strassburg Sock to stretch my left foot while sleeping to help cure my plantar fasciitis.  The sock, if adjusted properly, exerts a light stretch of the foot throughout the night.  Although some users find the sock uncomfortable, I had no problem sleeping with it.  I'm really determined to cure my problem.  I have also bought some arch support insoles that can be custom fitted at home by warming them in the oven.  More news on the insoles later.  

  Today was my typical combo workout:  51 minutes on my stationary bike, stretching and core strength work followed by a 45 minute trail run.  The weather was really warm today for the run.  Even though the trail course has some shade, it was really warm and I felt slightly dehydrated today.  My goal today was a total of 2 hours working out, anticipating indulging a little bit tonight for the 4th of July.  After the run, my body really demanded calories and after lunch, I also had the first peanut butter & jelly sandwich I've had in months.  It was good!

Last night was a late night out to attend a 4th of July party in the San Diego village of La Jolla.  Being in a celebratory mood, I ignored my normal healthy diet and indulge in some ribs and ice cream and drank 2 beers.  I will go months between beers, but this gathering was special.  As a result, I was late to bed and early to rise this morning, but had a good trail run with members of the Fallbrook Running and Walking Club.  Temps were clear and mild with beautiful vistas around every turn.  Several challenging hills on the course, but the entire run was on dirt surface.  After the run, I returned home and did 30 minutes on my spin bike at a moderate pace.  Longer run tomorrow.  

Sunday is my long run day.  Early morning weather was perfect for a run:  62 degrees and foggy.  Ran a hilly combo of trail and asphalt with the run broken up into two segments.  The first segment was 9.5 miles with some of my running club buddies with the sun breaking out towards the end of the run.  Then home for breakfast and to prepare for a work related trip to the Mojave Desert.  Then I pushed out for 4 1/4 very hilly miles with my family picking me up in the mini-van along the way to continue to mojave.  The second segment was very sunny and hot but I needed the extra miles.  They were still not enough, but I had to be creative to get what I got.  I really felt good today... relaxed.  Iced my foot to calm my plantars inflammation. My advice to other runners:  don't push off with your toes when you run. This will avoid injury in distance runners.  Runners should be particularly concious of this while running up hill.  Instead, run flat footed.  Don't let your foot land ahead of your body weight but let your heel float behind you and relax.  Finally, I forgot to bring my Strassburg sock with me on my trip to the desert which I feel has been helping me.  

Easy morning run today at the Marine Base located in the Mojave High Desert. No soreness form yesterday's long run, even with all the hills.  I followed the run with a 30 minute strength & stretching workout.  After returning home at the end of the day, my daughter and I walked for 25 minutes.  This was in lieu of a 30 minute stationary bike ride.  Oh well, you can't do everything.  

Rest day today.  Planned to do some walking and gym work but unpredictable work schedule killed that idea.  Probably a blessing in disguise.  Recharging my batteries for serious running this weekend.  I consider resting a key workout.  

6.5 mile trail run at marathon pace.  Felt good and relaxed.  Hilly and a little warm.  Followed the run with a 20 min spin and 40 mins in the gym doing core and strength work.  Unfortunately, I got way off my diet today and been put some pounds on from not running yesterday.  Long run tomorrow.  

3 miles easy on the beach and 30 minutes strength and flexibility in the gym.  Tired from yesterdays long run.

5x400 Hill work out.  Up early to do it.  Felt good but tough!  Long drive to San Jose area tonight.  

Hayward, CA.  Moderate run in a city environment.  Difficult to run jumping up on sidwalks, around dumpsters and so on.  Found a Japanese garden and a small park.  Weather cool and overcast.  Run was a prelude to attending my friend Rex Deakin's Memorial Service in Union City.  He was a life long athlete and remained "lean and mean" to the end of his life.  After the service, we made an 8 hour marathon drive home arriving in the early AM.  Felt exhausted. 

In spite of 8 hours sleep, still felt tired today.  I probably would have limited my running except I made a promise to run with my buddy Brad and he pulled me through the 8 miles on a dirt track along the Santa Margarita River.  The run never felt quite comfortable.  Felt drained later in the day.  Hope I'm not getting sick or over trained.  Tomorrow is a running rest day.  Hopefully, I can re-energize for the weekend long runs.  

  Not enough sleep last night due to attending the Red Sox Angels game in Anaheim last night.  .  First workout was labored and I wouldn't have gotten any quality without my running buddies pulling me along.  I did a second easy run in the evening to stay lose and boost mileage.  If felt comfortable.  Early to bed tonight!  

Noon run covering 3.5 segment at 8 min pace.  Felt comfortable. 

Afternoon strength workout for 40 min followed by a 30 min moderate spin at home before dinner.

No fasciia pain today!!

Track work tomorrow. 

1) Lunch 2 mi easy run on the beach.  40 min strength and stretching workout.

2) PM track workout: 4 x 1000m at 8min/mi pace.  This pace is pretty easy for me, but moderation on the track is probably better for me right now.  

Other comments:  Mild to moderate fasciia pain.  Weight: 152

1) Spin intervals class at lunch followed by some modest strength training.

2) Late afternoon "gentle" run which was taxing indicating fatigue from yesterday's track and spin class.

Weight: 152

Woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go to sleep for an hour.  Read latest issue of Runner's World.  

I moved my running rest day to today from Friday.  Tomorrow, I'm going to run a 3 mile time trial with the Marines to guage how I'm doing and better predict my times in the future.  Didn't really feel like doing anything aeobic today so I did a 1 hour gym workout instead.  

Had an appointment with my nutritionist. She is happy with my weight loss.  I told her I get hungry around lunch and in the evening.  She thinks I'm not getting enough calories and enough protein earlier in the day. 

Weight is stable at 152

We'll see if tomorrow's race will effect the quality of my long runs Saturday and Sunday.

1) Trail run with the Fallbrook Running Club. Very relaxed and steady but lots of climbs.  Warm towards the finish. (6.5 mi)

2) Easy miles including a PM run with my 18 year old son Thomas. 

  To bed early tonight to rest for a 3 mile run tomorrow.

Sunday Loooooong Run

Up this AM at 4:30 for a 5 AM start.  Loaded up with some carbs and out the door with my MP3.  Pitch dark.  Cool. Fog.  Dead quiet.  My goal was to cover 12 miles in two hours before linking up with my running club for our Sunday trail run.  The problem is that there are hills in every direction, so there is no avoiding them.  One climb was about a mile up.  My biggest challenge today was the downhill portions.  I just couldn't keep my weight forward and allow momentum to take me down the hill without breaking with my legs.  At a few points, I slowed to nearly a walk to avoid the wear and tear I knew forcing the downhill would take on me.  I covered about 11.5 in the first two hours of solo running and then continued on the trail with the help of my ultramarathon friend Ted doing the pacing.  More hills but everything felt good.  No pain or stiffness after the run, just some mild dehydration.  My body is conditioned to 3 hours of easy paced running.  Running at my marathon goal pace hardly seems possible, but the best coaches say train slow, so that is what I'm doing.  The nice thing about starting early is that my run was done by 8 AM with most of the day in front of me.  We invited Ted and his fiancee Elizabeth to the house for a light breakfast and coffee on the patio.  Life is good! 

After noon easy run with son Thomas.  Legs feel great.  No soreness. Let's see what tomorrow brings?

Slept like a rock last night after yesterday's mileage but no soreness today.  Went on a light noon run and then a 20 min spin and 25 min weights in the PM.  To the track tomorrow...

Track Workout

First time out with the San Diego Track Club for their Tues No. County track workout (which was not on the track but in a park).  There were about 30 runners, mostly younger and faster.  Very friendly group.  Excellent coaching.  Here was the workout:

20 min warm up

9 x Bowerman Strides

8 x Hill Strides

8 x 300 M with the last 100m up hill

Warm Down

  This was a challenging workout, but the structure and coaching are what I need right now.  I skipped my core and strength work today.  Need to get back on track with that, especially core conditioning and stretching. 

Eight mile run at moderate pace with my work colleague Brad.  Nice pace, good conversation.  Legs felt good except for mildly sore hip flexors.  With a rest day tomorrow, I should be in good shape for the long mileage this weekend.  Only one concern, reviewing my Hal Higdon Marathon Program, I don't think I'm doing enough mileage at marathon pace.  I need to fix that...