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...

Every Friday is a running rest day on my Hal Higdon Marathon Training Program.  I thought about doing some crosstraining, core strength and stretching but in the end, I decided to just chill out and store the energy for the weekend long mileage.  Invited to a friends house for dinner and busted my diet pretty bad, but that doesn't happen often with me...

Started out with a 3 mile warm up run using my new runner's metronome to set a cadence of 90 steps/min based on the ChiRunning technique.  The idea is to maintain the same cadence regardless of speed or terrain.  Your gas pedal is your forward lean.  The cadence was very comfortable and not difficult to maintain.  

Linked up with my running club for a 10K trail run at marathon pace.  This is a challenging course with tough hills.  It is actually easier to maintain cadence going up hill than it is going down hill. Bottom line:  using the ChiRunning techniques, I'm starting to smoke my buddies who previously were smoking me. Ran a relaxing 3 mile PM run after an hour nap. 

  I will try to get a nap today with high miles scheduled for tomorrow.  

Ran 8 miles at noon.  Felt comfortable and relaxed.  No soreness from yesterdays 18+ miles.  Ran tempo just because I felt like it.  Followed workout with core strength and stretching for about 30 mins.  I feel like I'm recovering well from the long miles this weekend.  I still consider sleep a critical component of my workouts.  Running at a 90 steps/min turnover rate regardless of speed is working really well. 

Noon workout:  5 mile run, core strength and stretching

PM Track Workout:

9 X Bowerman Strides

6 x 10 sec hill strides

2 x 1200 ( 5:00)

2 x 1600 (7:00)

1 x 800  (3:16)

  Felt good and loose.  Heart rate got pretty high during the intervals but legs felt good.

Crosstraining

Intense 50 min endurance spin followed by a short abs workout then in the car for a 4 hour trip to the high desert.  Hoped to run in the PM but decided to get into bed early instead.

On the road at 5AM in the high desert.  Warm temps and could field the altitude.  No tightness or fatique from previous workouts.  Good sign.

3 mile afternoon run upon return to San Diego.  Had to do the superman trip changing in a public bathroom and taking a "birdbath" on return.  Sometimes you have to be creative to get your miles. 

  Off diet today.  Tomorrow is rest day.

Running rest Day today.  Didn't get as much sleep as I wanted or needed last night, but that is life in the real world.  I did an easy core strength and stretching workout.  Looking forward to getting some miles this weekend. 

Caught up on sleep last night but still wished I could have slept a little longer.  Ran 2 1/4 mi warm up, 10K at pace and a 3 mile warm down.  Temps got a little warm towhtards the end and I felt tired.  Although tomorrows long run will be shorter than last week, I'm wondering if I'll be ready.  MUST get in bed early again tonight.  So much for watching the Olympics.  

Long Run but shorter than last week as per training schedule.  6 mi of run on trail.  Hilly course.  Iced left foot after run due to fasciia pain.  Turned 53 today.  

Early morning run at the start of a busy day.  Cool and foggy.  

Very tired last night.  Thought I might be getting sick or feeling the effects of overtraining.  Felt better in the AM.  

Workout #1:  5 mile easy run at lunch

Workout #2:  SDTC Track workout which included shorter intervals and downhill strides. 

My year old Garmin Forerunner 305 finally kicked the bucket.  It had been acting up for a while.  Fortunately, Garmin will replace it.  Until they do, it will be difficult to monitor pace and distance.

Felt tired and a bit washed out today.  As a result, I took an unscheduled day off with hopes of regaining my vigor later in the week.

Still tired this morning but ran a comfortable, relaxed 8 mile run with buddy Brad.  Tomorrow I'm up at 3:30 AM for an early flight to DC.  Time changes as different weather are going to make the next week challenging for training.  

Up at 3:30 AM.  Travel to Wash., DC.  Light 4 mile workout but felt sluggish.  We will see what the weekend brings...

Morning run with Marine WWII Vet Vic Bond, age 85.  What a privilege!  Vic is a very dedicated runner with over 40,000 miles logged.  A fine gentleman and I tried to get him to tell me all his secrets.  This will be a workout I remember for a long time.  

Missed my long run today due to social obligations.  Oh well... will try to make up some of the mileage in the upcoming days.  

Workout #1:  9 mi run on Northern VA country roads

Workout #2:  2 mi warm up, Bowerman Strides, 1 x 2400M, 1 x 1600M, 1 x 800m all at 5K pace on Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA track.

Good AM workout including hill strides, but a more labored afternoon workout.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.  I need to repeat today's mileage. 

Comfortable 8 mi morning run before dawn. 

1) 8 mi AM run

2) 10 mi afternoon run with buddy Brad at Prince William Forest Park.  Hilly and shaded.  Fascia pain...

Rest day.  Travel home from DC to California.

Easy trail run.  Depart for vacation in the high sierras. 

No run.  Camped last night in Lone Pine, CA.  Continued travel to Bridgeport, CA

Bridgeport. California.  Day of work.  Resting.  

40 min gym workout.  Drive to Yosemite National Park.  Camping. 

Travel to Sequoia National Park.  Camping. 

Return home.  Return to running tomorrow after 5 day break.  

Easy solo run.  Sluggish probably due to heat. 

AM trail run with running club.  I usually run this at pace, but ran easier at the pace of other members.  

Had a nice nap and later a good quality PM run.  Today was the set up for a long run tomorrow.  

Long run with second half mostly on trail at a brisk pace.  More humidity than usual.  For some reason, the run took more out of me than usual.  I'd planned to do about 18 miles.

Noon run which felt more relaxed today.  Track tomorrow. 

Easy 4 mile run at lunch.  SDTC track workout in the PM.  Workout centered around Yasso 800's.   Ran 5 between 3:17 and 3:25 but five was my limit. 

1) 50 min endurance spin class.  Although sore from yesterday and a little tired, the workout reenergized me. 

2) 5 easy miles with Fallbrook Running Club. 

Easy run with buddy Brad.  A little sore from Tues and Weds workouts.

Rest Day

Staying in San Diego for the 7th Defense/AAA Bn (WWII) Reunion.  Arose early for an hour run.  That is all the day would allow on a day when I would try to log in more miles.  

Missed long mileage day due to travel away from home.  Just too tired and unmotivated from activities.  I will chock it up to the body needing rest.  I did manage a short period of exercise in the hotel fitness room.  

I was able to double up on my workouts today.  A good quality tempo run at lunch for 8.5 miles and another short relaxing run before dinner.  I will try to chock up days like this to make up for lost mileage and comply with Sasha's recommendation of a minimum 8 mile workout.  To the track tomorrow.  

Two work outs today.  

1.  Easy 4.5 run on the beach with a follow on core strength gym workout.  

2.  Speed workout with track club.  Included the standard Bowerman strides and 10 sec hill strides.  Followed by 120 m downhill stride repeats and then uphill stride repeats. 

Challenging spin interval class.

Body weight is up...

Comfortable run with friend Brad on hilly dirt roads.  

Resting.  Had trouble sleeping last night.  Half Marathon tomorrow.  

Ran Heartbreak Ridge Half Marathon, Camp Pendleton, CA as a time trial gauge of conditioning for upcoming marathons.  The course was familiar from past runs, but very challenging due to dirt track and moderate hills.  Fortunately, sky was overcast which kept heat from being a factor.  Felt strong but a near maximum effort. PR for this race which I ran in 2004 and 2005. The race validates the value of Tues track workouts.  Did additional miles before and after the race.  Used Sportsquest products. 

My body is tired but little soreness from a full out effort yesterday.  Easy trail run this morning.  Not a good day to tack on a lot of mileage. Did a short afternoon workout and felt better.  Evening: short 20 min stationary bike workout. 

Lunch run.  Detected a little soreness while stretching but none while running.  Set out for an 8 mile run using metronome set at 90 BPM.  Felt tired half way into the run, so I shut off the metronome and shaved a half mile off the distance.  Need to be a little rested for tomorrow's speed work. 

 Relaxing 3 mi sunset run using ChiRunning technique.

  Currently, I'm not happy with my weight or the amount of sleep I'm getting...

Easy lunch run followed by core strength and stretching

PM speed workout with San Diego Track Club:

12 x Bowerman strides

4 sets of 1000m @ 10K pace follwed by 400m @ 5k pace

Tolerated workout well! 

Weight:  158

Endurance spin class at lunch.  A little easy running in the PM but felt a little sore and tired.

Easy lunch run with friend Brad along the Santa Margarita River trail road.  Rest day tomorrow... yeah!

Rest day! Long run tomorrow. 

Long morning run at a slow pace.  Energy levels high, but feet and ankles were sore.  Lots of unavoidable hills which aren't ideal for long training runs.  

After a nap, ran an easy 4 miles in a new pair of Asics.  Morning foot and ankle pain was gone. 

Got to bed early but woke up and couldn't go back to sleep for 4 hours.  This is unusual for me.  Got up late and got in a good 10K run considering the long miles yesterday.  I wanted to top it off with a PM run to get additional miles but just didn't get around to it.  Better to rest. 

I lost control of my schedule today and missed my run.  As a result, I was not a happy camper at the end of the day.  I had an appointment with a Sports Orthopedic Surgeon today regarding my left foot pain x 8 months.  Xrays were normal.  No stress fractures or arthritis. He has ruled out Mortan's Neuroma.  I'll be scheduled for an MRI in the coming weeks but it doesn't look like it will reveal anything new.  The doc thinks I may just have to live with my foot pain. 

Lunch run along the Pacific Coast including Oceanside Harbor, Oceanside Pier and 5 hill sprints at the half way point near the border of Carlsbad.  Felt good and relaxed.

PM speed work at Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital track.  Warm up.  Bowerman strides and 6 Yasso 800s @ 3:25 - 3:30 with 3:30 recovery.  Felt strong.  Slow jog back to the park where I left my car and found that they locked the gate at Sunset.  Since my return was well after sunset, I had to seek out the park caretaker to unlock the gate so I could drive home.  I'll know better next time. 

Short run followed by spin intervals at lunch

PM fast walk for 1 hour

Ran a PM coastline farewell run with Bill Conner who sets off to run the Hawaii Ironman World Triathlon Championship next week.  He looks lean and mean and what is even more remarkable is that he just returned from a 7 month deployment with the Marines to Iraq 2 weeks ago.  I broke in a second new pair of Asics shoes this week. They sure feel good when they are new.    

Woke up and couldn't return to sleep last night.  Run at lunch was a little labored at easy pace.  On to weekend long miles.  

Ran this morning with the Fallbrook Running Club on the Sandia Creek Trail.  Because of the variety of runners and my tendency to help the slower runners, it is hard to get a good tempo.  Even so, I added about an extra mile to the course.  

Took a well needed nap in the afternoon and felt restored enough to get a sunset run which felt really comfortable and easy.  Maybe some long miles tomorrow. 

Long Beach Half Marathon 2 weeks from today.

Morning trail run a brisk pace.  

Relaxed lunch run along the coast after a brief thundershower, unusual for SoCal this this time of year. 

Unusually hot today.  Tried to do track workout but quit after the first interval.  Trying to listen to my body right now and coping with less than normal sleep.  To Santana Concert tonight, which means another late night

Endurance spin class 

Comfortable noon time run along coast.  Felt relaxed. 

No run due to work and social obligations.  

Longer run mostly on trails.  Would like to have done 18 - 20 miles today.  Feet were sore while running. 

Running club run on the trails.

Easy recovery run around the neighborhood at lunch.  No soreness from yesterday.  Did a 30 min spin in the PM.

Due to hospital appt., did not run today. 

Quality run at lunch with 5x hill strides.  Felt relaxed and at cadence.  No tiredness from Sunday's half marathon.  Massage in the afternoon.  32 min spin before dinner.