5K PR - 22:21 - Wheaton Recreation Center treadmill

1.0 mile wu (10:00)
3.1 miles hard (22:21 - 7:12/mile)
2.5 miles wd

total: 6.6 miles

First mile: 6:58. I was shooting to run 22:00 and overshot my start, and slowed, then sped, finishing in 7:19 pace for the next 2.1 miles. Overall a success, but a more modest start, say, a 7:05-7:10 and I could have not fizzed out.

Bouncing, Bouncing, Going Nowhere Fast

Monday Check-in

134.6 lbs. (down)
52 - Pulse (same)

Status

Miles dropped, so I'm feeling fine. My weight dropped a smidgen, but not enough to claim weight loss. Maybe in six months, enough smidgens will add up to a real smudge. Can I say that?

Tough week looking ahead, bouncing back from not feeling well last week.

100 Days of Running - 100 Days of Progress

On Friday, August 10, 2007, I completed 100 days of serious running, beginning May 3, the day of my first JSRC workout. Prior to May 3, I jogged here and there, and had about a month of doing nothing in April.

The chart above (click chart to see full size) represents my rolling weekly miles. That is, on any given day, it shows my previous week's miles. Usually, in my weekly summary, I look at Sunday to Saturday as far as mileage goes, but that can be skewed by one long day, or two or three days off in a row. This shows the bigger picture.

I'm not sure why there is disparity between my recorded workouts here, and in the spreadsheet I am drawing from. Here, I list 56 workouts, and in the spreadsheet, I list 61. I'm guessing, here, in the beginning, I combined a few.

My first workout was unimpressive, but, depending on your vantage point, they still might be.

Weight & Pulse
For my first recorded Monday check-in (see all), my weight was 138 lbs, and my resting pulse was 64. Now, my weight hovers around 135, and my pulse hovers around 50-52.

5K Time
My 5K time has dropped considerably. Just after I started with the Jim Spivey Running Club, I ran a time trial on COD's track: 27:54. It is an adjusted time, from a 27:00 3-mile run. On July 25, 2007, I ran a 5K roadrace in 23:13. That's an improvement of 4:41, about 1:30/mile.

Mileage
My mileage itself has steadily increased. I finished my first week with 14.6 miles, and now, usually average around 22 miles a week, with one week as high as 37.38 miles. My goal is not to pile on the miles, but I do need a certain level of constant aerobic intensity to build capillaries, muscle strength, psychological strength, and a sense of pace, as well as things like working on form, running relaxed, and enjoying the ride.

Greatest Success?
Which is the greatest point of progress? The 5K time looks like the biggest quantitative gain, but the real progress is in the 100 days itself. That would be a big victory even if I ran 45:00 for the 5K. Do the right things, and health will follow. While I am focused and hungry for that elusive 20:00 5K, I can't control how my body will respond to the workouts as speed goes. I can do all the right things, but still not run as fast as I would like. In a sense, that's not fair, but I didn't build this body. God did. He never claimed to play fair.

As our coach Jim once posted after breaking 3:50 for the mile, about recognizing he was given for no clear reason known to him, the ability to go faster than the rest of us:

I went for a warm-down, and just so you know that all milers are not the stoic, no pain type, I remember warming down, and stopping, dropping to one knee, after 1 a.m. in the morning, and crying. I can remember thinking, why did I deserve to run so fast? OK, it sounds a bit silly, but I did wonder this. Everyone trains. Everyone trains hard.
source: Track and Field News

I can control, to much larger degree, consistent effort, and, with 100 days behind me, I have achieved some of that. Consistent, healthy effort is all I can do. I've got good resources (nice track, running paths), plenty of time, and a coach who knows his stuff. The rest is follow-through.

The Next 100 Days
It has been a good three months. The next 100 days will be different, and it is hard to predict how. I still have more getting into shape to do, more weight to lose, more racing to run. I am not at maintenance mode yet, but it will not get easier. November 18 will be my 200th day, and some cold days may happen between now and then. Hard to believe as I sit here with the AC cranked, dreading another hot August day, but that's northern Illinois.

By November 18, I hope to have run that 20:00 5K, have lost 10 lbs, feel confident in my workouts, and remain injury-free. I expect some aches and pains, but won't jeopardize my health to get the time I want. I'm pretty sure I can run that fast still, but I'm not sure how long it will take me to get there.

August 5 - August 11 in Review

Sunday, August 5, 2007 -- rest
Monday, August 6, 2007 -- rest
Tuesday, August 7, 2007 -- 7.75 miles Wheaton Recreation Center treadmill
Wednesday, August 8, 2007 -- rest
Thursday, August 9, 2007 -- rest
Friday, August 10, 2007 -- rest
Saturday, August 11, 2007 -- 5.75 Springbrook - LSD

Total: 13.5 miles

Summary: The week's mileage decreased bigtime. Planned rest days, followed by unexpectedly feeling ill resulted in an unusual drop in miles following a strong previous week.

Looking FWD: Need to regroup. With the week being a rest week, I need to move toward more intensity.

This week: 25-30 miles, with one longer run, and one tougher workout in addition to the Spivey track workout and Saturday tempo run at Blackwell.

Average - 5.5 miles in 51:20

5.5 LSD - 51:20 (9:20)
.25 wd

total: 5.75 miles

80°F
Clear
Wind: N at 0 mph
Humidity: 64%
course: Springbrook Prairie

Once again, I began dreaming of 11 miles, and once again, I wimped out. In the great spreadsheet of all my runs, this one was average.

I felt OK, but finish with two stitches, one below each rib cage in the back. Met Colin, a guy finishing 14 miles. He came behind me near the end - with a half mile to go, but I would not have it. No, not me! I gave him the ol' fartlek dash, and left him in my dust.

Talked to him afterward. He's training for Chicago, hopes to break 4:00. I think he's there if his training holds up.

That is a good goal - to not let anyone pass me the last half mile.

First mile, 9:05
At four miles, 37:33
Last half mile at 7:50 pace, gradually picking up.

My lackluster effort this morning could be due to be sick Thursday, and just not feeling well yesterday. Two days off, as well as having run only once within the last week, may have played a part.

7.11 in 60 Minutes

Roughly 7.11 miles - 60:00 (8:26)
.64 wd

total: 7.75 miles

course: Wheaton Recreation Center treadmill

Mile 1 - 6.9 mph
Mile 2 - 7.0 mph
Mile 3 - 7.1 mph
Mile 4 - 7.2 mph
Mile 5 - 7.3 mph
Mile 6 - 7.4 mph and up

Might have been more. The machine limited me to 60 minutes before going into warmdown-cooldown status. I played with the speed button for the last 8:00 or so, going as fast as 11 mph (5:24 mile). It was fun moving my legs fast again.

Thanks to running the Cosley Run for the Animals, I have a seven-session pass to the Wheaton Recreation Center.

Instead of:
87°F
Clear
Wind: W at 9 mph
Humidity: 69%

I ran inside, with Fierce Grape Gatorade in my water bottle right next to my, while my chums from the Spivey Running Club endured terrible heat and humidity.

While I would like to take from this a pretty fast time for me, it is a treadmill, not real conditions. However, it shows me, in reverse, why I had a hard time making the transition from the COD treadmill to my weekly butt kicking on the Wheaton College track with the Jim Spivey Running Club. What I can take from it is is that I was able to get my legs moving on a very miserable, hot day without hurting myself.

Survival - Feeling Fine After Hard Week

Monday Check-in

135.6 lbs. (down)
52 - Pulse (up)

Status

Given all the miles I did, I am feeling fine. I am tired. No doubt about that, but nothing is crying out in anguish.

My knees noticed the week, but, forced with an unexpected day off thanks to the awful heat, humidity and pouring rain, I'm not too worried.

Yesterday my pulse = 47. A new low, but Monday morning did not compute.

July 29 - August 4 in Review

Sunday, July 29, 2007 -- 6.0 miles Springbrook - LSD
Monday, July 30, 2007 -- 5.75 miles Springbrook - LSD
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 -- 5.75 miles Springbrook - LSD
Wednesday, August 1, 2007 -- rest
Thursday, August 2, 2007 -- 5.63 miles Spivey track workout
Friday, August 3, 2007 -- 8.25 miles Illinois Prairie Path
Saturday, August 4, 2007 -- 6.0 miles Blackwell tempo

Total: 37.38 miles

Summary: The week's mileage increased bigtime. A combination of a rare Sunday run, a long run, and just one day off adds up.

Looking FWD: Need to continue pressing the miles, but no more than 40 for now. It is still a lot for me, and my knees need to be coddled. All feels good, but I have no desire to hurt myself.

This week: Ideally, I will get in around 27-30 miles. Rest on Sunday, something a little more intense on Monday, something longer on Tuesday, rest on Wednesday, the Spivey track workout Thursday. I have not thought through the schedule yet.

Up the Mountain, Finishing 37-mile Week

"I have been to the mountaintop!"
- Martin Luther King Jr.

Warm-up
12:00 out
12:18 back
little jog up to Mt. Hoy
Up and down the hill twice
Fartlek to the parking lot: 1:00 hard, 1:00 easy three times

total: (c) 6 miles

63°F
Clear
Wind: N at 0 mph
Humidity: 90%
course: Blackwell Forest Preserve

76°F
Clear
Wind: E at 7 mph
Humidity: 56%

Another look at Mt. Hoy, from the top, in a roughly six-mile run. Once again, a gaggle of high schoolers were there showing us old folks how we used to do it.

Ran the first part with Jeff Couch. Jeff's quest is like mine, to break 20:00. He is close, but has a tough road. Knocking off two minutes at time is easier for me since I was starting so much slower. Killing the final :30 will be harder. That's Jeff's final hurdle to sub-20.

My sense of the workout was I did well, especially considering that this completes a 37.38 mile week, my most ever. Better rested and I might have conquered the hill with more vigor, but the dividends of running it hard though tired will pay off in September.

Banana Bars with Chocolate Chips - recipe

Yesterday, I brought Banana Bars to the running club get-together. Spent the afternoon running to Whole Foods looking for ripe bananas, then to Dominick's for the other ingredients.

Banana Bars with Chocolate Chips

This is a recipe my mother used when I was a child, and among my fondest memories include her sharing them with me. Essentially, they are a sort of banana bread with chocolate chips. Unlike a bread, though, they are softer, with a chocolate chip cookie color. They have a texture something like pound bread, and look like blond brownies.

Who do I credit with this recipe? Not my mom. I think she swiped it from a woman down the street who made them for her family. When I was in kindergarten at Chippewa Elementary, we had a cookbook made of all the favorite family recipes of the kids in my class. A few recipes stood out as new Trendl family favorites. This remains the best of the best, as far as I'm concerned.

If you have everything you need, you can be eating these within an hour of reading this guide. While you are munching on these (best with a glass of milk), imagine you are sitting on the letter Q (next to, as you should expect, letters P and R) in Miss V.'s kindergarten class in Palos Heights, Ill. in 1971.

Banana Bars

Cream:
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup lt. brown sugar
2/3 cup regular sugar

Beat in:
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

Blend in:
1 cup mashed ripe banana

Then sift together and add:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Mix in:
1/2 package chocolate chips (you use around 6 oz.)

Grease and lightly flour a jelly roll pan (10 x 15 approximately).

Bake at 350 for 20-35 minutes until it becomes golden and begins to shrink.

Cool 15 minutes, then cut and enjoy.

Keep covered after cutting.

-----------------------------------------------------------

For something more adventurous, try a Hungarian dish.

Best Times to Date

So far, in the course of workouts, and a few races, I have accumulated a few times. Although below are my best, not all are 100% effort. The workout required a lesser pace, so it might be I've got more to drop in several categories. The 5K represents a full effort. Several of the times came in the process of running a longer distance, and are adjusted by the overall pace for the longer run.

Distance	Time	Date
200	0:43	2-Aug
400	1:26	8-Jun
600	2:20	2-Aug
800	3:13	5-Jul
1000	nothing yet	nothing yet
1 mile	6:48	29-Jun
2 mile	14:50	25-Jul
3 mile	22:27	25-Jul
5K	23:13	25-Jul
4 mile	32:57.86	4-Jul
5 mile	45:18	3-Aug
5.5 mile	50:24	30-Jul
6 mile	54:35	30-Jun
10K	56:24	30-Jun
7 mile	63:41	30-Jun
8 mile	1:12:47	30-Jun

8 miles LSD 1:14:21 (9:17/mile)

8 miles 1:14:21 (9:17/mile)
400 wd

75°F
Clear
Wind: NW at 4 mph
Humidity: 64%
course: Illinois Prairie Path

finish
82°F
Clear
Wind: N at 4 mph
Humidity: 47%

Felt good. Started out at 8:51, slowed to 8:57, hit five miles at 45:18. Finished in 1:14:21, around a 9:17 mile. Never really pushed.

The victory is several fold: I ran faster than usual and on a hot day. Did so after having the Spivey track club workout yesterday. Have not run over 6.5 miles since June 30, when I ran this in 1:12:47, but in 60-degree weather. And, broke the 30 mile in a week barrier, with 31.38 miles since Saturday.

Tracking Heat, Drinking Beer, Meeting Friends

2 mile wu
6x100 m striders

600 (200)
400 (200)
3x200 (100)[400]

600 (200)
400 (200)
3x200 (100)

600 wd

total: 5.625 miles

87°F
Mostly Cloudy
Wind: W at 10 mph
Humidity: 55%
course: Wheaton College track

A hot time in the summertime. We ran ladders, or, rather, an adjusted form of them. Heat and I have never been good friends, but, yesterday, we made some peace.

As always, to my misfortune, I started faster than I should. A 2:20 600, a speedy time for me, caused me some trouble right out the gate. I pressed through OK with a 1:40 400. Not quite right, I rested too long, and jumped in at the last 150 of the second 600 of Frank's group for the next set. My 200s I remember were 49, 43, 45. None of those were a struggle.

Afterwards, Jim had us over at his house for pizza. Nice home with a terrific porch, perfect for lemonade drinking and late night reading. Big black retriever named Sasha. Jim showed us a bunch of things he received from his three Olympics. Far more gear than I would have imagined. Rings, participation medals, all kinds of jackets. Even boxers.

His wife, Cindy, rolls with it all, having surely heard him tell his Michael Johnson (world record, 200 meters) autograph story a hundred times. She showed me her Eiffel Tower collection, a room filled with pictures, statures, and things made from the tower, like lamps, indicating her love for all things French.

Getting to chat with the other runners and their spouses was fun. While running is certainly the focus on the track, everyone has more complete lives than running in a circle.

Rudi brought by some Amstel Light. I had never had one, and am not sure what I think in general. I do know that, as thirsty as I was, it never tasted so good. It reminded me of the days I would help my dad cut the lawn, and he'd offer my the smallest few drops in a tiny cocktail shrimp cup. Thirsty days make beer taste better.

And He Rested On The Seventh Day: Thoughts on a runner taking a rest day

Rest. Aren't we all wishing we could rest more? Not me. I want to run. I can't. I can, I should say. I shouldn't.

Today is a day off. I ran the last three days, and have a tough workout tomorrow with the Spivey Running Club.

The practices are usually tough, but with the added heat component, it kicks up a notch. Jim's wise to this and might adjust things. He can tweak things all he likes, but that will do nothing to the temperature.

So, today is a day off. I want to run. I want to run long, every day. I want to run fast, every day. Both are not likely on the same day, and, some days are better off accomplishing neither. Rest.

God took off Sunday, or Saturday if you like. Either way, He worked hard for six days and kicked back one day. He rested, and he checked out what He did the earlier part of the week. God did not need a rest. He is not bound by physical limitations. I am. Even the fastest runner needs to rest.

There are two kinds of rest days.

1. Intended. Those days off I decide to take as recovery from what came before, and to prepare for what is to come.
2. Unintended. These might be due to injury, general exhaustion, or life stepping into the mix. Really nasty weather could be the cause. All, though, are a crick in the schedule, altering all future plans.

The intended days off are freeing. I planned not to run today. I awake, drink some coffee, take care of other matters when I might have been running. I am free today from doing anything to prep for a run. I eat what I want, drink what I want, when I want. There will not be an hour when I have finished the run, but am still tired and in the immediate throes of recovery. I see tomorrow's track workout with a fresh desire.

The unintended days off are the worst. If it is because I ran too hard the day before, scheduled my day poorly, or was just feeling lazy, it grates on me.

As I become fitter, the days off will be different. Right now, my body is still acclimating to the long run, the short hard run, the race, all of that. So is my mind. I look at distances and wonder if I can finish, or, in the case of the Spivey Club workouts, keep up. Those folks are fast. My confidence is improving, as is my fitness, but this is a journey. There is a pain that goes with this, and a need to press through that pain. On hot afternoons, the lure of lemonade, sitting on a porch, listening to Louis Armstrong, reading a book is strong.

When I can look at most distances and not be intimidated, days off will take on a new light. Addiction? I have heard it happens. No endorphins streaming through. No burn followed by victory. No looking back on the road less taken, being unable to see through nature's corridors the beginning of the run.

And so, today is a day off. I'm drinking coffee, reading, catching up on e-mail, looking forward to tomorrow.