Well this week has been full of changes and pretty interesting from my perspective though I basically did the same workout for the whole week because of Tuesday. First I decided to start doing doubles and simply added an easy 3 mile run around the a track each morning with 5 100m strides afterwards. Its amazing how many miles doing doubles can add to your weekly mileage. Just 3 miles in the morning for 6 days equates to 18 miles for the week extra. The second thing I changed was time, I stopped caring about it. I no longer wear my watch while I'm running and plan not to for a couple of months.
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday:
I did pretty much exactly the same thing each of these days. I did 3 miles easy in the morning with strides and a 5 mile out and around the lake run in the afternoon or evening. You'll understand why when I describe Tuesday for you. I also decided to take Saturday off because I was already at 52 miles this week and I don't want to increase my mileage too much.
Tuesday:
Today was planned to be a run with Jake. Originally we planned to go to Michigan bluff and I would run a 12 mile out and back while he went much further so he could put in mega miles this day. Monday I got a call from Jake as he had heard of a group of guys that were getting together in Foresthill to run from there down to Ruck-a-chucky and back up to the highway from there. I was told it would be 15 miles. I figured it wouldn't be too bad adding an extra 3 miles, so I agreed. Plus I wanted to meet some other ultra runners, maybe talk with them a bit, get their reaction when they found out I wasn't an ultra runner :). I find it humorous how everyone assumes I'm an ultra runner every time I run with Jake, though its understandable. There were a few things I wasn't aware of going into this run though. The first is a little obvious, the course, I'd never run this part of the Western States trail and it would be new for me. It had been explained to me that most of it was downhill, so I was mentally prepared for the beating my quads would be taking. When we got there I met the guys and one lady who turned out to be top end ultra runners. I probably couldn't have kept up at this point if they had been average ultra runners. To boot, they were doing a time trial on that section of the course today. Oh well, little chance of chatting very long on the course with them ditching me. They staggered the start so I went with the first group and hung with that guy until he started to pull away from me. Every once in a while a person or group of guys would pass me. I carried a water bottle of cytomax mix in it that Jake had lent me. The second to last person to pass me was a man named Graham (though I'm not sure if thats how it is spelled) who turned out to be someone who has won Western States before. I tagged along at his pace for about 10 minutes or so and we had a nice conversation until I let him take off. A few moments later the last person Meghan flew past me after tripping over a log behind me a ways. I was on my own, but I was probably 2/3 of the way there by then. So I settled into a comfortable pace and cruised to Ruck-a-chucky. The third thing I didn't know was that the 15 miles Jake had quoted me was from foresthill to Ruck-a-chucky, not to where we dropped off my car, that was an extra 2 miles uphill. So I ended up getting at least 17 miles in with the last 2 of it being a 2 mile climb up to the car. Its the longest run I've been on in about 3 years, and nothing was hurting other than a small spot under my leg which I found out a few minutes later was a tick. My legs were so very tired, but they weren't aching or hurting in any way. We hung out around the vehicles for a little while and talked and then parted ways. All in all I put in 20 miles today with the 3 miles easy in the morning and the 17 mile run with the ultra runners.
Week:
So my total mileage was 52 miles and would have been 60 if I ran on Saturday. I didn't want to jump over 20 miles in one week though, so I figured my legs, which are still tired from Tuesday, could use an extra day of rest. All in all, I felt it was a good week and that God has blessed me through my time with other runners.
Running toward God,
Jason
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Week 4: May 16-21
This week I decided to back off a little bit because of last week and recover a bit.
Monday: I decided to take today off because my ankle was bothering me a little bit. It wasn't much, but since I decided it would be a down week I'd rather invest in an extra day of rest for my ankle instead of pushing through it so far ahead of the season.
Tuesday: Today was a good day. I've been running in the evenings mostly because I help a gentleman from my Church out at his home with projects and stuff. So I usually get home around 5 PM and run somewhere around 7. Well today when I went for a run it was raining the whole way, but it wasn't miserable. It was really nice. I found it funny that just before going on my run I was listening to the song Bring the Rain by MercyMe and it was stuck in my head the whole run. I went out from home into Lagoon Valley, around the Lake twice and back home in my Vibrams. I took it fairly easy most of the way, somewhere around 7-7:30 mile pace. The last mile I picked it up and ran it in 6:20 for a total running time of 52.5 minutes. I'm not entirely certain the distance since I'm getting different distances around the lake from various sources. Best I can guess is around the lake is approximately 2 miles and from home to lagoon valley is a little over 1.5 miles (maybe 1.6 or so) which gives me a distance of around 7-7.5 miles.
Wednesday: Recovery run of just 5 miles out and around the lake once. The arches were really tired today because of running in my Vibrams yesterday as well as working throughout the day, especially a few minute span where I was awkwardly keeping my balance on my toes on top of a metal shed where I had to keep my weight distributed on the supports and left my right arch overextended for a few minutes as I was trying to keep my balance.
Thursday: Went up to Auburn and ran with Jake. Today was a fairly intense run. We went up K2 a few times, me 3 and him 5. Jake is a crazy strong runner. He's done 10 repeats before in one day on k2 where the average ultra runner maybe puts in 3 in a day. The hill is approximately 1 mile long and raises over a 1000 feet in elevation (not entirely certain on these, but will know for sure once we measure it with a GPS). The first two reps were in 14:30 and 13:30 respectively. My third one was in 14:51 as Jake ran that one in 12:51. So I called it a day as he finished off his workout and went down and iced my legs in the American River's icy waters. Total running time for me was 100 minutes today and the total distance was somewhere between 9 and 10 miles.
Friday: My arches were super tired today as I could feel them ache as I worked today. So I decided to try and find an alternative recovery workout to let them recover. I decided on a nice bike ride on one of my parents' old bikes. It was a simple out and back through lagoon valley out to Fairfield and back turning around after 25 minutes. I made it back 3 minutes faster than I went out, so I figure there must have been a net altitude gain on the way out since I didn't go back any harder than I went out. It was nice to be able to get in a recovery workout while sitting down! I also wonder sometimes when I ride a bike how good of a triathlete or biker I would make. I do notice that biking takes a lot more strength in the legs in comparison to aerobics than running does, especially going up hills. So since my ride was 47 minutes I figure that is the equivalent of about 6 miles for me normally on a recovery run.
Saturday: Boy were my legs tired today. From the workout Thursday and then the biking yesterday I decided to take it really easy today. I went at about an 8 minute mile pace out around the lake 3 times and back home. I added a small little extension just in case the lake is slightly less than 2 miles to make the run at least 9 miles. So I ran somewhere around 9-9.5 miles today in 74 minutes. It was almost like a recovery long run.
So overall this week I put in somewhere around 36-38 miles, and that seems alright with me at this stage. I think I might start throwing in short recovery runs in the mornings next week and up the mileage maybe up to 48-50 miles.
Running Toward God,
Jason
Monday: I decided to take today off because my ankle was bothering me a little bit. It wasn't much, but since I decided it would be a down week I'd rather invest in an extra day of rest for my ankle instead of pushing through it so far ahead of the season.
Tuesday: Today was a good day. I've been running in the evenings mostly because I help a gentleman from my Church out at his home with projects and stuff. So I usually get home around 5 PM and run somewhere around 7. Well today when I went for a run it was raining the whole way, but it wasn't miserable. It was really nice. I found it funny that just before going on my run I was listening to the song Bring the Rain by MercyMe and it was stuck in my head the whole run. I went out from home into Lagoon Valley, around the Lake twice and back home in my Vibrams. I took it fairly easy most of the way, somewhere around 7-7:30 mile pace. The last mile I picked it up and ran it in 6:20 for a total running time of 52.5 minutes. I'm not entirely certain the distance since I'm getting different distances around the lake from various sources. Best I can guess is around the lake is approximately 2 miles and from home to lagoon valley is a little over 1.5 miles (maybe 1.6 or so) which gives me a distance of around 7-7.5 miles.
Wednesday: Recovery run of just 5 miles out and around the lake once. The arches were really tired today because of running in my Vibrams yesterday as well as working throughout the day, especially a few minute span where I was awkwardly keeping my balance on my toes on top of a metal shed where I had to keep my weight distributed on the supports and left my right arch overextended for a few minutes as I was trying to keep my balance.
Thursday: Went up to Auburn and ran with Jake. Today was a fairly intense run. We went up K2 a few times, me 3 and him 5. Jake is a crazy strong runner. He's done 10 repeats before in one day on k2 where the average ultra runner maybe puts in 3 in a day. The hill is approximately 1 mile long and raises over a 1000 feet in elevation (not entirely certain on these, but will know for sure once we measure it with a GPS). The first two reps were in 14:30 and 13:30 respectively. My third one was in 14:51 as Jake ran that one in 12:51. So I called it a day as he finished off his workout and went down and iced my legs in the American River's icy waters. Total running time for me was 100 minutes today and the total distance was somewhere between 9 and 10 miles.
Friday: My arches were super tired today as I could feel them ache as I worked today. So I decided to try and find an alternative recovery workout to let them recover. I decided on a nice bike ride on one of my parents' old bikes. It was a simple out and back through lagoon valley out to Fairfield and back turning around after 25 minutes. I made it back 3 minutes faster than I went out, so I figure there must have been a net altitude gain on the way out since I didn't go back any harder than I went out. It was nice to be able to get in a recovery workout while sitting down! I also wonder sometimes when I ride a bike how good of a triathlete or biker I would make. I do notice that biking takes a lot more strength in the legs in comparison to aerobics than running does, especially going up hills. So since my ride was 47 minutes I figure that is the equivalent of about 6 miles for me normally on a recovery run.
Saturday: Boy were my legs tired today. From the workout Thursday and then the biking yesterday I decided to take it really easy today. I went at about an 8 minute mile pace out around the lake 3 times and back home. I added a small little extension just in case the lake is slightly less than 2 miles to make the run at least 9 miles. So I ran somewhere around 9-9.5 miles today in 74 minutes. It was almost like a recovery long run.
So overall this week I put in somewhere around 36-38 miles, and that seems alright with me at this stage. I think I might start throwing in short recovery runs in the mornings next week and up the mileage maybe up to 48-50 miles.
Running Toward God,
Jason
Thursday, 19 May 2011
How does one Run for God?
I've been giving this question some thought recently, especially today. I went for a great run with my good friend Jake for a few repeats up K2. As always, we talked about many things even as we ran up this monster. Just a side note, this man is an incredibly strong runner and is putting in over 30 summits of this monster hill k2 this week. Thats insane, but then again both runners of his calibre and Christians alike (which he is both) are often considered insane by the teeming masses. Anyhow, I was going to leave this subject for tomorrow or maybe Saturday to write about, but two things happened that influenced me to write now. First as I sat at the table with my father and sister playing cards I talked a little about Jake and the running we get to do together whenever I'm in the area. In short he asked me this very question on how Jake integrates his faith with what he is doing, namely running as he is a sponsored runner by New Balance of Roseville. The second was Jake's recent blog which inclined me to write my own thoughts! To be honest I couldn't decide where to put this, on my other blog or on this one since it is a synthesis of the two areas of my thoughts, which is actually part of the topic! Let us move on to what I actually want to talk about, faith and running.
North Americans have a nasty habit of compartmentalizing life. Work is separate from home life which is separate from going out with friends to the bar which is separate from sports which is different from Church, and the list goes on. We often don't like parts of our lives to bleed over into other parts as things tend to get messy when they do. Its because we are living inconsistent lives. But if we try to live a unified life that is consistent throughout then we inevitably, for believers and ultimately anyone of any faith, must deal with the issue of living for God in all areas of our lives. I just want to focus on one, running. At first glance there doesn't seem to really be any way to integrate the two, after all what does running have to do with God? More than initially meets the eye.
A life of faith is not lived in a bubble. True faith requires interaction on a horizontal line between the believer and other human beings as well as in a vertical way between the believer and God. As such faith is based on relationships. After all, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:37-40. This is the basis for authentic faith. So then you might ask, "What running have to do with relationships?" Everything. Ask anyone who is a runner why they started running, and if you dig deep enough the reason is always because of another person. It may be a crush they had on someone in high school or a hero they had growing up. Like me it may have been because of their parents, or even if they're doing it to stay in shape or become more healthy it is because of what others have said about their health or some other influence outside themselves. Noone starts running from a purely inward motivation. More than that, running is a social sport more than people realize. There is a camaraderie between runners to the point where I can meet someone completely new and have an instant connection to that person and hold a great conversation because we share this trait. This camaraderie moves to the point that in most cases I am willing to listen, at length, to whatever a runner has to say even when I strongly disagree. I assume it is likewise with most runners. I also run the best when running with others rather than by myself. I run by myself to keep me ready for the times when I run with others. My point is that running is social and relational far more than people generally realize, and relationships are the foundation for faith and for expressing the character and glory of God to those who do not yet know him.
There is another aspect to this which is that running is a gift. Our bodies are gifts from God and each person's body is different with different innate abilities and different levels of those abilities. Each is a gift. When we receive a gift we have two basic choices, use the gift or don't use it. I think we can all agree that not using a gift that has been given is a waste and dishonorable to the giver of that gift (think about it, you don't tell your relatives you don't particularly care for greeting cards because of the disrespect it shows towards them). When we use the gift we can either use it for ourselves or use it for someone else. For others is more noble I think most would agree, though most people use their gifts and abilities for themselves more often. However, I think the noblest is to use the gift for and in the name of the one who gave the gift and giving credit to the giver. In short it means glorifying God and acknowledging His sovereignty in the giving of your gifts. If you want to see how this can practically play out in a person's life I recommend watching the movie, "Chariots of Fire."
There is one final area I would like to address while I'm at it, namely the subject of character. A follower seeks to be more like the one they follow. Inevitably that means a follower of Jesus will grow ever more like in character to Jesus. This is done is so many different ways as God guides us through life. However, running can be a very effective tool for building many character qualities in us from Jesus our Lord. Running builds endurance, long-suffering, perseverance, discipline, delayed gratification, determination, reverence, humility, confidence, and a great many more as well. No wonder Paul compared life to running a race. "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24 "I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain." Galatians 2:2 "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?" Galatians 5:7 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7. Then there is in Hebrews 12:1-3 which some believe that Paul also wrote though we cannot be certain, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." This metaphor would seem to be some evidence towards that assertion, but that is an entirely different subject! The metaphor is well enough established in the Bible because there is in fact a strong connection between running and faith. There are also strong connections between all the areas of our lives and faith, if you have the eyes to see it.
Running Toward God,
Jason
North Americans have a nasty habit of compartmentalizing life. Work is separate from home life which is separate from going out with friends to the bar which is separate from sports which is different from Church, and the list goes on. We often don't like parts of our lives to bleed over into other parts as things tend to get messy when they do. Its because we are living inconsistent lives. But if we try to live a unified life that is consistent throughout then we inevitably, for believers and ultimately anyone of any faith, must deal with the issue of living for God in all areas of our lives. I just want to focus on one, running. At first glance there doesn't seem to really be any way to integrate the two, after all what does running have to do with God? More than initially meets the eye.
A life of faith is not lived in a bubble. True faith requires interaction on a horizontal line between the believer and other human beings as well as in a vertical way between the believer and God. As such faith is based on relationships. After all, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:37-40. This is the basis for authentic faith. So then you might ask, "What running have to do with relationships?" Everything. Ask anyone who is a runner why they started running, and if you dig deep enough the reason is always because of another person. It may be a crush they had on someone in high school or a hero they had growing up. Like me it may have been because of their parents, or even if they're doing it to stay in shape or become more healthy it is because of what others have said about their health or some other influence outside themselves. Noone starts running from a purely inward motivation. More than that, running is a social sport more than people realize. There is a camaraderie between runners to the point where I can meet someone completely new and have an instant connection to that person and hold a great conversation because we share this trait. This camaraderie moves to the point that in most cases I am willing to listen, at length, to whatever a runner has to say even when I strongly disagree. I assume it is likewise with most runners. I also run the best when running with others rather than by myself. I run by myself to keep me ready for the times when I run with others. My point is that running is social and relational far more than people generally realize, and relationships are the foundation for faith and for expressing the character and glory of God to those who do not yet know him.
There is another aspect to this which is that running is a gift. Our bodies are gifts from God and each person's body is different with different innate abilities and different levels of those abilities. Each is a gift. When we receive a gift we have two basic choices, use the gift or don't use it. I think we can all agree that not using a gift that has been given is a waste and dishonorable to the giver of that gift (think about it, you don't tell your relatives you don't particularly care for greeting cards because of the disrespect it shows towards them). When we use the gift we can either use it for ourselves or use it for someone else. For others is more noble I think most would agree, though most people use their gifts and abilities for themselves more often. However, I think the noblest is to use the gift for and in the name of the one who gave the gift and giving credit to the giver. In short it means glorifying God and acknowledging His sovereignty in the giving of your gifts. If you want to see how this can practically play out in a person's life I recommend watching the movie, "Chariots of Fire."
There is one final area I would like to address while I'm at it, namely the subject of character. A follower seeks to be more like the one they follow. Inevitably that means a follower of Jesus will grow ever more like in character to Jesus. This is done is so many different ways as God guides us through life. However, running can be a very effective tool for building many character qualities in us from Jesus our Lord. Running builds endurance, long-suffering, perseverance, discipline, delayed gratification, determination, reverence, humility, confidence, and a great many more as well. No wonder Paul compared life to running a race. "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24 "I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain." Galatians 2:2 "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?" Galatians 5:7 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7. Then there is in Hebrews 12:1-3 which some believe that Paul also wrote though we cannot be certain, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." This metaphor would seem to be some evidence towards that assertion, but that is an entirely different subject! The metaphor is well enough established in the Bible because there is in fact a strong connection between running and faith. There are also strong connections between all the areas of our lives and faith, if you have the eyes to see it.
Running Toward God,
Jason
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Week 3: May 9 - May 14
I couldn't really follow my plan for this week because of Wednesday and Saturday. Wednesday I went up to Auburn to run with Jake and Saturday I was gone all day picking up my parents and then going to a Bocce Ball tournament that my sister was participating in. So I had to shift things around a bit, cut out starting my tempo runs until next week and just focus on getting two good long runs in this week.
Monday - Since my two long runs were going to be Tuesday and Friday, I decided today needed to be fairly easy, but not too short so I went for an out and back run from one side of Vacaville to the other along Marshall Road which comes to about 7 miles in about 52 or 53 minutes. It was a comfortable pace and I didn't feel inclined to push it too much.
Tuesday - Today I selected a 10 mile route that I do from time to time. Unfortunately its pavement all the way, but at least I know exactly how far it is. Its basically the same run as the 8.1 mile run I've done the past two weeks with a slight alteration up Alamo to Leisuretown, over to Marshall, and back home. The run took me 75 minutes.
Wednesday - I had a great time going up to Auburn after doing bunch of yard work for a fellow church member today. Jake and I went for an easy 7.5 mile run up and down the canyon starting with K2. I wore my Vibram FiveFingers for this one and didn't feel drained or anything from yesterday's run. We ran for 70 minutes total.
Thursday - After putting in almost 25 miles the past three days my legs were a bit worn out so today was a simple easy recovery run without timing it. I went out to Lagoon Valley, around the lake, and back for what I estimate to be about 5.5 miles, no more than 6.
Friday - I got to run Stagecoach 3 times today. Its not the max number of times I've done Stagecoach, but it was good. Stagecoach is 1.9 miles from gate to gate (in spite of some hikers who vehemently argued with me one time that it was 2.4 miles long) and rises I think 1000 feet in elevation (I'm not entirely certain on this one and would have to ask Jake to verify). I skipped the first 1/4 mile except for coming up the first time and down the last time. Overall I figure I ran about 10.5 miles in 102 minutes.
Saturday - I just returned from this run around town with a bit of a drizzle starting as I ran through the streets of Vacaville. I just wanted to shake the legs out and encourage recovering from running this week. I put in 4.5 miles or so and enjoyed a good night run with a little bit of rain.
So overall I put in about 45 miles this week with a decent amount of hills, though I kind of wish I could run hills every day, I love them. Where is God leading me this upcoming season? Well, I hope to some more hills! ;)
Running toward God,
Jason
Monday - Since my two long runs were going to be Tuesday and Friday, I decided today needed to be fairly easy, but not too short so I went for an out and back run from one side of Vacaville to the other along Marshall Road which comes to about 7 miles in about 52 or 53 minutes. It was a comfortable pace and I didn't feel inclined to push it too much.
Tuesday - Today I selected a 10 mile route that I do from time to time. Unfortunately its pavement all the way, but at least I know exactly how far it is. Its basically the same run as the 8.1 mile run I've done the past two weeks with a slight alteration up Alamo to Leisuretown, over to Marshall, and back home. The run took me 75 minutes.
Wednesday - I had a great time going up to Auburn after doing bunch of yard work for a fellow church member today. Jake and I went for an easy 7.5 mile run up and down the canyon starting with K2. I wore my Vibram FiveFingers for this one and didn't feel drained or anything from yesterday's run. We ran for 70 minutes total.
Thursday - After putting in almost 25 miles the past three days my legs were a bit worn out so today was a simple easy recovery run without timing it. I went out to Lagoon Valley, around the lake, and back for what I estimate to be about 5.5 miles, no more than 6.
Friday - I got to run Stagecoach 3 times today. Its not the max number of times I've done Stagecoach, but it was good. Stagecoach is 1.9 miles from gate to gate (in spite of some hikers who vehemently argued with me one time that it was 2.4 miles long) and rises I think 1000 feet in elevation (I'm not entirely certain on this one and would have to ask Jake to verify). I skipped the first 1/4 mile except for coming up the first time and down the last time. Overall I figure I ran about 10.5 miles in 102 minutes.
Saturday - I just returned from this run around town with a bit of a drizzle starting as I ran through the streets of Vacaville. I just wanted to shake the legs out and encourage recovering from running this week. I put in 4.5 miles or so and enjoyed a good night run with a little bit of rain.
So overall I put in about 45 miles this week with a decent amount of hills, though I kind of wish I could run hills every day, I love them. Where is God leading me this upcoming season? Well, I hope to some more hills! ;)
Running toward God,
Jason
Sunday, 8 May 2011
May 2 - May 7
I am thankful to God for giving me a very adaptable body. This week was much better than last in terms of difficulty of training and ability to push. Just thinking back to the week before that and my first day back to training I remember struggling to finish a 35 minute run. But yesterday is proof that I'm getting back in shape quickly, I just need to make sure I don't get back into it too fast and risk injury.
Monday
I put on my Vibrams for a nice evening run around town from home down Marshall to California Drive until Peabody. I followed Peabody to Foxboro up to Nut Tree back to Marshall and back Home. It was just over 8 miles and my calves were very tired from running it in my Vibram FiveFingers. I put in some core work afterwards, drank some chocolate milk, and called it a night.
Tuesday
Today I just needed to recover from running 8 miles in Vibrams on Concrete and Asphalt so I went out from home around the Lagoon and back for about 5 miles of easy running.
Wednesday
I was still a bit tired from Monday and recovering so I went for an easy run down Marshall Road until it dead ends onto Leisuretown road and back for a total of about 7 miles.
Thursday
I've decided to do some hill repeats each week and Thursday was the day that drew that luck. So I threw on my Vibrams again and headed out to the Lagoon and Big Mama. Its funny, I used to fear this hill in high school (well fear is too strong, maybe dread or strongly dislike) and the day once a season where we would do 8 hill repeats. Today I did 10 and I'm just getting back into it. Over this past winter I did one workout where I did 35 Big Mama repeats. I probably won't get to that many before I leave again trying to stay healthy, uninjured, but strong. I shouldn't have done it so close to dusk though, the bugs were annoying, but luckily it was very windy on the hilltops so the bugs were only at the bottom. I did some more core work getting home and finished off with a glass of chocolate milk.
Friday
I wasn't all that tired from the hills, at least not compared to how I would get in high school. But today was another recovery day and since I'm just getting started my recoveries shouldn't be too long until I really start amping up the mileage. Another out and around the lagoon and back today.
Saturday
This was truly the most interesting run I've been on in a while. I went out to Radio Tower Hill in Lagoon Valley. It is 1.5 miles from bottom to top with fairly steep uphill most of the way with two brief reliefs along the way. The last part is particularly annoying because its the steepest and you're already tired. There was some spiritual battle going on there too and if you want to hear about that check out my other blog <a href="http://forhisgloriousname.blogspot.com/2011/05/when-god-isnt-speaking.html">here</a>. There was a bike race going on up the side trails(the end of the race anyhow) along this road up to the radio tower and I must say I did not envy them. It is much more difficult to ride a bike up a steep hill than run up one. Granted their way down was much easier than mine I still wouldn't like doing that. I also ran into Cheynne Inman who was volunteering at the race near the top of the hill. We talked for a few moments and we should be able to get together in the near future to run together, though I'm sure he puts in a great many more miles than I do and will be further past where I'm at right now. Anyhow, it was a great day as I ran up the hill three times for a run that turned out to be just under 90 minutes and somewhere between 9 and 10 miles with 50 minutes of that being uphill running, so not bad. I again returned home did pushups and static core work and drank chocolate milk.
So I'm up to almost 40 miles this week which isn't too bad for my second full week back in training. I'll gradually build it up to around 80-90 miles a week hopefully in about 2 months to really build a good base before we start with Cross Country this fall in Canada.
Running Toward God,
Jason
Monday
I put on my Vibrams for a nice evening run around town from home down Marshall to California Drive until Peabody. I followed Peabody to Foxboro up to Nut Tree back to Marshall and back Home. It was just over 8 miles and my calves were very tired from running it in my Vibram FiveFingers. I put in some core work afterwards, drank some chocolate milk, and called it a night.
Tuesday
Today I just needed to recover from running 8 miles in Vibrams on Concrete and Asphalt so I went out from home around the Lagoon and back for about 5 miles of easy running.
Wednesday
I was still a bit tired from Monday and recovering so I went for an easy run down Marshall Road until it dead ends onto Leisuretown road and back for a total of about 7 miles.
Thursday
I've decided to do some hill repeats each week and Thursday was the day that drew that luck. So I threw on my Vibrams again and headed out to the Lagoon and Big Mama. Its funny, I used to fear this hill in high school (well fear is too strong, maybe dread or strongly dislike) and the day once a season where we would do 8 hill repeats. Today I did 10 and I'm just getting back into it. Over this past winter I did one workout where I did 35 Big Mama repeats. I probably won't get to that many before I leave again trying to stay healthy, uninjured, but strong. I shouldn't have done it so close to dusk though, the bugs were annoying, but luckily it was very windy on the hilltops so the bugs were only at the bottom. I did some more core work getting home and finished off with a glass of chocolate milk.
Friday
I wasn't all that tired from the hills, at least not compared to how I would get in high school. But today was another recovery day and since I'm just getting started my recoveries shouldn't be too long until I really start amping up the mileage. Another out and around the lagoon and back today.
Saturday
This was truly the most interesting run I've been on in a while. I went out to Radio Tower Hill in Lagoon Valley. It is 1.5 miles from bottom to top with fairly steep uphill most of the way with two brief reliefs along the way. The last part is particularly annoying because its the steepest and you're already tired. There was some spiritual battle going on there too and if you want to hear about that check out my other blog <a href="http://forhisgloriousname.blogspot.com/2011/05/when-god-isnt-speaking.html">here</a>. There was a bike race going on up the side trails(the end of the race anyhow) along this road up to the radio tower and I must say I did not envy them. It is much more difficult to ride a bike up a steep hill than run up one. Granted their way down was much easier than mine I still wouldn't like doing that. I also ran into Cheynne Inman who was volunteering at the race near the top of the hill. We talked for a few moments and we should be able to get together in the near future to run together, though I'm sure he puts in a great many more miles than I do and will be further past where I'm at right now. Anyhow, it was a great day as I ran up the hill three times for a run that turned out to be just under 90 minutes and somewhere between 9 and 10 miles with 50 minutes of that being uphill running, so not bad. I again returned home did pushups and static core work and drank chocolate milk.
So I'm up to almost 40 miles this week which isn't too bad for my second full week back in training. I'll gradually build it up to around 80-90 miles a week hopefully in about 2 months to really build a good base before we start with Cross Country this fall in Canada.
Running Toward God,
Jason
Sunday, 1 May 2011
First week back
Its been a strange year for running. I had been starting to put in more miles per week in the spring of 2010 getting interested in Ultras because of a good friend of mine and a book he lent me to read called 'Born to Run'. Its a good read, though I disagree on certain points, that is to be expected. It nicely fit into my own plan for life as I wanted to be a missionary and specifically a Bible Translator. The people group in the book were as well as I could tell unreached people and had a thing for running very long distances. So I started to train for longer distances though I was still far behind my friend Jake. As I left for Canada to start my studying to become a Bible Translator I was running more in terms of mileage per week than I ever had in my life. Thats not saying too much because I've always been a low mileage high quality kind of guy, but nevertheless was putting in 15-20 mile runs in my Vibram FiveFingers. At the end of the summer my running plans changed as the sign at the entrance of Trinity Western University (hereafter referred to as TWU) declared a new cross country and track team at TWU. So I e-mailed the athletic director seeing if I could help out, assuming I had no eligibility since I'd run out of eligibility for both the NCAA and the NAIA in the U.S. However I had two years left in the CIS. So I joined the team which dropped my mileage as I was no longer training for the same reasons. Throughout the course of this year I've had medical issues, though not terrible ones, due to paranoid doctors and a worried coach I missed the last half of the cross country season. Getting back into training in the winter after I got cleared with no apparent problems I trained hard enough to fairly easily get up K2 with Jake in under 13 minutes the day after I did 35 hill repeats on a hill called Big Mama in my hometown of Vacaville. But I may have trained too hard because shortly after that I ran my first indoor meet and pulled a tendon in my foot which put me out until the very last meet of the season at Regionals where I was so horribly out of shape because I couldn't train properly. So the last month and a half of the spring semester I studied hard, sort of, and forgot about running for a bit only running 3 days out of every 2 weeks or so. So now I'm pretty out of shape, but since the semester ended I came home to my parents' house in Vacaville and have very little to do other than think a lot, watch Burn Notice a lot, and run every day. This past week was the first full week of running I've put in for months and everytime I start back up I'm angry with myself for not staying in shape. I put in about 36 miles this week and am getting stronger fast, but since I have all summer to get in shape and ready for cross country I'll take it slow not wanting to make the same mistake I made this past winter. I'll increase the mileage slowly and keep wary track of all my aches and pains to ensure maximum growth while preventing injury. I just want to have a great base for later this summer and fall when I will build some speed for cross country and later track. Only God fully knows the plans he has for my running and for what purpose he gave me this gift. I know I will only get to see little by little that plan, but its exciting each step I take towards the fulfillment of His plan.
Running Toward God,
Jason
Running Toward God,
Jason
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