Day 391 -- Push up day 25

• 1.42 miles
• Slow
• 2150
• From/To Home
• Halloween run, pretty cool and glad I didn't have too much candy before starting.

• 25 push ups
• Standard

Day 390 -- Push up day 24

• 1.7 miles
• 7:19/mile pace
• 2210
• Mobile, AL
• Almost didn't do this one too, but decided I couldn't end on a night that I had eaten dinner with the Sumner Adams family who laughs at me regularly for doing such bizarre things.

• 25 Push ups
• Standard

Day 389 -- Push up day 23

• 1.65 miles
• 6:26/mile pace
• 2205
• Mobile, AL
• Came very close to ending the streak, but then decided not too...then decided to punish myself on the second half of the run for thinking such a thought, so I sped up.

• 50 Push ups
• Standard

Day 388 -- Push up day 22

• 1.21 miles
• Slow
• 0900
• From/To home
• Streak extender

• 100 Push ups
• Standard
• 4 sets minimal rest

Day 387 -- Push up day 21

• 1.22 miles
• Slow
• 2045
• From/To Home
• Streak extender after Becca returned home

• 25 push ups
• Standard

Day 386 -- Push up day 20

• 1.2 miles
• Slow
• 0630
• From/To Home
• Streak extender

• 25 Push ups
• Standard

Day 385 -- Push up day 19

• 7.35 Kilometers
• 4:58/Kilometer pace
• 0700
• Guatemala City, Guatemala
• Funcionamiento de Niza, malo de la ciudad no tan como temí, pero no ser considerado agradable por los E.E.U.U. estándares.   No temió para mi vida, excepto al cruzar tráfico.   Me recuerda la ciudad de Ciudad de México y de Panamá, Panamá al mismo tiempo.

• 250 pectorales
• Sistemas del estándar 10 de 25
• Prepuesto hacer más, pero funcionó de tiempo como llegó mi conductor 30 minutos anterior que programar

 

Day 384 -- Push up day 18

• 5.03 miles
• 7:35/mile pace
• 0710
• From/To Home
• Nothing special today, though I did see our new next door neighbor out running.

• 25 push ups
• Standard (big day planned tomorrow, perhaps a new record high!)

Day 383 -- Push up day 17

• 1.2 miles
• Slow/easy
• 0600
• From/To Home
• Seriously fatigued from yesterday's long run...not real happy to realize a 10 miler would take that much out of me, but only one thing I can do about that and it will take a while, plus motivation, so we'll see.   Felt better after this run though, which is good.

• 100 push ups
• Standard
• These felt fine, guess I should think about doing them in a more intense manner, to failure or something, but not mentally there yet...

Day 382 -- Push up day 16

• 10.01 miles
• 7:59/mile pace
• 0932
• From/To Home 
• Double digits, woohoo!  From home to Thunderbird Park, 2 loops and returned taking a shortcut to end up at almost exactly 10 miles -- didn't feel that bad actually, but not sure how much more I've got in me right now...still evaluating.

• 25 push ups
• Standard

Day 381 -- Push up day 15

• 1.59 miles
• 7:55/mile pace
• 2220
• From/To Home
• Streak extender -- intended to run long, managed to avoid running all day with intention to run after dinner, but made the mistake of eating too much for dinner, causing stomach issues, which meant that I was happy to log the above.

• 25 push ups
• Standard -- almost forgot to do them.

Day 380 -- Push up Day 14

• 1.21 miles
• 8:30/mile pace
• 0630
• From/To Home
• Streak extender, begging the question, why is this streak still going?   Just haven't woken up with an excuse to end it that I was happy with I guess.

• 100 push ups
• Standard
• 25 before running, 75 during stretching

Day 379 -- Push up day 13

• 6.37 miles
• 7:38/mile pace
• 0559
• From/To Home
• Ran easy until the final mile then sped up a little bit, felt pretty good overall
• I looked for money today, but didn't find any

• 25 push ups
• Standard
• Basically a day off, but the positive news is that I don't hurt as much as I thought I would today from yesterday's effort, not that it was anything impressive, but it was/is my new during streak high for volume in one day, so...anyway, doing 1 set of 25 today was not hard nor even something I dreaded, just 30 seconds of effort, which gives me hope that continuing this streak will remain doable. 

Day 378 -- Push up day 12

• 5 miles
• 8:20/mile pace (including 4 stops)
• 0514
• From/To Home
• Just a cruise run, which felt tougher than it should have -- Finn had a very up and down night, which was much harder on Becca than me since she kept waking up first :).  
• Found a $20 bill on the sidewalk on 75th Ave. between Union Hills and the 101, no, it wasn't yours. 

• 200 push ups
• Standard form
• 25 pre-run, 15 each corner, 1st one being about 1.25 miles from home and one additional at the end, followed by 4 sets of 25 during post run stretching (15 of set number 7 were with a constantly mobile 40 pound Case on my back -- these in particular, plus the new Push Up streak high for volume, made the effort more exhausting than I have made any to date...expect that I will hurt tomorrow etc.).

Day 377 -- Push up day 11

• 5 miles
• 7:29/mile pace
• 0635
• From/To Home
• Cruise run making me really wish I had been able to maintain the training schedule I was so fired up about back in the beginning of the summer because it is easier to maintain pace when the temps are lower, which means I now dream of how fast I would be, but no...I just get to be happy that a five miler is over faster than it would've been otherwise.

• 25 push ups
• Standard

Day 376 -- Push up Day 10

• 3.23 miles
• 7:38/mile pace
• 0655
• From/To Home
• Had full intention to get in some serious mileage this morning...woke up in time to do so, then took a call and extended that to the point that I no longer had time to get in more than the above.  

• 100 push ups
• Standard, 4 sets, driveway after running
• Have decided I will stick with standard form through end of the month to make sure I've got some strength built up prior to alternating form used...I'm 40 now, so I have to be careful.

Day 375 -- Push up Day 9

• 1.68 miles
• 8:06/mile pace
• 1950
• From/To Home
• Streak extender, which made me question the streak...it wasn't hard, mentally or physically, I just wondered why I was doing it...then I just went, just because.  

• 25 push ups
• Standard, living room -- felt like I wanted another day to fully recover/loosen up from the 150 on Friday.

Day 374 -- Push up Day 8

• 1.68 miles
• 6:41/mile pace
• 2020
• From/To Home
• Streak extender, up tempo

• 25 Push ups, standard, streak extender single set in the driveway 
• Felt affect of yesterday's push-ups as this was harder than it should've been...pretty weak, but guess I had to start somewhere?

Day 373 -- Push up Day 7

• 5.03 miles
• 8:10/mile pace (including 5 stops, see below)
• 0640
• From/To Home
• Easy run broken up by 5 sets of push-ups, detailed below

• 150 push ups
• 25 standard prior to run
• 15 push ups after 10 minutes of running,15 push ups after each estimated mile thereafter, concluding with 15 after finishing
• Averaged 20 seconds per push up set, stopping watch on way down to the ground and restarting it when running resumed -- above pace, therefore, could also be stated as 7:50/mile if desired 
• 50 more during stretching -- all standard, looking up/viewing sidewalk stretching into the distance ahead

Day 372 -- Push up day 6

• 1.2 miles
• Slow
• 0630
• From/To Home
• Streak extender

• 50 push ups, 2 sets of 25.  
• 1st set with Finn leaning on my right side, 2nd set with Finn leaning my left side -- estimate that he added 5 pounds of pressure for each rep.

Push up Day 5

25 standard push ups
2140
At home, just before going to sleep...almost forgot to do these.  (I did the dual day single run the night before, but didn't do push-ups for the 2nd day, until this effort)

Day 370 and 371 -- Push up day 4

• 2.87 miles
• 8:00/mile pace
• 2350
• Houston, TX
• A double up effort as the meetings/conference/dinner ran late and I had to squeeze this one in -- seriously thought about ending the streak, but didn't want to end with a 6 in the number and also just couldn't allow the streak to end in the home town of faithful streak reader, Craig M. Brandenburg.  
• Downtown Houston:   From the corner of Smith and Jefferson, down Jefferson to Dowling, left to Polk and then returned -- included for CMB in case he may care to know the details...loosely associated, Dowling is not a thriving road, economically speaking...well, not legally at least. 
• 25 push ups, standard (hands just outside/wider-than shoulders and at shoulder level with relation to length of body:   Going forward I will try to add a bit of detail with regard to the type of push-ups being done...starting with next effort I will begin to a) vary the types and b) increase the volume occassionally...until I get burned out and then just do streak extender efforts to the utter bordom of anyone following)  

Day 369 -- Push up Day 3

• 3.42 miles
• 6:46/mile pace
• 1820
• S. San Francisco, CA
• Pretty fired up after the end of my golf binge (another 36 holes today, too many of which were bad), felt like running hard, which I did.  
• 50 push ups -- 1 set before run, 1 set after...I think the pre-run push ups got me into the run hard mode, plus the poor golf helped.   Did these push ups in the hall outside my hotel room...not even sure why, just felt like it.

Day 368 -- Push up Day 2

• 1.75 miles
• 7:45/mile pace
• 2015
• Pleasanton, CA
• Ran well, though short and easy...just a streak extender, which felt like plenty after another 36 holes of golf today, taking way to many swings. 
• 25 push ups, 1 set -- first time I have done push ups on back to back days since doing P90X in 2009...and I'm just assuming I must have done push ups on consequitive days during that craziness.   I need to do that again actually. 

Day 367

• 2.0 miles
• Slow
• 0700
• From/To Home
• Streak extender -- August 11.   This is the run I forgot to log and thanks to Ms. Laurawesome Matera for determining which day I missed.  
• Run was prior to our Stay-cation day at Arizona Grand with the Jeffries and Petersons.

Day 366 -- Push up Day 1

• 2.15 miles
• 8:10/mile pace
• 2014
• Pleasanton, CA
• Happy Birthday to me!   I'm a man!, I'm 40!   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjF93E4LjlA
• 38 more holes of golf today, scored well for 1st 18, horribly for second and then bogied the final 2, whatever, I suck.
• Glad to have made it 1 year officially, many times I wasn't sure, many more times I thought of course I would, but in reality I never knew, until today, now I know...so, time for a new streak...and to continue this one for at least a few more days.
• Did 25 push-ups today, 1 set, nothing noteworthy as they won't be until after I finish my golf binge.

Day 365

• 3.74 miles
• 7:57/mile pace
• 1931
• Pleasanton, CA
• One "standard" year in the books, er, uh, on this blog?   Anyway, done!   Sort of.   I have to log another to complete the real year, since it was a leap year...and then maybe I'll keep going? 
• Played 36 holes of golf before this run, felt good considering.  I suck at golf. 

Day 364

• 7.05 miles
• 7:48/mile pace
• 0531
• Novato, CA
• Ran through the Marin College campus, saw a deer, saw a rabbit the size of a deer, saw swim team practice, enjoyed the hills, determined that the campus is too dark for people to feel safe running before sun up, though I didn't feel threatened at all, decided I like Novato.
• Wondering which day I failed to log...I mean, if tomorrow, Oct. 5, is the 365th day of this streak, and because this year had an extra day in February a full year (Oct. 6 to Oct. 6) should be 366 days, didn't I miss a day logging a run?  I am concerned about this, but not too much because I know I didn't miss any days running....unless I slept through a whole day, does anyone remember me doing that?   Perhaps I got jacked upon on number of days when traveling across the date line?  

Day 363

• 3.86 miles
• 7:46/mile pace
• 0530
• Novato, CA
• Nice cool morning in Marin County -- woke up in plenty of time to get a run of length in, but started answering non-urgent emails and pissed away an hour, which basically confirmed to me that I'm not a runner these days, but rather just a streaker.   I think I'd like to become a runner again, but nothing I do seems to indicate that I really do....guess I'll just continue the streak through the week and then evaluate.

Day 362

• 3.31 miles
• 7:34/mile pace
• 0334
• From/To Home
• I'll consider this a fast run considering the start time -- first mile was slowish, last mile was hardish.   Not many people out at all...actually, saw no one outside, but there were cars on the 101, as always.  Becca is doing speedwork at the track today, she meets people there at 4:30am, which seems very extreme to me, but I'm glad she enjoys it.  

Day 361

• 2.77 miles
• 8:01/mile pace
• 0630
• From/To Home
• Still sore from weekend activities, but felt pretty good after warming up, which ironically happened about the same time I stopped running because I was back home.

Day 360

• 4.23 miles
• 7:44/mile pace
• 2045
• From/To Home
• Felt like this was a good effort after a pretty long day which included the following:
• Waking up in a tent
• Swimming against various river currents
• Hiking 4 miles uphill carrying a backpack
• Driving 100 miles or so
• Giving Case a handful of bull rides as that is his new thing since we went to watch bull riding on Friday night
• Note in relation to the above list -- hiking with Laurawesome and CMB was really cool, they're excellent backpackers, great company and never one up our kid stories with stories about their kids. 
• I felt like I was running much faster than 7:44/mile pace...but I think that has to do with the fact that I was quite sore from the backpacking and may have run the first mile much slower than the final 3+.

Day 359

• 3.14 miles
• 8:17/mile pace
• 0545
• From/to Home
• Pi.
• Becca logged 8 miles before me as our plans included an 8am start to a overnight trip involving hiking/backpacking/camping and such.  All worked out pretty well and we only left the house a few minutes later than perfect due to the time it took to do the kid exchange with the sitter.

Day 358

• 2.39 miles
• 8:11/mile pace
• 0520
• From/To Home
• Finn has been having trouble sleeping, which at least allows Bec and I to both run in the morning...

Day 357

• 6.48 miles
• 7:24/mile pace
• 1939
• From/To Home
• Felt good and ran by one of IronChad's houses...it wasn't on fire or anything, so I guess that fact isn't so exciting.  Anyway, this was my first run in my new $39 pair of New Balance running shoes...I like them...and not just because they look just like Case's shoes, which is exactly why I chose them.  

Day 356

• 6.78 miles
• 7:31/mile pace
• 0630
• From/To Home
• Pretty poor route choice as I made 2 rectangles around the 'hood, which resulted in longer than usual mileage running straight east as the sun was coming up...anyway, felt OK today I guess, but still just miffed at how slow I am now.  Maybe what I need is some good hiking and camping this weekend to get me back into it?   Running that is, I've never really been into camping, although I think it is fun, just haven't done much of it at all.

Day 355

• 2.28 miles
• Medium
• 1915
• From/To Home
• Streak extender -- didn't feel like going any further as I wanted to get back to put kids to bed and watch more of the addictive, though completely non-sensical show Becca has me semi-hooked on #&@$% *#@.
• Unassociated:   Played baseball with Case before work and hit range balls with him after work...I like that he's getting older.

Day 354

• 5 miles
• 8:20/mile pace
• 0600
• From/To Home
• Slow run around the block...almost zero people out, which was strange as I wasn't up especially early.   Need new shoes, amazing that I couldn't or didn't get to it this past weekend....

Day 353

• 2.4 miles
• 8:06/mile pace
• 2015
• From/To Home
• Very nice to be able to run at night now, except that by 8pm on a Saturday I'm pretty much ready for bed, so this was somewhat uninspired.   Becca's been watching this show called "Pretty Little Liar's," which is a teenage angst mystery of sorts -- right before going on this run I watched the Halloween episode, which of course weirded me out a little bit because I absolutely hate being scared and or startled, so I saw the neighborhood in a completely different way on this run, convincing me that Becca is never allowed to go out for a non-sunlit run ever again...just too many places for people to jump out from behind. 

Day 352

• 4 miles
• 8:08/mile pace
• 1745
• From/To Home
• Family run, me pushing the boys...definitely getting cooler, though today was hot the evenings are cooling off.  

Day 351

• 1.82 miles
• Slow
• 0600
• From/To Home
• Pushing Case on a wild and bumpy ride -- I thought I was going to get a break today since Case initially stated he didn't want a rough ride because he was playing with his toys, but that lasted about 2 tenths of a mile, then we had to do some serious off road traveling to satisfy him.   You wouldn't think from initial look at Case's 'hood that it had any off road possibilities, but when you decide that entertaining your son is more important than the neighbors landscaping, opportunities abound.

Day 350

• 6.34 miles
• 7:40/mile pace
• 0510
• From/To Home
• Negative split by 3 minutes, helped significantly by the fact that Master of Puppets started playing on my iShuffle music player and I decided to run hard for the whole freak 8+ minute song.   I really though my average speed would've been much faster, but it wasn't...I felt fine, just not fast I guess.   Anyway, did some push ups after stretching, which led to Case riding on my back for a while, so now I'm worn out.  
• Becca ran 6+ miles after me this morning...I think together we will log many miles in the coming months, well, as long as I get back on the train at some point.

Day 349

• 3.94 miles
• 7:53/mile pace
• 0635
• To/From Home
• Had plenty of time to get in the longer run I had planned (not that I'm following a plan, I'm not), but then I started working and well, when I only had roughly 30 minutes left above is all I ended up getting in -- had I wanted to run faster I suppose I could've increased the milage some anyway...problem is that once I've compromised from my original intention I seem to mail it in, which could also explain some of the lethargy of the past 2 months.
• Need new shoes, based on milage and how my legs feel, may buy some tonight, we'll see.

Day 348

• 5.02 miles
• 7:17/mile pace
• 0630
• From/To Home
• Becca ran 8 this morning, four of which were mile repeats at like 6:40/mile, which is quite strong considering...well, yeah, she hasn't run any mile repeats in years, but I don't really need to explain why that is quite strong, it just is.   Anyway, that made me feel like I couldn't just run 8:50 miles like I wanted to, so I grabbed my iShuffle thing and decided I'd run easy for a song, then hard for a song etc.  It was more enjoyable than recent efforts, so I might make a habit of this.   What I need to make a habit of is following a schedule, I have all but given up on the schedule I was trying to follow before because, well, I think I just wasn't ready for it and as a result it buried me...perhaps more mentally than physically, but felt 6 feet under regardless.   I haven't given up on the early December marathon, though I have little hope of making my sub-3 hour goal...I still want to do it even if only to hang with those that are going (The Rosenlof's and Elliot).  

Day 347

• 2.25 miles
• Slow
• 1910
• From/To Home
• Pushing Case and we really did a lot of off-road bumpy adventure stuff....I actually wore the watch, but forgot to start it, I'm a genius.  

Day 346

• 6.5 miles
• 8:18/mile pace
• 0900
• From/To home
• It has definitely starting to cool down, which is very welcomed, though I think I dislike running in lots of cloths more than wearing very few items of clothing and still being hot...but we're not to the cold temps yet, so...anyway, this was just a very slow effort.   This is now a long run for me, man, I seriously suck.

Day 345

• 1.35 miles
• Fastish
• 0935
• From/To Arrowhead CC
• Decided to join Becca for the "Power Hour" class that she does at the gym -- I ran fast so I could turn around and go back to run a bit more with Becca because I feared the warm up run wouldn't be 1.2 miles long...well, it was, which was good because Becca didn't cooperate.   She ran fast too, so I couldn't look cool running back to her.   She's a real jerk.  
• The power hour class destroyed me....I am not in good overall shape at all, this could be the reason for my horrible collapse, I think I should do something about it, but, yeah, I'd have to do something like that again...hmmm....

Day 344

• 1.7 miles
• Slow
• 1810
• From/To Home
• Pushing Case and Finn again, it was fun and Becca enjoys it more than I do -- by-the-way, she's starting to get more serious about running again...could be the straw that finally breaks my back on this streak as it is much easier to do when she does everything around the house and with the kids etc.   Yeah, that's just an excuse, but well...the last 2 months have been mentally taxing, for this slow guy anyway.

Day 343

• 6.56 miles
• 7:38/mile pace
• 0630
• From/To Home
• Felt harder than the numbers may lead you to believe.
• When my summary comment is like that one it means it's been too long between run and posting comments...

Day 342

• 1.82 miles
• Slow
• 0645
• From/To Home
• Difficult, but enjoyed, trip around the 'hood with Finn and Case -- Case gets me to go off road as often as possible, for his entertainment, which makes the effort significantly harder, but more fun too.   Thankfully the Burley stroller can handle it pretty well...but yeah, I wish I had a "Bob."  

Day 341

• 5.75 miles
• 7:08/mile pace
• 0621
• Mt. Pleasant, SC
• Felt like picking up the pace today, first time I have felt like doing so since perhaps June.  Held off running hard until the last .2 for fear that I would make the run miserable by hitting the wall -- I blame overall out-of-shapeness and reading this before running this morning:  http://elliotkawaoka.com/2012/09/10/vegas-70-3-worlds-2012-refusing-to-fold/ for giving me that fear.  
• Hip felt fine today, it is very strange that it comes and goes, but at least it goes sometimes.
• It is 9/11.

Day 340

• 2.5 miles
• 8:25/mile pace
• 0619
• Mt. Pleasant, SC
• Streak extender -- trying to shorten and slow down my streak extender runs so as to enable them to be more full recoveries....realize that saying this after nearly a month of short slow runs is a bit funny, but that's my thought process anyway.
• Saw my cousin Kathryn out on the street during my run...which would be really amazing, except that I'm staying in her house, so it wasn't that amazing.

Day 339

• 7.28 miles
• 7:34/mile pace
• 1640
• Mt. Pleasant, SC
• 0530 flight this morning meant that I would run in the afternoon, thankfully it was a very very nice day in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina -- not hot and overcast too.   Felt good, but didn't have enough time to get in a long run before scheduled dinner, but also didn't want to push the speed either, so this was the end result.   Still felt good.
• Right hip felt better, though not perfect...think I'm babying it.

Day 338

• 4 miles
• 8:20/mile pace
• 0930
• Arrowhead CC
• Treadmill run enabling me to watch my Auburn Tigers prove just how completely miserable our season will be this year.  My hip didn't feel good, so I decided not to push the speed, instead I increased the incline each half mile, which seemed to feel fine.   End stats, per the treadmill, 575 feet climbed, 600+ calories burned, 4 miles, 8:20/mile pace...whatever.  
• I think I'm due for new shoes again, though I don't feel as though I've earned them at all...perhaps they'll help the hip issue?

Day 337

• 2 miles
• 8:30/mile pace
• 0607
• Redondo Beach, CA
• Short slow run that was a little less comfortable than such a short and slow run should be, but it is done...also did a few push ups, which I will need to make a habit of it I want to consider a push up streak starting on my 40th birthday -- yes, I am still of the belief that I probably was overtrained when I was so miserable a few weeks back and very possibly still recovering from the same, so, yeah, I know starting another streak is an absurd concept, but if I weren't prone to absurdity, would you be reading this blog? 

Day 336

• 7.35 miles
• 8:41/mile pace
• 0555
• From/To Home
• Ran to, through and around Thunderbird park, then returned home....the hills had a big affect on me and my average pace, but I'm trying to convince myself that doing 7 miles for the first time in what seems like months is a step in the right direction.  

Day 335

• 4.53 miles
• 7:04/mile pace
• 1802
• Arrowhead CC
• Treadmill run as a result of my lack of motivation when waking at 5am -- the treadmill run actually felt better than any run has for a while, so that's positive, though hard to know if it is impressive as it was a treadmill run afterall.  We'll see how this whole thing plays out, but I do feel like motivation is returning, which I take to mean that I'm healthy again.

Day 334

• 5.02 miles
• 7:43/mile pace
• 0630
• From/To home
• Longest run in weeks....not sure anyone would believe that I am doing marathon training, not sure if I even believe it, but I am, though I feel I need to restart now.   I mean like building mileage back up slowly etc.   Not sure how I'm going to accomplish my goal, but perhaps I'll start feeling much better on runs soon...I do think I finally shook the virus I had...now to get the hip feeling better and stop getting hemoroid flare-ups.

Day 333

• 1.75 miles
• Fastish
• 2120
• From/To home
• All I could muster after a half day on the beach and then a drive home...man am I weak or what?   Hip felt better, but then, I didn't even run 2 miles, so hard to get too excited.

Day 332

• 3 miles
• Medium
• 2135
• Manhattan Beach, CA
• Ran the old route, from my uncle's house, where I lived for 2 years, down the strand to the MHB pier and back...pretty sure I measured it at 3 miles once...in 1997.   I used to do the run in the sand on the beach, between the volleyball courts so as to always be in the deepest sand....I was absolutely wrecked after another full day at Disneyland, so I wussed out and stayed on the paved strand.   It was also past my bedtime and my hip was bothering me...as it has been for weeks, but I've been trying not to say anything in hopes that silence would help it just go away...

Day 331

• 4.14 miles
• 7:34/mile pace
• 2045
• Anahiem, CA
• Wasn't real motivated to do this run having walked all over Disneyland all day, but once I got out on the streets it was a bit easier than expected because the weather was typical LA evening cool and I was running around the perimeter of the parks, which was pretty cool.   Disney really is awesome.

Day 330

• 3.2 miles
• 7:42/mile pace
• 0645
• From/To home
• No motivation, really struggling.

Day 329

• 1.2 miles
• Slow
• 2010
• From/To Home
• Minimum streak extender.

Day 328

• 4.15 miles
• 8:03/mile pace
• 0835
• From/To Home
• Last run prior to resuming actual training...that's my hope anyway.   Speaking of training...if we assume that I somehow hang on and finish out the 366 days of streak running then what?   My recent difficulties have convinced me that maybe I won't just run every day for the rest of my life, but, I do have some other very long streaks that I think probably will continue -- like 30+ years of brushing my teeth every single day, no matter what the weather or circumstance may have been.   So, I'm thinking I may be just start another random streak if only so that I can write really depressing posts here every day still.   Any suggestions?   Right now I'm thinking perhaps 25 push ups a day?   Or should it be more?   I'm serious about the suggestion request.

Day 327

• 2.77 miles    (6.39 TTL)
• 7:34/mile pace
• 0600
• Crown Plaza at LAX
• Treadmill run, started slow and increased pace, had an early flight scheduled to Shanghai, so cut this run a bit short, felt fine
• 3.62 miles
• 8:17/mile pace
• 1805
• Hermosa Beach, CA
• Easy run with cousin John, because yeah, I missed my flight to Shanghai -- got to the counter, handed over my passport and China visa only to find out my China visa expired 14 days before.   F.   I spent the rest of the day running around LA;  Chinese embassy, U.S. embassy, Chinese embassy etc. as I was challenged at each stop with some absurd paperwork craziness that ultimately prevented me from pulling the rabbit out of the hat.   Not good, but will probably help keep me from getting sick again as the trip to China threatened to do.   Plus good to see the boys and even Becca was happy to see me since I woke up with Finn last night so she didn't have to....usually she's up and tending to him before I realize he was making noise, but I hadn't fallen asleep yet so the timing was right...for her anyway :). 

Day 326

• 3.11 miles
• 8:16/mile pace
• 0715
• From/To Home
• Went to bed late then woke up a few times with Finn and Case, which all led to the easy justification of sleeping in, which lead to not having much time, which led to a short run....no excuse for how slow it was, but it is done.   Still feeling cruddy, but a little better I guess.   Good enough to start a trip to the other side of the world at least.

Day 325

• 1.82 miles
• 8:22/mile pace
• 2143
• From/To Home
• My efforts are getting less and less impressive...and considering that they were never impressive to begin with it is kind of depressing, but ah, the streak continues and I really think I am starting to feel better again, though still insanely congested.  I think Finn's had the illness for a while, but he doesn't complain as much as I do.  He also can't even start a running streak since he doesn't even know how to walk yet, so...

Day 324

• 1.96 miles
• 7:28/mile pace
• 2030
• From/To home
• Second mile was sub 7 minute pace, but only because I was surprised how slow I was going when I checked the watch at the 1 mile mark.   Think I have some sort of sinus infection, but Becca cashed in a Z-pack subscription she had and gave to me, so hopefully I'll be back to full health soon.

Day 323

• 1.61 miles
• Hardish
• 0705
• From/To Home
• Streak extender.

Day 322

• 1.22 miles
• Slow
• 0710
• From/to Home
• The minimum.  Only the second sub 1.5 mile run of the streak.  Shortly after starting this run I started a debate with myself in regard to the distance necessary for today...I questioned why the minimum distance is 1 mile, when half a mile can be absolutely brutal depending upon conditions etc., I thought about just changing it to half a mile, but then decided I can't change the rules mid-streak because life just doesn't work that way...so I turned around at the .61 mark and sped up on the way home just to get it over with.  
• Being sick, feeling like garbage coming off 2 red-eye flights in a 6 day span is no mental state to be in when you find out you need to book a trip to Asia next week, but hey, it is good to be employed, right?   (Yes Craig, feel free to comment on this -- if there is a time that you could get me to think otherwise then it may be now, while I am exhausted)
• 44 days until streak officially reaches 1 year -- Chinese people associate the number 4 with death.  

Day 321

• 1.98 miles
• 8:04/mile pace
• 1625
• From/To Arrowhead CC
• Difficult.   Definitely in the top 20 hardest runs of the streak to date.  Everything hurt (body aches from cold I have, plus head ache pounding with each step), but at least it wasn't hot.  Arrived from HNL at 7am, went straight to work, then left work at 4pm so I could get this run in before going home for fear that if I waiting until boys went to bed there would be a chance that I would fall asleep and end the streak.   As it turns out it is a good thing I did so as I fell asleep next to Case after reading him books and didn't wake up until a little before midnight -- I still had over 10 minutes, so I could've still managed, but I was glad I didn't have to try and had I not run earlier, who knows, maybe I wouldn't have woken up until after midnight.   Anyway, by the skin of its teeth the streak goes on.   Yeah, I do realize I'm the only one who cares, but hey, I care.
• Decided not to do treadmill simply because my minimum treadmill distance is 2.5 miles and I wanted this one over with even if I had to deal with the heat...again, thankfully that wasn't a problem as it actually rained a bit on me during the run.

Day 320

• 5.81 miles
• 8:09/mile pace
• 0745
• Honolulu (Waikiki), HI
• Recovery issue mystery solved, turns out I have a cold, so discomfort is understandable, though the common cold itself is something I rarely choose to understand.  
• Ran from hotel around Diamond Head, though I wanted to run up it, I never managed to find the entrance? 
• It can't be hard to find, heck, I've even done it before...in 1997, with my sister, a decade before I started doing endurance type exercising...and yet, it was a billion times easier then than I know it would've been today just by looking at it -- I think I would like to be 25 again.

Day 319

• 3.27 miles
• 8:55/mile pace
• 0535
• Honolulu (Waikiki), HI
• Quite a painful run...recovery from previous days long run was very poor, lots of things hurt.  Hemoroids have returned as well.   The steak goes on, damnit.

Day 318

• 18.25 miles
• 8:11/mile pace
• 0420
• From/To Home
• 4:20am has a different meaning to some people than others. 
• Long runs continue to be more difficult than I believe they should be, but I finally warmed up and was able to speed up after a necessary stop in the desert etc.
• Forgetting to have Gatorade in the house is a rookie mistake that I hope I don't make again, but stopping mid-run long bike ride style was kinda nice.

Day 317

• 4.62 miles
• 8:12/mile pace
• 0830
• From/To Home
• Picking up grocery items during the days run adds a little something to the effort...running with rattling stuff could probably get annoying though, which means it is a good thing that I was over halfway home when I stopped to pick stuff up per Ms. Becca's instructions.

Day 316

• 1.85 miles
• 8:35/mile pace
• 0615
• Woodbury, NY
• Streak extenders in nice temperatures are welcomed.  

Day 315

• 6.01 miles
• 7:30/mile pace
• 0620
• Woodbury, NY
• Cut this run a little short as I was afraid of what may happen during my meetings today if I pushed to hard -- no, it's not anything horrible, just that I took red-eye flight here last night, taxied to the hotel, changed cloths and started this run as it would be the only time I could get it in today....so, I feared that I wouldn't be able to think straight if I pushed this run after having slept so little last night.   As it turns out I feel fine, though I'm sure I'll be tired tomorrow.  
• The run was shortened to 10 minute warm up, 4 x 4 minutes hardish with 2 minute recovery between, concluded with 10 minute cool down.
• Countdown to 1 year of streaking:   51 days

Day 314

• 6.35 miles
• 7:50/mile pace
• 0620
• San Bruno, CA
• Very cool run, both temperature wise as well as location -- enjoyed a nice running path around the San Francisco Bay...er, well, part of it.   It is much nicer to run in 50-60 degrees than in 80+.

Day 313

• 8.77 miles
• 7:58/mile pace
• 0515
• To/From Home
• Feeling better!   I signed up for the California International Marathon yesterday.  Time to get serious, what that means I'm not yet sure, but will start reducing the absurd number of cookies I've been eating lately, plus the ice cream and probably start concentrating on sleeping the proper hours and so forth.   We'll see, but very glad I'm feeling better now.

Day 312

• 3.69 miles
• 8:12/mile pace
• 0640
• From/To Home
• Now this is the way to get back on the training plan, with a "recovery day," even though I guess I was recovering from a 19 minute run the previous day :).   Definitely feeling better though, even if the pedestrian figures above may not show it.  

Day 311

• 2.4 miles
• 8:03/mile pace
• 1652
• From/To Home
• OK, I think I seriously might be back...yeah, I'm pumped about it...and yes, I am saying this after a run that lasted less than 20 minutes and was over 100 minutes short of the prescribed time on my feet for the day.  What's really a shame is that I realized how close I was to the Dean end of South Mountain on Saturday night and was excited to get up and put in some serious time there, plus feel good about a long run again etc., then the morning came and I decided a lay off isn't really a real lay off unless it eliminates a long run right?   Well, that plus the fact that we were on "stay-cation" made it easy for me to decide to get in a streak extender only sometime later in the day...assuming at that point that I would do so on the treadmill.   Well, as the temperature reached it's apex, I decided, well, I don't feel bad...and I'm only going a short distance at a slow pace, plus I probably should log one run at a stupidly high temperature to legitimize this streak thing I've got going, so I'll just run a 5pm when it was 112 degrees F.   Turns out that it wasn't so bad, which made me feel good, which makes me feel like I seriously might be back....I felt like at any point I could've sped up without really taxing myself too much....I haven't felt like that in weeks, so, yeah, I'll consider myself back until otherwise notified by my body or mind.
• Speaking of being back -- a great friend and training partner (Dean) convinced me last week that there really is no point in changing my goals, so, back to training for sub-3 hour marathon time will now begin...here's hoping I get some confidence along the way, but even if I don't I'm going after it, so stay tuned!

Day 310

• 1.7 miles
• Slow
• 0710
• From/To Home
• Inspired by the 12 mile run my wife completed before this run I really pushed the distance today...head still lethargic, thinking the short and slow runs will extend another day at least.

Day 309

• 1.75 miles
• Slow
• 0715
• From/To Home
• Proving that it is all about mental preparation and attitude, this run was one of the hardest to date...that stated, I still plan to take it easy through tomorrow to see if I can bounce back a little bit.   I would like to feel legitimately good, like, spring in my step good (I don't feel bad/sick or anything, just sluggish) by Sunday so I could at least get in the long run, but we shall see. 

Day 308

• 1.7 miles
• Slow
• 0640
• From/To Home
• Have decided to take it very easy for a few days to see if that will help me...yes, I am concerned about the fact that I will not be "improving" my fitness, but when JEC asked the other day if I were perhaps overtrained it seemed quite possible...so...today I ran a very slow loop within the neighborhood and only sped up when I caught up to a pregnant lady that has been faithfully running throughout her entire pregnancy, which I estimate to be 8 months long and counting -- seems I am more vain than I am committed to the extended recovery effort, but the increased speed only lasted maybe .2/mile, so probably no harm done.  

Day 307

• 5 miles
• 8:10/mile pace
• 0650
• From/To home
• Super easy 35 minutes followed by hard 5 minutes. 

Day 306

• 1.81 miles
• 8:53/mile pace
• 0715
• From/To Home
• Slow streak extender, probably slowest I have run in 2012.

Day 305

• 13.25 miles
• 7:42/mile pace
• 0530
• Tempe, AZ -- IMAZ loop plus a bit
• Well, another collosal failure.   Seriously, I didn't have it at all...and I can't even think of any excuses.   Previous disappointing long runs included G.I. issues, heat, whatever...this one, just plain inability to come close to the scheduled pace.   By not close I mean, similar to how far off I'd have been from the podium if I'd have run in the 100 meter final against (Olympic spoiler alert! -- NBC coverage is so frustrating...we live in America and can't even watch anything live...???)  Usain Bolt and the rest of the insanely fast finals field.   Not sure what to make of it, not wanting to give up, but wondering if perhaps I should...by giving up I mostly mean adjusting my goals, but when I was supposed to speed up at the end of this long run and ended up actually slowing down overall, well, at that point I was wondering if adjustment of my goals might include refamiliarizing myself with my golf clubs.   I definitely have confidence issues right now, but I'm thinking there must be something more to it than that as concern over ability to maintain certain speeds shouldn't affect me to the point of not being able to make previously (like a month or 2 ago) easily maintained speeds.  Odd, but hey, at least I didn't get eaten by any alligators.  

Day 304

• 5.11 miles
• 7:31/mile pace
• 0414
• From/To Home
• Slower than it felt, but isn't that more common than not?   Surprisingly warm/hot this morning considering the early start time -- Becca wanted to do a long run this morning, so I had to finish before her scheduled 5am start time...I thought that would've made for a nice cool run, but yeah, it's August.  

Day 303

• 1.82 miles
• 8:33/mile pace
• 0555
• From/To Home
• One loop around the neighborhood.   Finishing a short and slow run early in the day then watching recorded Olympics before work is a really cool way to start the day.  Perhaps not as 'cool' as Case's since he decided to play in the sprinklers at 7am and get his little brother to crawl behind him to enjoy the same, but cool none-the-less.

Day 302

• 8.19 miles
• 7:20/mile pace
• 0555
• From/To Home
• 11 minute warm up, 5 x 5 minutes hardish with 2 minute recovery between, 14 minute cooldown/return-home.  This turned out to be a hard day.

Day 301

• 3.68 miles
• 8:09/mile pace
• 0700
• From/To Home
• I'm slow, but consistent.  65 days to go until I have a decision to make about this streaking thing...well, that is if all goes well.

Day 300

• 6.41 miles
• 7:49/mile pace
• 0525
• From/To Home
• 30 minutes easy followed by 8 x 1 minute hard with 1 minute recovery between, concluded with 3-4 minutes cool down/return home.  Felt ok on the hardish minutes, the rest felt stiff and achy.  
• 300 means I will now be somewhat nervous counting down the next 66 days as the streak approaches 1 year. 
• 300 is also an often referenced number -- hitting .300, Crystler 300, 300 the movie, bowling a 300, 300 million people in India without power today...yeah, seriously, they had some major power grid failure yesterday. 

Day 299

• 3.54 miles
• 8:33/mile pace
• 0555
• From/To home
• Shockingly slow this morning, but good enough. 

Day 298

• 17.2 miles
• 8:00/mile pace
• 0510
• Fountain Hills, AZ
• Glad to be done, very glad to have run with Dean again -- hard to beat a long run with someone enjoyable who also plans the run, wears the watch and brings recovery aiding food for after.  That stated, this was another disappointing long run for me...I just hit the wall again and had to walk for a few minutes.   Before this year I could count on one hand the times I have walked during a run, this year I'd need two hand already and it doesn't seem to be getting better, not yet at least.   Anyway, still interested in trying....but not today, instead I'll just watch The Olympics again all day.   I love the Olympics.

Day 297

• 5 miles
• 8:12/mile pace
• 0730
• From/To Home
• Less effort on my part than I probably should've given, plus I think I'm just getting slower -- will have to remedy that...starting August 1...or after the Olympics...or after I turn 40....50?

Day 296

• 2.03 miles
• Slow
• 0625
• From/To Home
• Streak extender.   Legs feeling tired and tight as a result of yesterday's hilly hard running spurts, probably would've been a good day to take off completely, but then what would you have to read about, right?   Anyway, Olympics start tomorrow...well, Opening Ceremonies are tonight, but the actual Games start tomorrow, I am very pumped about them, though I haven't decided exactly how I will follow them yet -- live on-line, or wait until I get home and watch on TV (either recorded or as the network dictates)?   Talk about a 1st world problem.

Day 295

• 6.86 miles
• 7:39/mile pace
• 0603
• San Bruno, CA
• 11 minute warm up, 7 x two minute surges with 1 minute recovery between them, 20 minute cool down.   Ended up doing this on some hilly roads for safety reasons and because there was a golf course at the top of the hill that I wanted to see.
•    http://news.runnersworld.com/2012/07/24/top-u-s-streaker-hits-44-years/   I wonder if this guy started to get nervous as his streak approached 300 days thinking of how tragic it could be if the streak were to end so close to 1 year, but not quite there...

Day 294

• 6.22 miles
• 7:39/mile pace
• 0635
• Richmond, CA
• Running in cooler weather is a much more comfortable experience -- seeing highway signs for Sacramento during my run kept me focused on the California International Marathon that I need to sign up for as well...though it didn't make me speed up at all because, well, I didn't feel like speeding up at all.

Day 293

• 5.83 miles
• 7:48/mile pace
• 0645
• From/To home
• Easy run with 10 x 30 seconds fast with 1 minute recovery.   Felt fine.

Day 292

• 4 miles
• 7:47/mile pace
• 1835
• Arrowhead CC
• Treadmill run, felt good considering how exhausting Sunday was.

Day 290

• 3.74 miles
• 8:01/mile pace
• 0700
• From/To Pat and Kathryn's house -- Mount Pleasant, SC
• Another easy/slow run.   Really amazed at the humidity...I lived in Mt. P for 5 years and just didn't remember sweating so much....I didn't run much then though, so...

Day 291

• 14.51 miles
• 8:27/mile pace
• 0625
• From/To Pat and Kathryn's -- Mt. Pleasant, SC
• Long very slow run that turned out to be MUCH tougher than I could've imagined.   I'm not sure if it was a dehydration issue resulting from the shocking amount of sweat loss the humidity contributed too -- I can honestly say that I have never finished a run as through and through wet as I was, excepting runs that involved rain or sprinklers -- or if it was due to fatigue brought on by the day at the beach followed by kyacking on Saturday, but by the end of the run I was dry heaving and wondering what in the world happened to me.   It was actually kind of weird, but I was happy to have finished the mileage and OK with the pace considering the last mile was painfully slow...literally.   Best news was that once I had some liquid and food in me I felt just fine...the slow speed even seemed to save my legs as I didn't feel nearly as tired as I usually do after a run of 10+ miles, which is fortunate because we had quite a fun day planned with friends going out on the boat etc.
• Multi-sport:   Loosely associated with this running streak, I used to kinda half consider myself a multi-sport guy in relation to endurance sports...I'll always consider myself a multi-sport guy in relaiton to appreciating/enjoying sports, but that's a different topic completely.   Well, it seems that Charleston, SC brings out my interest in multi-sport endurance events in special ways...I did my very first dual sport effort in Charleston years ago, in a neighborhood called "I'on" in an event called "I'on man."   I still have and wear the t-shirt regularly...the event was 3/4 of a mile swim around a lake followed by a 5k and I was barely able to move for the 3 days following the event due to exhaustion, but I was proud to be an "I'on man."   So, now, fast forward about 5 or 6 years to present day and I've done a few triathlon's and then basically given up multi-sport events in favor of the much easier to schedule running streak, but having been to Charleston, SC I thought about multi-sport a little bit.
• Flip flops:   Even less associated, I thought I'd share this little story with you -- so, as mentioned above, after the long run (sorry, I'm trying to tie them together, though there will be no running in the rest of this text), the whole Phoenix Wein family went out with our friends on the Stono River in/around the Charleston, SC area.   It was fantastic and helped by the fact that we have relatives in the area who could lend me stuff, like the flip flops I borrowed from my cousin's wife.   They fit well and were very functional...note the past tense, which I will now explain.   OK, so, our friends live in this amazing house with a view of the marshlands and river, but they also have their own pond/lake in their backyard, which looks very cool and got me thinking about how awesome it would be if I were able to swim every day as easily, potentially even more easily, than running every day -- the pond is maybe a half acre total surface space and shaped a bit like an oval, with the short side being north south from their back door (short side being about 40-45 yards across, length being 70-75 yards long/across),   So, with that in mind I asked my friend "How deep is your lake?"   He said he didn't know, which I thought was amazing since I was certain I would know if I lived there, but he estimated 4 to 5 feet deep because he said it was man made etc.   Well, that estimate didn't really satisfy me because if it wasn't that deep then how could I swim my laps reliably, right?   Anyway, I told him after we got off the boat I would wade out there and check it out for him...and to satisfy my curiousity, of course.   He said that would be cool -- so, after returning from our day on the river, he and his wife went to take the boat out of the water, Becca took the boys into our friends house to get them cleaned up for the trip back to our cousins house and I put my cousin-in-laws flip flops back on to wade out into the lake, since I was concerned there would be sharp stuff on the bottom etc. and then proceeded to begin my depth charting mission.  Here are the results (starting directely from the back of their house -- so, the bisecting the length of the pond/lake):
• First 5 feet from shore:   1 to 2 feet deep
• 5 to 10 fee from shore:   4-5 feet deep
• 10 yards from shore:       6 feet deep   
• 20 yards from the shore:  6.5 feet deep (this is what I consider the dead center of the lake/pond)
• OK, so, obviously, at this point I'm swimming/treading water since I'm only 5'8.5" tall, but it is warm and comfortable, so I figured I'd continue to perform depth charting further along the length to make sure it was uniform depth and because dropping down under the water, letting my flip flopped feet touch the bottom and then resurfacing couldn't be any easier, so why not? -- Well, because after doing the 2nd additional depth checking decent I was treading water facing away from the house towards some marsh grass (2 feet tallish weeds) when honest to God a freakin alligator launched itself straight at me into the water from about 25 feet away resulting in me setting the world record for unaided swim speed while also firing off Hail Mary's at a clip that only priests, nuns and those of us who spent 16 years in Catholic school could possibly replicate.   There is absolutely NO WAY that Michael Phelps could've beat me to the shore, I cannot be convinced otherwise.  I seriously have never been so scared, for my life, in my life.   Upon reaching the shore and sprinting out of the water the much smaller than I originally thought, and infinitely smaller than he will be in every retelling of this story that I author, alligator was circling my cousin-in-laws flip flops in the center of the water.  Hearing my exasperated announcement of "Gator!" Becca then came out to see my adversary and estimates it to be 3 and a half feet long, which I guess technically is correct.   So, obviously, I'm thinking, since I easily set the world speed record for swimming, I should get back into multi-sport endurance events again, right?!  

Day 289

• 1.81 miles
• 7:55/mile pace
• 0705
• From/to Pat and Kathryn's -- Mount Pleasant, SC
• Streak extender, felt rough since it hadn't been very long since my previous run...and I've eaten ice cream 5 days in a row -- it's my tribute to summer, but I really should end that streak.

Day 288

• 7.48 miles
• 7:38/mile pace
• 2034
• From to Pat and Kathryn's -- Mt. Pleasant, SC
• First 3 miles with Becca while cousins watched Finn and made sure Case didn't wake up etc., then cruised around the neighborhood for the remainder.   Felt pretty good and increased speed as I went.  

Day 287

• 4.64 miles
• 7:58/mile pace
• 2117
• From/To Pat and Kathryn's -- Mt. Pleasant, SC
• Easy stroll around the old 'hood...forgot how dark the streets are, but enjoyed the quiet.

Day 286

• 5.09 miles
• 8:20/mile pace
• 2015
• Through Emory campus -- Atlanta, GA
• Ran with Becca again...found more hills.  Steep ones. 

Day 285

• 3.88 miles
• 7:44/mile pace
• 1110
• From/To my parents house -- Atlanta, GA
• Streak extender, tried to find flat route, which isn't easy.

Day 284

• 3.15 miles
• 8:34/mile pace
• 1600
• DHGC to parents house -- Atlanta, GA
• First run with Becca in what seemed like forever, was nice, but absurdly hilly.

Day 283

• 12.85 miles
• 7:45/mile pace
• 0515
• Kiwanis Park and surrounding area
• Another great Dean concept, excecuted excellently by Dean, but not so impressively by Bobby-the-streaker.   We met at 5:15, ran a little short of 10 miles, then got into an official 5k (I was a bandit, but he was offical, as was his wife Kim).   I fell apart somewhere around around the 6 or 7 mile mark of the overall effort and even though I took a bathroom break before starting the final 5k it didn't seem to fix my issues.  Glad to have logged the milage and always glad to see the Rosenlof's, so, overall positive, but I really feel like I need to have a "good" long run soon...we'll see, even though it may make little sense I've decided I'll add something just to shock my body -- thinking push-ups, but that's probably because a set of pull ups would paralyse me.  

Day 282

• 2.45 miles
• 8:11/mile pace
• 0610
• From/To home
• Streak extender

Day 281

• 1.7 miles
• Slow
• 0655
• From/To home
• Streak extende

Day 280

• 5.58 miles
• 7:48/mile pace
• 0630
• From/To Home
• Easy run, new shoes really do feel much better.

Day 279

• 5 millas
• Estimado:  8:00/millas paso
• 0607
• Playa Mujeras, Mexico
• Caliente, seguido por ocho intervalos minuciosos uno con una recuperación minuciosa en medio seguida por fresco abajo.

Day 278

• 3.81 millas
• 7:52/milla
• 1730
• Playa Mujeras, Mexico
• Suplemento de la raya

Day 277

• 11.75 millas
• 7:40/millas
• 1645
• Playa Mujeras, Mexico
• Duradero en la rueda de ardilla -- final hardish de 10 minutos

Day 276

• 5.15 millas
• 7:46/milla pace
• 0605
• Playa Mujeras, Mexico
• Lector fiel, Sr. CMB, me dio la gran sugerencia que debo fijar en la lengua que corresponde a la localización en donde cada uno funcionada se registra.   Necesitaré ir de nuevo a enmiendo algunos postes anteriores, pero hasta que consigo a ése dejo esto ser el primer poste que comienza esa práctica. 
• Esto era un funcionamiento “fácil” en la rueda de ardilla pues el hotel que estoy permaneciendo adentro no sugiere que funcione fuera de la facilidad.   Asombrosamente, yo por lo menos, la exhibición de la rueda de ardilla demostró la medida imperial en vez de métrico -- Habría podido jurar que esa vez última era en México la rueda de ardilla que era encendido era métrico.  De todas formas, más fácil para mí, aunque este funcionamiento no era tan fácil como probablemente debe haber estado.
• http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html  if desired.
• OK, I just used that in direct reverse and the translation is abysmal, but I found it to be humorous and since it is unlikely that any of my 3-5 readers care as much about whatever I was trying to say as they'll appreciate the butchered translation I will gladly leave it as it is...the alternative would be to just type in English, as I have with this portion, breaking the just accepted rule, but adding "El" before some words and ending nearly all words with the letter "O" as I like to do when mocking my inability to speak Espanol.

Day 275

• 2 miles
• 8:26/mile pace
• 0545
• From/To home
• Streak extender, not in my new shoes though, because I had already packed those.

Day 274

• 8.77 miles
• 6:51/mile pace
• 1635
• Arrowhead CC
• Well, I take back my boastful comments about surely being able to figure out how to use the Garmin 405 on still very appreciated loan from the Rosenlof's -- I haven't been able to figure it out at all yet, so I went to the gym.   As usual, maintaining a sexier than usual looking pace on the treadmill was not nearly as hard as real running, so above figures are to be taken with that knowledge, but overall I'm still happy with the run.   10 minute warm up at around 8:10/mile pace, then dropped it down to around 6:40 for 40 minutes and then did a semi-cool down at 7 somethin pace.  
• This was my first run in my new shoes, which are about a billion times more comfortable and seemingly faster, but then, that could have to do with the fact that I ran in the afternoon when I always find running to be much easier than pre-sunlight.   I do think the shoes made it more comfortable though, which means I should probably switch out my shoes at maybe 325 miles instead of 350 miles...or perhaps I should just go down to 300 miles?  
• This reminds me of my Dad's answer to what size waist he has with relation to buying pants..."I wear 34's, but 36's fit so well, I buy 38's." -- Jim Wein

Day 273

• 2.66 miles
• Easy
• 0840
• From/To Home
• Didn't wear a watch, didn't run very hard.  Have now put just over 350 miles in my current shoes, so I will go out this afternoon to buy a new pair -- I should probably buy 2 pair to alternate as I do believe that is a good idea...and I should probably spend the money to buy shoes that actually fit as opposed to my lifelong practice of buying to fit my right foot knowing that when doing so the left shoe will be a full size too large for my left foot because I believe that is a good idea too.   No, I don't think I'll buy more than one pair of shoes to fit my right foot today, but I know that I should.

Day 272

• 6.13 miles
• 7:40/mile pace
• 0625
• From/To Home
• 30 minutes easy followed by 12 x 25 seconds hard with 1 minute recovery between. 
• About that Garmin GPS watch I'm so thankful to be borrowing from Dean and Kim -- uh...turns out that I thought what Becca and I have was a Garmin 405, like the one I'm borrowing, but in fact we have a Garmin 305...so I have no idea how to work the Garmin 405, yet.   Thankfully today's run didn't require it, so I just need to figure it out by Thursday, which I really should be able to do.

Day 271

• 3.5 miles
• 8:40/mile pace
• 0635
• From/To Home
• "Recovery run."  Shattered my great volume pace for July, now on pace for barely over 300 miles for the month. 

Day 270

• 16.1 miles
• 7:45-8:15/mile pace
• 0520
• South Mountain, AZ
• Another great (thought difficult for me :)) run with Dean, who remains as strong as ever, or at least as much stronger than ME as ever.  We did San Juan's from first parking lot, then back up to the Y plus return.   Only negative, other than my not quite there yet fitness, was that I had to stop at the restroom at the 11 mileish point and I don't like having to stop during long runs.  Overall, happy to have completed the mileage and very happy to have logged another run with Dean, who, by-the-way, has lent to me a Garmin watch he had so no more excuses for me not to stay on the training plan.
• 3 gu's
• 16 ounces of water + 16 ounces of Gatorade
• Feeling healthy, A/C working at the house again, have a Garmin as stated, on pace to run 499 miles in July, so...all is looking up!

Day 269

• 5 miles
• 7:49/mile pace
• 1305
• Arrowhead CC
• Treadmill -- I like watching golf.  
• 378 feet climbed
• 700 calories burned, though I'm not really sure how that is calculated since no stats specific to me were input/considered

Day 268

• 3.06 miles
• 8:04/mile pace
• 0610
• From/To Home
• Streak extender.   Woke up feeling much better today, pumped about that, now, if I could just get the upstairs A/C fixed or replaced soon then I could sleep in a bed again, but for now I'll stay happy just because I feel better.

Day 267

• 7.02 miles
• 6:59/mile pace
• 1710
• Arrowhead CC
• Though, due to the fact that it was on a treadmill, it can definitely be discredited as a good performance or a good pace, I am very happy with this effort as it is the hardest I've gone in weeks and I didn't stop breathing.   I am feeling better for sure, still a bit of a sore throat, but actually, I might be over all the illness and the sore throat could be stress related.   Anyway, I did 3 hard miles in the middle at sub 6:30/mi which I am pleased with considering that I also had the treadmill set on 1.0 incline.   Again, this cannot be considered anything more positive than being able to run hard again, but that is plenty for me right now.  

Day 266

• 3.15 miles
• 8:16/mile pace
• 0705
• From/To home
• Streak extender, plan to wake up feeling great tomorrow...believe my aspirations to wake up feeling "good" just weren't getting the message through.  
• In other news, 100 day countdown to 1 year of streaking begins now...as my health is in question and despite the reduced milage of recent weeks my body seems to be falling apart (hip, knee, etc.). 

Day 265

• 5.37 miles
• 7:45/mile pace
• 1920
• Arrowhead CC
• Treadmill run due to fear of heat -- did not attempt to do the prescribed workout due to the fact that short sprints are difficult to execute on a treadmill.
• Health still an issue -- general sickness.

Day 264

• 3.7 miles
• 8:06/mile pace
• 0605
• From/To home
• Back on the training plan...I think.  I didn't actually look at the plan this morning, but I assumed it was a 30 minute recovery run as that is what previous Monday's have been...and I liked the idea of that much running today, so I'll look at the plan again tomorrow and see if I can actually follow it this week.
• Health is improving...

Day 263

• 4.82 miles
• 8:14/mile pace
• 0815
• From/To home
• My efforts to follow the McMillan training plan are getting worse, but I am starting to feel better (Probably aided by the boys and Becca letting me sleep in etc.).   Today's long run turned into the above...not very impressive, but felt like as much as I should do today. Anyway, hoping to resume in full soon.

Day 262

• 1.74 miles
• 8:03/mile pace
• 0835
• From/To home
• Welcome to the whiniest blog on the internet! (Or should that be Weiniest?)  Yeah, I'm still sick.  (Sore throat, no voice, joints feel creaky etc. -- conjunctivitis no longer a significant issue, though the routing of putting drops in eyes all around makes our house sound like a Hanibal Lecter nightmare)  Training week is completely shot, transfering all the energy I can't seem to tap into to IronChad as he stores up for tomorrow's IM effort in Idaho.

Day 261

• 2.52 miles
• 7:58/mile pace
• 0721
• From/To home
• Didn't make up the hardish run that was scheduled for yesterday and put off to today.   Trying to reclaim my health, not having much success yet, though the pink eye is better at least.   Speaking of pink eye, my Uncle Fred is a cattle rancher -- some 2000+ head of cattle in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas -- and he says that cows get pink eye often too, which is a concern because when they have it they don't eat as much or something and it spreads maybe even more rampantly among a herd of cows than it does among a heard of kids...not 100% sure I believe him about that, but I was fascinated to hear how he treats the pink eye affecting his cows eyes.   He has a spray can of anti-bacteria that he says is the strongest stuff around, legally anyway, and he just sprays it right into the infected eye and walks away.   The cows wreathe in pain, but he says the bacteria is instantly killed, the cows are no longer contagious and they heal within a day or so.   Honestly, I want some of that spray, today.  

Day 260

• 2 miles
• Slowish
• 0605
• From/To home
• Though I truly hate to do it, I switched tomorrow's "off day" to today for a number of reasons, here are some of those:
1. I am feeling sickly -- body aches and general crud
2. I didn't think I could accomplish what was on the schedule today, considering "1" above
3. Needed more time than usual this morning because I had to work in an appointment to have this dealt with:
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/casewein/7414787132/in/photostream
• Yep, that's right, I now have pink eye too.  Joy, but wait, there's more...Finn had crusty eyes this morning as well and Becca's eyes itch.  Family fun!  I really dislike pink eye, but I think I prefer it over the body ache's, which I really need to get rid of before tomorrow's make up run.
• On the positive side, Case asked to go running with me again today, so he and I had as enjoyable a 2 mile run as can be had considering all of the above...plus he serenaded me with "Go Faster Daddy, Go Faster!" and "Step on it Dad!, Step on it!"   He's a funny little dude and I was very glad he was out there with me this morning.  I might still be somewhere between mile one and two without the incentive to speed up.   As I always say, kids are good for your health.

Day 259

• 5.33 miles
• 7:42/mile pace
• 0550
• From/To home
• Slow first mile (8:18) then picked up a bit for a cruise to the finish.  
• Case has pink eye.   Proving once again that if you have kids you should never allow them to interact with any other children or go where any other children may have been.  Ever.

Day 258

• 6.14 miles
• 7:38/mile pace
• 0635
• From/To home
• 30 minutes at 7:45 pace (as prescribed by Mr. McMillan), followed by 12 x 25 second fast efforts with 1 minute recoveries between each.   Was tired before I stared, felt OK during and was tired after, feel fine now. 
• I have run without a shirt on a few times in the past week in an effort to reduce laundry in need of cleaning...this seems to be ineffective.   Whatever shirt I slept in is still in need of a wash, so taking it off to run is pointless, plus upon return sweat gets on many more things if it is still streaming down ones body rather than being contained by the shirt, even if the shirt is soaked.   I guess I'll go back to running with a shirt on...yes, I'm sure those were boo's you heard from all the neighborhood ladies.  Or I could sleep sans shirt, but I'll have to think about that.

Day 257

• 3.55 miles
• 8:27/mile pace
• 0655
• From/To home
• "Recovery run," which was needed -- woke up with tight hamstrings and overall fatigue, which wouldn't have bothered me nearly as much if I'd have accomplished the pacing goals intended yesterday, but whatever, that day has passed.   The streak goes on.

Day 256

• 12.45 miles
• 7:23/mile pace
• 0750
• Prescott, AZ
• A progression long run with Dean -- the plan was to run the first 30 minutes at 7:50/mile pace, the second 30 minutes at 7:20/mile pace and then finish with 30 minutes at 6:50/mile pace.   I was concerned about how much that last 30 would hurt, but I figured I'd be able to handle it even if barely.   Well, it played out that Dean and I, on the strength of his perfect pacing, executed the first two segments exactly...I mean EXACTLY on pace, then he hit the last one on pace while I pathetically watched him pull away.   It was weird and deflating, but even though I felt fine through 1 hour and didn't mind the initial push up to the 6:50/mile speed, it didn't take long at all for me to hit a wall and be reduced to near 8 minute/mile pace....even as it was happening I was surprised and confused.   I guess it could have been the altitude, which did seem to noticably affect breathing, or maybe I was just tired from the week, but the only thing that matters is that I wasn't able to do it, which I need to be able to do.   Not sure how I improve to effectively catch up to the training plan I'm trying to maintain other than to just keep going...if I don't see improved ability to accomplish the set work outs then I'll have to consider something drastic, like EPO, or going vegan.
• On a positive note, Dean is seriously strong, he seemed to handle the run with minimal effort, which is great, except that I was hoping to keep doing long runs with him and if I start falling too far behind it may cause an issue.   Where does one start when considering an EPO plan?   I mean, hypothetically speaking...

Day 255

• 4.52 miles
• 7:31/mile pace
• 1420
• Prescott, AZ
• Treadmill run in the Prescott Resort we stayed in over the weekend -- the resort was on the top of a hill and I just didn't feel like running up and down it knowning that I had a hardish long run scheduled for the next day...pretty weak, I know, but I didn't feel bad about it, especially since I also got to watch some US Open coverage on TV during the run. 
• Training plan said 30-40 minutes "easy," so I ran for 34 without pushing very hard at all.  

Day 254

• 2.03 miles
• 8:09/mile pace
• 0453
• From/To home
• Stupid blackberry always resets to Mountain time instead of AZ time when I land in PHX -- this time I forgot to change it, so when the alarm went off at 5:30am on the phone it was actually 4:30am.   I sound like I'm complaining, but in reality I'm glad I got up that early because it allowed for a more relaxed morning (helped by the super short not hard run) while also giving me time to manually blow up the slip and slide water feature things necessary for Case and his cronies to have a fun get together...I think I was more winded as a result of that effort than previous days fastish running.

Day 253

• 7.04 miles
• 7:06/mile pace
• 0435
• Richmond, CA
• I remain concerned that the "base mileage" period of this training plan I'm following seems much harder than my preconceived notion of "base mileage" should be.   Warmed up for 10 minutes, then ran 30 minutes at 6:42/mile pace, finished with 10 minutes more relaxed.   The 6:42/mile pace was supposed to be 6:40/mile, so I felt like a failure, except that I did live through the run, even though it was in Richmond, CA, so I'm trying to give myself credit for that at least.
• It was another very windy morning.

Day 252

• 6.2 miles
• 7:12/mile pace
• 0540
• Richmond, CA
• Very strong headwind on the 'out' leg portion and equally strong wind on return...didn't intend to run this hard, but didn't want to run too slow, so pushing through the wind ended up resulting in a faster than anticipated pace, which I didn't want to negatively impact when turning around to run with the wind, so, whatever.  
• Found out after the run that Richmond, CA is the per capita murder king, having the highest numbers, woohoo!, glad I lived. 

Day 251

• 5.32 miles
• 7:44/mile pace
• 0415
• From/To home
• "Easy run" included 11 x 25 second fast efforts with 1 minute recovery between. 

Day 250

• 3.62 miles
• 8:21/mile pace
• 0700
• From/To home
• The staycation wore me out...lots of sun and heat, made enjoyable by the pool stuff, but still exhausting.   We look forward to doing it again though.

Day 249

• 12.3 miles
• 9 min/mile pace
• 0555
• Squaw Peak Area
• First of all let me sing the praises of what I formerly thought to be a somewhat silly idea -- The Staycation.   Turns out that, like almost everthing, life is different with kids...our "staycation" weekend at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort here in town was truly fantastic because it helped us entertain our kids for the entire weekend, while also enjoying ourselves.   Part of that enjoyment was actually this run too...I left the hotel, located just on the other side of Hwy 51 from Squaw Peak, headed for the Squaw Peak hiking area with the thought of running the trails I had heard about around the Peak itself -- I did not have the mental strength to try a pseudo running effort summit attempt.   After reaching the end of the paved road I kept going in that same basic direction (North and slightly east) onto trails circling around Squaw Peak itself.   I soon realized that there are many many miles of trails out there and some gorgeous cholla catcus as well...I was really impressed with the area.  To my surprise I even found a bit of "Trail 100" as made famous by the 2012 LMI...I never pushed the pace, which probably also contributed to the overall enjoyment.  So anyway, I ran for a while before feeling like I needed to return to catch back up with the family since the original "finish before they're fully awake" plan was scraped when Finn woke up around 4:30, resulting in he and I hanging out in the hotel lobby until we felt at least Becca had slept long enough.  

Day 248

• 5.03 miles
• 7:46/mile pace
• 0615
• From/To home
• "Easy" run that felt harder than easy, but not hard.   Off to Staycation we go!
• Only because it happened last night, the same day the earlier "tee-tee incident" happened, I will share this story:
• Just before dinner I announced that I needed to go to the bathroom and then we (Case and I -- Becca was upstairs trying to put Finn to sleep) we would sit down and eat dinner together.  I walked to the bathroom and started to relieve myself...just then I hear Case start running my way followed by a loud and excited announcement that he would like to tee tee too.   "We can go at the same time Daddy!" as he immediately arrives next to me, drops his pants and starts to pee before I can even start to say anything positive or negative....well, this was no big deal, but was pretty funny when he finished in less than 2 seconds, jumped up on the step he uses to get to the sink, wash his hands with half a pound of soap, pseudo dry them by high fiving the towel and running out turning off the light behind him then sprinting away cackling like a mental ward escapee.   Can't decide if I want to hope for a continuation of Case related tee tee stories or not...that streak is at 2 days.

Day 247

• 3.09 miles
• 8:24/mile pace
• 0610
• From/To home
• Intending to do a very short and slow streak extender only, today's run turned out to be the most difficult and enjoyable short slow run of the year.  Here's the story:
• While hearing from Case the list of games we were going to play after I finished running I sat down to put on my shoes.   I clarified that a few were not going to be possible because I had to go to work today, which he understood and had no problem with...it was basically his wish list [Fight with noodles, football, Power Rangers, etc.].   When reciting he regularly tries to convince me that we should start immediately, which leads to me reiterating that we will play after I run, or eat, or whatever I've already told him was on the plan...he knows this and doesn't mind, but still tries to manipulate the schedule to suit his fancy whenever he can.   Well, this time he came up with a great idea all on his own..."Daddy, can I go in the lell-ow thing with you?"   The "lell-ow" thing being the yellow Burley running stroller thing meant that for the first time in months and possibly the first time without it first being suggested by Becca or I, he requested to go on a run with me.   This was cool, even though it meant my run would be a little tougher...dude's getting heavy.   But then it got cooler...he got excited when I said "sure" and added "and Baby Brother too!," which meant that I'd be able to take them both with me and give Becca a 20 minute break or so, which may not sound like much, unless you have 2 kids.   Becca's response, "break out the margaritas!"   Then she reconsidered and said, "maybe I should just run with you?"  (Many of her best decisions are derailed by her hyper-guilt disorder, as diagnosed by the writer)   So she asked Case....who said "....No...maybe not," which of course made me chuckle.   Becca clarified that he would still get to ride with Finn and she would just run "next to you," which got him excited again and he agreed.   So off we all went and I pushed (literally) a little harder than I otherwise would have and went probably a mile further than I would have and had much more fun that I would have.   A great way to start the morning for sure.
• Case ended up taking a salt bath with me afterwards instead of playing fighting games, but he didn't mind as he likes taking a bath too, as long as he doesn't have to wash his hair.
• His bath ended rather unfortunately however, as I left to go shower in the other bathroom he stayed to play in the tub....a while later he comes into the other bathroom spitting and making a scrunched up face.   He said something about maybe needing to take some medicine, which prompted a few questions.   As it turns out, he revealed that he was pointing his weener up while he tee tee'd in the bathtub and "it went right into my mouth."   Becca had a tough time containing her laugher, but while I did too, I quickly offered help with a little home remedy of adult tooth paste on his tongue followed by repeated rinsing.   He was happy after that, as was the rest of the family :). 

Day 246

• 5.5 miles
• 7:15/mile pace
• 0700
• From/To home
• Back on the McMillan plan that very well may result in my death.   I don't know that the plan is that difficult, but I know that it is pretty difficult for me right now.  Today, the day after "National Running Day," which is a day I should've known about since I'm running every day now guy, the plan called for 10 minutes warm up followed by 20 minutes at 6:40/mile pace and finished with 10 minutes cool down -- actually, the warm up and cool down were probably supposed to be at like 7:40 pace or something, but I didn't read the plan that carefully because I didn't want to know...I was worried about the 20 hard for me minutes in the middle, so I decided I'd just go easy on both ends in hopes of making it.   Anyway, I made it...stats are as follows:
• 1st 10 minutes:                        8:27/mile pace
• 20 minutes at "Steady state":    6:40/mile pace (Yes, I was surprised that I got the pacing right)
• Final 10 minutes:                      7:31/mile pace
• I guess overall pace for a "work out" type run is a bit pointless, but I like my little format so I'll keep including it, besides, I'd be much more likely to not include it on the recap of a trail run than of an effort such as the above.
• My "issues" are improving, but not yet eliminated.   Buying salt in bulk is really a great value.