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.

Day 245

• 3.68 miles
• 8:09/mile pace
• 0700
• Mobile, AL
• Another "recovery run," as this is supposed to be a "recovery week."   Yes, I realize I took it easy last week too, but since the McMillan plan says this week is to be easier I decided to start following the plan again :).  Anyway, the streak goes on.
• Poverty is easily seen in the neighborhoods around downtown Mobile, AL.

Day 244

• 6.31 miles
• 7:50/mile pace
• 0730
• Mobile, AL
• This felt like a much harder effort than the results would indicate -- felt like I was pushing for the first 5+ miles, though I didn't feel I was going fast, which I wasn't.   The 20 seconds sprints that followed (7 of them) were uninspired as well.  

Day 243

• 2.88 miles
• 8:44/mile pace
• 0444
• From/To home
• "Recovery run," legs were pretty tight from previous day's hills etc.   Felt like I was running much faster than this, but perhaps I was affected by the early morningness of the run....better get used to that though, or get a lot tougher.

Day 242

• 15.23 miles
• 10:20/mile pace
• 0530
• South Mountain, AZ
• Ran the "National trail" from the end of San Juans road to the east end of South Mountain with Dean.  This run was absolutely fantastic, maybe my favorite trail in Phoenix...it was just really cool, well, except for the steep uphill stretch from mile 3 to 4 when I was pathetically reduced to walking/hiking.   The run across the top of the mountain was great though and worth it...as was the downhill, even though it seemed to take forever to get to it.   Overall another great long run with Dean, who likes point to point runs as much as I do, which, thanks to Kim was possible.   Very cool.  
• Carried 40 ounces of liquid (16 h2o, 24 Gatorade)
• Ate 3 Gu's.
• No issues experienced with relation to my issue, seems I have no excuses anymore, though that issue is not yet resolved.  

Day 241

• 4.58 miles
• 7:41/mile
• 0950
• Arrowhead Country Club
• Treadmill run for safety purposes.   Felt I needed to push a little further than the past few days and maybe even run 8 minute miles just to make sure I wasn't going to get all the way to South Mountain for my planned long trail run with Dean on Sunday, have a disaster and end up in the hospital.   So that's what I did...not the disaster/hospital part.   This run went really well, felt easy, gave me confidence that I could do the Sunday long run without hurting myself...that stated, I still decided to go to the doctor later in the day.   Doc said he thinks I will probably eventually need surgery, but first try to reduce swelling with salt baths and some prescription Preparation H kinda stuff.   I think the stuff works better than Preparation H, so on to the Sunday run I went...with half confidence at least.  (Oh, yes, I asked the doctor if running and running hard would have an effect, he said it would not...he cautioned against sit-ups though, which is fine with me for now)

Day 240

• 1.94 miles
• Slow
• 0630
• From/To home
• Streak extender.