The Return to Palm Springs

Time: 57:32
Distance: 9 miles?

Went out on a run that started pretty brisk. The weather was so nice that my legs seemed to want to run fast. However, the rest of my respiratory system didn't. I didn't have a great run that didn't have any particular direction. I started in the neighborhood just south of my dad's place. Then I ran along Sunrise and ended up at Ruth Hardy park before returning on Palm Canyon Dr. I was really lagging about the time I hit the park, but I was able to pick it up along the main section of Palm Canyon. You know, I had to impress all the old folks with my blazing speed. After passing the main section of the strip, I started to feel shitty again. I didn't sleep great last night and I still have this lingering cold. I would have liked to not have run, but as I told Jilane, "you can't not run on the last day of the year or the first day of the year." However, on Jan. 1 of 2007 I didn't run. I was at the Rose Bowl and thought that if I sacrificed the first day of the year, I would have a healthy year. I was wrong and got that achilles injury in late April, early May.

Week in Review

Time: 496:37
Distance: 79 miles

Good week of training. Got worked in my only workout of the week. I was running much too fast on many of my runs. I wasn't planning on running close to 80 miles. Wanted more like 70. Actually I didn't even know until just now when I tallied everything. This next week should be good considering there is nothing to do in Palm Springs. Running might just be my only option until Owen arrives. I need to get rid of this cold asap.

St. Regis to Fisherman's Wharf

Time: 38:32
Distance: 6.38 miles
Map

I took the bus down to SF this morning b/c I had to get out of SR. I arrived at the St. Regis a little after 1:00 pm and since I had nothing better to do I thought I would go for a run. I ran down 3rd St. to the Giant's ballpark. I'm not really sure what it's being called these days, but two nights ago they hosted the Emerald 'lick my' Nuts Bowl featuring Oregon State and Maryland. I felt pretty good on the run this afternoon. Pace was a bit quicker than it was this morning. Weather was great. Somewhere along the Embarcadero I had to slap the hood of a silver sedan b/c some lady almost ran me over. I jumped out into the middle of the street and gave her car an enthusiastic smack. I was kinda hoping that she would catch up to me and try to say something, but traffic was so bad with tourists heading to the wharf that she never did. Once I got down to Fisherman's Wharf it was hard to run with all the tourists who jam packed the sidewalks. I was still able to maintain a decent clip and finished the run coming back Market St.

Bennet Valley Loop

Time: 38:37
Distance: ~6 miles
Map

I ran from my mom's house on a pretty basic loop out to Bennett Valley. I thought it was colder than it was and I chose to go in pants. Bad decision. I'm not used to running in pants and it wasn't nearly cold enough. I wasn't feeling great so I decided to go short and will perhaps run later on in SF.

I'll map the run when I have a chance. The internet in Union Square isn't that fast and gmap pedometer is taking forever. On another note I kinda witnessed a mugging. There is a lady who dresses up as a robot and does robotesque movements. I guess some dude grabbed her money collection bag and took off. I had my music playing but I could hear a woman screaming and some commotion. She was jumping on the back of some guy in the middle of the intersection of Powell and Geary fighting for her change. I think some people came to her aid, but her robot costume looked a little banged up when all was said and done.

Rainy Run around Santa Rosa

Time: 68:41
Distance: 10.8 miles
Map

I didn't have any particular route in mind before stepping out the door. I just wanted to get in around 80 minutes and perhaps stop by Danny Aldridge and Greg Fogg's new running store Heart & Sole. They took the name and are being helped by a store based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The new store has only been open since Thanksgiving, but so far it seems to be doing fine.

I ran the loop that is mapped above. At around the 32 minute mark I stopped at the store and hung out for about 15 minutes. While I was there Sara Bei's (Hall) parents came in to drop off a VHS tape of Footlocker Finals from 2000 and some photos. The tape featured Sara winning her senior year.

It was much colder than I had expected (low 40's and drizzly), but overall the run was fine. I am coming down with a bit of a cold, but I was able to breath fine while running. I was trying to avoid going over Fountaingrove Parkway or Montecito, but somehow I just ended up there. The elevation chart shows a giant spike which is the hill. Since I was so close to home and it was cold I decided that 68 minutes was enough for the day.

Later in the afternoon I stopped back by the Heart & Sole store to hang out. Since I am terribly bored and I ddin't want to sit at home it was fun catching up with Danny, Ryan and Greg.

Channel Dr. Tempo

Time: ~65:37
Distance: 11 miles

Planned on doing a 4 mile tempo run with Steve and J.K. today. We warmed up from the parking lot down to the turn around point and back which took somewhere aroun 21 minutes. We stopped at the cars to stretch and do drills. We all slipped into flats before jogging the half mile to the starting point. Total time for the w/u was around 25:27 running time.

Target: 4 mile tempo @ 5:00-5:05.
Actual: not that

We started off and I was feeling pretty good. Lungs and legs were fine. First mile split was 5:03. We continued to run well on the second mile which is slightly uphill. With about 400m left before the turn around my left shin was starting to get tight. Not as bad as it was on Weds. but I could feel it. Second mile split was 5:09. About 20 seconds after the turn around I decided to stop and stretch it. Took about 30 seconds to stretch before continuing on. Next mile split was 5:23, granted it was broken up. The shin felt better but still not great so at the three mile mark (ranger station) I decided to stop again, this time for a minute. I was able to run the last mile pain free in 5:11.

Steve and I then jogged for one mile in about 7 minutes before starting a series of 30 sec on, 1 min. off. He wanted the on to be hard but not all out. I opted to go with him and felt fine. The first interval was waaay too fast as he admitted afterward. It was probably a 30 sec. 200 split. He actually glanced at his watch with 10 secs. to go which told me he was over pressed. I ran well on the shorter stuff that took 11:07 (~2 miles). He and I cooled down for a little over a mile in 7:43.

It was a good day of running effort wise. I definitely bitched out on the tempo effort. I didn't feel great and used my shin as an excuse to slow down. I haven't done any sort of real workout since some time in late November. I needed to get my ass kicked today so the training can be more serious come Jan. 1.

Howarth Park to Lake Ilsanjo

Time: 68:38
Distance: 10 miles

Ran with Steve Laurie, J.K. Withers and his little bro Joe Withers this morning. We started at Howarth Park and ran the same loop that I did on Christmas morning. We ran up Canyon, around Lake Ilsanjo, down Spring Creek trail. I started my watch from the yellow poles in HP instead of at the house. The pace was much more relaxed today which I greatly needed. Legs were feeling good today. Had some good chats about my trip to Japan, Martin Smith, and the 3M Austin Half Marathon. J.K. is one of only two guys left on the Oregon team that was coached by Martin when he was the coach in Eugene. Our mile splits today were 7:14 and 6:31 between the yellow gates and the base of Canyon/Spring Creek trails.

Sacramento American River

Time: 69:23
Distance: 11 miles

Ran from Tara and Tim's house down to the river. I looked up and mapped out a route in my mind before setting out on the run. I had a general idea of how to get to the river and my planning paid off. I made it to the river in about 10 minutes and then settled in along the bike path. Before this venture I would have told you that there is nowhere to run in Sacramento. I would have been greatly mistaken. The first marker I saw along the path was at 11 miles and from there on I was taking splits. Hit consecutive miles of 6:12, 6:05, 6:00, 5:56.

The outside of my left shin was rather tight, so at 35:19 I stopped and stretched before heading back. I was able to loosen the shin up quite a bit by using a "Beware of Mountain Lions" sign. I don't believe that urban Sacramento would have any such beast, but the sign claimed that they were especially attracted to children. Anyway, on the way back my shin felt fine and the splits were 11:41 (2 miles), 5:50, 5:47.

My breathing was in control, but the legs continued to lack the same fitness. Still not worried about it b/c the pace was clipping along. It was a little cold this morning, thankfully I was dressed properly with a couple of long sleeved shirts. At the start of the run I had planned to do some strides once I was done, but the pace was quick enough to get in a good workout. Sooo, I bagged that idea.

Here are some quick thoughts of how to get my legs to feel better:

• run slower
• stretch after running
• elevate legs
• ice legs

The first few options are definitely possible. Not so sure about icing. We'll see.

Christmas in Annadel

An interesting photo of Lake Ilsanjo in Annadel State Park.

Time: 70:43
Distance: 11-12 miles

Ran from my mom's place in Santa Rosa to the parking lot at Howarth Park (5:51). Continued on to the yellow gate (11:18) and then ran the mile to the base of Canyon Trail (6:28). Ran up Canyon to Lake Ilsanjo, around the lake and down Spring Creek Trail (26:34). Ran back the same way I came out. Base of the hill to the yellow gate mile (5:43), to the parking lot (9:56) and home (4:50).

Image of the boat dock at Howarth Park.

Felt good to be back on the trails in Santa Rosa. I was able to be back on a familiar run that I did all throughout high school. Usually I don't start the clock until I am at Howarth Park, but today I decided I would time the whole thing. I think most people call the run 10 miles if you run up Canyon, around the lake and down Spring Creek. The trails were much rockier than I remember them being in high school.

St. Regis to Hopper's Hands

Time: 76:26
Distance: 12.8 miles


Last night I flew from LAX to SFO and then took the BART into the St. Regis. The place is almost empty now that it is on the market. In the morning I ran from the hotel, down Market St. and headed west along the Embarcadero. I did a very standard run which turns around at Hopper's Hands. The wind wasn't too strong this morning and the weather was beautiful. It wasn't too foggy or cold.

I felt good, but again, I think the pace was fast. I was clipping along on the way out and hit halfway in 39:30 or so. As I started back I noticed that my breathing was very relaxed, but my legs were having a difficult time responding. For now it's no big deal that I'm not feeling too fresh on these runs as I get back into things, but by Jan. 1 I better be on point. After mapping the run I have a better sense of how far and fast I have been running. It was nice being on flat route since the hills in Agoura were taking their toll.

Week in Review

Time: 383:09
Distance: 59 miles

A good first week back into training. I had a few days last week but not enough to tally the totals. I was suppose to run 60 miles this week with a few hill workouts and maybe some 200s. I did just that so things seem to be right where they need to be. I need to start eating better which won't be any easier since Christmas is right around the corner. Next week I'll be shooting for about 70 miles with some hills thrown in there.

Westlake Library

Time: 61:34

Distance: 10 miles

Sandhya and I took the movies back to the Westlake Library that we had rented for our trip to Palm Springs. I decided that it would be a nice way to end my stay and chose to run home from there. I started out by running on Agoura Rd. and took it to Adobe Reyes, but once I got to TO Blvd. it had only been 11 minutes and the run was going to be waaay too short. So I took a left and got back on familiar territory by heading up to Lindero Canyon. I'll map out the run when I have more time, but for now it should be noted that it was a good run. I wasn't feeling great but the pace of the run was a little up tempo. My legs weren't too sore from the 200s yesterday. I think they are just a little fatigued from starting back up.

I'm currently posting from Union Square in San Francisco. It's great to be back up in Nor Cal and I'm looking forward to getting back on some runs from my high school days. Hopefully I'll be able to meet up with Steve Laurie and we'll get in some runs on the trails in Santa Rosa.

Edit: Just got done mapping the run I went on. I'm not completely certain that the starting point is correct. I can't find the exact address of the library, but I'm 99% sure that I got it right. The run was pretty much spot on for 10 miles. Glad to know that my legs are a little sore from the quicker pace and not that I'm totally out of shape.

2 Hundos

Time: 57:19
Distance: 8-9 miles

Ran from the house down to Agoura Hills HS. It looked liked they recently got a new infield. One of those field turf kinds with the little rubber pellets everywhere. I warmed up 21:27 which included about a mile around the track in lane 6. I was planning on running some 200s but thought that since it was such a nice day that I should do some drills. I can't remember the last time I did drills but I have always enjoyed them. I used the extra movement as a way to loosen up instead of stretching. By the time I was done with a few strides I was fairly loose and feeling good.

Target: 8 x 200 @ a decent pace.
Actual: (50.84), 31.18, (51.13), 31.69, (52.94), 31.49, (53.38), 31.69, (53.56), 32.06, (54.52), 31.68, (54.42), 32.07, (53.00), 30.00 for 11:15.65.

Not a bad workout. I'll take it. 11:15 for two miles running hot/cold 200s. I was feeling pretty good the whole way. Not happy with those two repeats that were 32 though. I was able to maintain form well and feel like I was striking with power. Running in trainers wasn't too bad. I thought about bringing the Adidas flats out but I didn't want to run down to the track and back with them. This is just a starting point for the season. I'll definitely be doing this workout again and the times will be in the 28-29 range. I just hope the rest splits will be the same.

C/d back to the house 24:37.

Back to Agoura Hills

Time: 61:54
Distance: 9-10 miles

Ran from the house in Agoura on the route that I did on Sunday. Instead of turning on Grey Rock, I continued down to Kanan Rd. and took the Fountainwood way back up to the house. It was terribly windy this morning. I was able to maintain a steady pace despite the wind and hills. I hit the corner of Lindero Canyon and Kanan at under 25 minutes which was a few tics faster than when I ran it a few days ago. I wasn't feeling particularly stellar at any point but I was able to clip along. The legs weren't as sore as I would have expected them to be from yesterday's hills. Aerobically I feel great on these runs, it will just be a matter of time before the legs come around. I say it will be about Jan. 1 before the legs feel good again.

Looks like I better get to work since the world record in the beer mile has just been lowered. 5:09?!?!?! Are you kidding me.

The Hills: Palms Springs Edition

Time: 55:58
Distance: 8-9 miles

This morning I went to John and John's coffee shop called Koffi in order to pay a bill and fill out the past few days of training. I was close the old neighborhood and new of a hill that was close by. I warmed up for the workout by going 23:07 on the surrounding streets. I finished at the intersection by the base of the hill to lightly stretch. My quads were already pretty sore at the start of the warmup and I wasn't sure how they would respond during hills.

Target: 10 x hill @ a pace that can be maintained
Actual: 56.08, (1:22), 55.92, (1:20), 54.61, (1:21), 54.09, (1:22), 52.59, (1:25), 53.62, (1:21), 53.14, (1:23), 54.13, (1:23), 53.02, (1:22), 52.87, (1:21) for 22:45 total.

C/d 10:06 back to the car. Overall it was a solid workout. I would guess that the hill was around 250m long. Not totally sure though. I remember the hill being much steeper when I was younger. Today it was just a good hill, but nothing special. According to Gmap Pedometer this is the distance of the hill. You figure out how far .1674 miles is.

The legs felt alright. I felt strong through 5 and then started to lose my form on number 6. I wanted to make sure that I was striking properly so I backed off the pace and concentrated on turnover and form. The times were pretty even. I'll take it as a starting point. Maybe I will do this workout again when I'm back in the desert after the new year.

Palm Springs II

Time: 60:11
Distance: 9 miles

Ran from the Biltmore Colony and headed north on Deepwell. Wasn't sure where I wanted to go, but had Ruth Hardy Park in mind. Ran a little around the park before heading over to Old Las Palmas which is the neighborhood where the movie stars used to live. I ran through the neighborhoods before making my way back to the house. The weather was great. Probably in the 60s with no wind. I was feeling pretty good. Legs were a little sore from the strides yesterday. Tomorrow I will perhaps attempt a hill workout.

When I got back to the house I found two 8 pound dumbbells in the closet and put them to use. I lifted very lightly, mostly did the running motion to attempt some sort of upper body workout.

Palm Springs

Time: 55:02

Distance: 8 miles

Ran from my dad's pad in Palm Springs on a route that had no particular direction. I was messing around up near the mountains on the roads when I found a trail that looked like it ran along a ridge. I opted to take it thinking that I could possibly run to the other side of the museum and golf course that was below. I was severely wrong. The trail, one that I think I have tried to run before, was treacherous. I wasn't really running at any point, more like hopping from rock to rock. Going up wasn't so bad but the journey back down wasn't fun. Thankfully, I didn't really venture too far out before heading back. Afterwards, I ran up towards the old houses we used to live in before running back along the main strip. Good run. Legs fine.

I finished the day of running with some hard strides. I ran along Deepwell in the street. I'm not totally sure how far the strides were but I would guess between 150m and 180m. I was concentrating on form and maintaining the effort. I only ran 5 but they were done well and a start to the track season.

Short Run

Time: 31:11

Distance: 4 miles

Ran from the house down to Kanan and out to Oak Park HS. I ran to the intersection of Doubletree and Kanan. On the way out I spotted two Toyota Prius' parked on the side of the road. I was wondering what they were doing when I ran by but thought nothing of it. On the way back I saw that a man was filling the lead Prius with gas. He had two of those little red plastic cans and was messing with the fuel tank. First of all, how do you run out of gas on a car with a gauge? When the light comes on you fill up. If you're Nick Neely, you might wait a few days, but still you never run out of fuel. Second, how the hell can you run out of gas with a Prius? The thing is a hybrid and gets like 60 mpg. That is enough to go like... from LA (the city) to LA (the state). The person who owns a Prius and runs out of fuel should have their license revoked, be forced to pick up trash along the hwy and have to travel by camel for month. Idiot!

Oak Park/Thousand Oaks Loop

Time: 55:33

Distance: 8 miles

Ran from the house in Agoura Hills down to Kanan Rd. Took a left and headed out toward Oak Park. Ran past the high school, turned left on Lindero Canyon Rd. Ran until I hit Thousand Oaks Blvd. Ran along past Taqueria Oscars which I learned is now closed or went out of business. Such a shame b/c I never got to go there. If I remember correctly, Chase who used to be on the Brown XC/TF team was from Thousand Oaks or Oak Park or near where I am staying. He didn't care too much about running and his only real contribution to the team was about how porn stars who get their buttholes waxed should be considered for the Purple Heart. However, he will be most remembered for "munging." If you don't know what it is, look it up. Not cool.

The run was on this route. Turns out it wasn't 8 miles but closer to 9. I must be terrible at recording on Gmaps Pedometer or not that out of shape.

Overall, it was a good run. Pretty decent loop that was rolling most of the way. I didn't need to be reminded of munging though.

The New Plan

This morning I had a nice conversation with my coach Tom. We discussed many things like becoming a general in the Costa Rican Army, the price of bicycles in Trajikistan and the prevalence of "mingers, munters, and wagons." More importantly, we talked about training. Some of the notes to come out of the discussion were:

• stay off the track in Cali
• focus on hills
• spend any extra energy doing drills
• run strides right... 150m hard
• week #1 - 60 miles
• week #2 - 70 miles
• get ready to start doing legit track work upon arrival to Oklahoma in Jan. (600s, 800s, etc.)

I liked the training plan and think I should stick to it if I want to run a decent indoor season. We think a trip up to the "launch pad" would be in our favor. Since I am just getting back to filling out this blog after some time off, Owen's potential race list serves as a decent model. Also, I haven't discussed this with him, but... Tajikistan? You see, I wasn't really interested in reading anyone's blog while I wasn't running. Especially, when it was ice storming in Oklahoma and I catch a glimpse of this. 70 degrees? Are you kidding me?

Agoura to Oak Park

Time: 48:11
Distance: 7 miles

Ran from the house here in Agoura down to Kanan Rd. Took a left at the light and ran out in the direction of Oak Park. I was hoping to hit around 50 minutes, so I turned at 25:30. I figured that the entire first mile plus was downhill and that it would be faster. I still negative split the run which was fine. I woke up a little sore this morning. Nothing too painful, but definitely a little silly to be sore after a 40 minute jog.

I take it struck a nerve with the one person from socal that lives in Oklahoma. Great comments were left in yesterday's post. For those 3 individuals who may actually read this blog, just so you know, Fresno, Bakersfield and Modesto are perhaps the 3 most despicable cities in California. They would be comparable to New Haven, Conn. (for the east coasters), Ardmore (for the Oklahomans), and perhaps Fairbanks, AL (for the Alaskan).

Agoura Hills

Time: 43:14
Distance: 6 miles?

I'm here in sunny California. The shitty part though. The southern half of the state is in great need of something. Oh well. I can't be complaining b/c it is much, much better than not having electricity in Oklahoma. I can't knock the OK state one bit though. It's the name of this blog. I like to think of myself as the OK runner. I work at a store in the OK running community. I want to rep OK to the fullest. I'll fight for OK. I'll die for OK. OK does not suck (I'm not sure why Texas doesn't fall into the ocean). Regardless, any place is miserable when you don't have power. Goes to show how reliant we as a society are on technology and first class amenities.

Back to running... I ran down the hill and looped the roughly 3 mile circle twice. Legs felt good. Not sure what they will think in the morning. The loop was slightly hilly which is going to rock me in a few days. The pace was good. Breathing was good. All diagnostics were good.

Useless piece of info.: I saw a coyote outside the back fence this morning. It was the size of a German Sheppard. I also saw a Mini Coop crash into some garbage bins and then the back of a suburban. Well, I didn't see it happen. But, I saw the aftermath and all the cops/medical units. See what I tell you... socal sucks.

12/7 to 12/13

Time: 0 minutes
Distance: 0 miles

A few days ago Tom and I decided not to run the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon and opted to take some time off instead. I have been able to focus on school work and let my body fully rest for the first time since late June. The few runs that I have done were nice knowing that I didn't have a workout in a few days and needed to be rested. I was just able to enjoy the run.

I thought about starting up the training on 12/10 b/c most of my work was already completed. However, when I got up I found out that Campus Lodge was without electricity. Not only were we without electricity but most of the state was too. There was no way I was going to put in some time on the feet, come back and sit around in dirty running clothes without the ability to take a hot shower. I was able to hang out at campus, Kristi's and Jilane's for a few days before leaving for Cali. On Weds. night when I went by the Lodge to pick up my clothes, the apartment smelled like Marijuana, was probably 40 degrees and darker than most caves. After grabbing a random assortment of apparel I was off to Jilane's to pack and go out for the last time of the running break.

Now that I'm back in Cali I have started running again. Slowly but surely getting back into things. The break was nice. But, not feeling useless is nicer. Also, not having to run in ice storms where power lines are snapped by falling branches is pretty nice too.

Lloyd Noble

Time: 46:01
Distance: 8 miles

After taking a few days off, I wanted to get out the door and put some time on the legs. Schoolwork is rough at the moment but I found some time to put a run in. I figured I would just go on a standard loop but do it quicker. My legs felt amazing. I can't remember the last time that it felt like I had that much pop. I usually get to the corner of Brooks and Classen in a touch over 9 minutes if I'm running well, sometimes it is a little over 10 minutes if on a warmup for a workout. Today, I hit the mark in just over 8 minutes without pressing too much. I finished up the run no slower than when I started. Felt good to put some quicker miles on the legs.

Brookhaven Mansions

Time: 36:41
Distance: 6 miles

This was not a good day. My world got rocked this afternoon and I spent this run flying around the mansions that Bob Stoops and Jeff Cummins live in. It was pitch black but I had my headlamp on, but I was tearing the streets apart. Not a good run to remember. One of the last runs before a break in the training cycle.

Run

Time: 56:07
Distance: 9 miles

I'm not totally sure where I did this run. Even though this post is going to say I ran on 12/2, it's really 12/16. Two weeks ago is waaay too long to remember. Perhaps I ran Lloyd Noble with an add on past the elementary and middle schools. In fact, that's what I think I did. If I'm correct, the pace was pretty steady. This was one of the few runs in the month of December before finals.

Day Off

Time: 0 minutes

Distance: 0 miles

Woke up after a night out with Logan, Mike and J.D., turned over in bed and looked out the window. Saw that it was windy, raining and overcast. Rolled back over and went back to bed for an hour. Had to get up relatively early because Gus was coming by to pick me up at 9:10 am. Had a rough first few hours at worked but started to perk up around noon. The coffee Jilane got me helped a bit too.

Didn't get out the door to run today. Chatted with Tom about the possibility of working out in the morning. That idea was scrapped as I was not very highly motivated. Tom and I decided that for the next week running is going to come second and that it is going to be mainly a rest week.