April 2008 Training and Race Schedule
    

     

   

Beginning month At 202 lbs and 19.5 % body fat.  I have lost 58 lbs up to this point.

Week Ending April 5, 2008 

Sunday:  15 K Mini Heart Marathon Cincinnati, Ohio
Monday: DNR Hamstring and Knee very sore from race.
Tuesday:  Took another day off to rest legs.
Wednesday: 4 miles twin creek trails.  Ran very easy.
Thursday: 4.5 miles treadmill 1.0 incline.  Ran at an 8:53 pace.  Hamstring very sore today.  It's seems more sore today than ever.
Friday: DNR
Saturday: 4.5 Miles 5K race

Date: March 30, 2008
Event: 15 K Mini Heart Marathon
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Time: 77:28
Overall Place: 783
Age Group (40-44) 95
Pace: 8:16
Splits: 7:20 8:08 7:55 8:05 8:02 8:31 8:33 9:17 3:04

This was the hardest race to complete since my 3:27 Marathon 18 years ago.  I knew I was in trouble when I was warming up and stretching.  Not only was my hamstring and knee sore, but I was really low on energy and tired.  I didn't sleep the night before and felt really sluggish.  I started the race at an easy 7:20 pace up hill and felt Ok.  On the second hill in mile 2 I knew I wouldn't be able to hold the pace and would struggle to finish.  I felt Ok until the turn around at mile 4.5.  I slowed down and struggled on the down hills.  I really hit the wall after the hill on mile 6.  My last 2 miles should have been closer to 7 minutes, however I struggled to finish.  The down hills seem to be the hardest on my right leg and I had to jog very slow.  I finished the hilly course 5 minutes faster than last year but 3.5 minutes slower than my last 15 K in November of last year.

Date: April 5, 2008
Event: Save A Live 5K
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Time: 22:22
Overall Place: 6
Age Group (40-49) 3
Pace: 7:06
Splits: 6:46 7:20 7:21 :54

This was one of my slowest 5K's in a while.  My hamstring was very sore today and I could not get loose during my warm up run.  I probably shouldn't have raced today.  The weather was a perfect 40f with no wind.  I started a little to fast with my first 1/4 in under 90 seconds.  I ended up slowing down for a slow first mile of 6:46.  The 2nd and 3rd miles were pretty much flat; however, I could only manage a 7:20 pace for both.  I really struggled with my hamstring and couldn't use my full stride.   I had to take shorter strides which slowed me down quite a bit.  The hills and turns were very slow because of my hamstring.  My weight and Fat% were also higher today than most of my recent 5Ks.  I still managed to beat last years time by 1 minute.

Total miles for the week: 22.5 miles

Weight: 206  lbs 20.5% fat

 

Week Ending April 12, 2008 

Sunday:  DNR / 15 Miles Bike @ 15 MPH /  Abs & Weights.
Monday: 3.25 easy treadmill 9:45 Pace / 24 Miles Bike 16 MPH
Tuesday:  3.25 easy treadmill 9:16 Pace / 9 Miles Bike 16 MPH
Wednesday: 3 Miles Easy Bike / 5 Mile Run Including 5K
Thursday: 9.3 Miles Bike and 1 Mile Run
Friday: 3 Miles Bike and 1.5 Mile Run
Saturday: 10K Trail Race Twin Creek

Date: April 9, 2008
Event: ORRRC Helke Park Team Series 5K
Location: Vandalia, Ohio
Time: 21:51
Overall Place: 51
Age Group (40-44)
Pace: 6:57
Splits: 6:40 7:00 7:20 :50

Much improved over Saturday's race.  I felt much better today and very surprised that my Hamstring is feeling much better.  Easier running, Ice, stretching and biking seem to be helping.  I still started the race conservatively and finished with a faster first mile than on Saturday.  If it wasn't for the slow final mile I would have been closer to where I should be.  The temperature was 60f with a 5mph wind.  I pushed my HR a little harder today up to 171with an average of 164.  My 5K PR had an average HR of 164.  My training for March was very disappointing.  At this point if it wasn't for my Hamstring injury I think I would be well below 21:00.  I still beat last years time by 1:30.

Date: April 12th, 2008
Event: 2008 Twin Creek 10K Trail Run
Location: Germantown, Ohio
Time: 60:10  Last year 56:45
Overall Place: 42
Age Group (40-44) Place:7th
Pace: 9.41  Last year 9:09
Right knee and hamstring was very sore today.  I could not run the downhills and had a hard time with the flats.  Felt good going up hill.  Ended up just running easy.

Total miles for the week: 22.5 miles

Weight: 203  lbs 20% fat

Week Ending April 19, 2008 

Sunday:  3.5 Treadmill  /  Abs & Weights.
Monday: 3.5 Treadmill  /  Abs & Weights.
Tuesday:  DNR
Wednesday: 6 Treadmill  /  Abs & Weights.
Thursday: 3.5 Treadmill  /  9 miles bike 17mph
Friday: DNR
Saturday: 5K Sugar Maple Festival

Date: April 19, 2008
Event: ORRRC Sugar Maple 5K
Location: Bellbrook, Ohio
Time: 22:20  Last Year 23:24
Overall Place: 27
Age Group (40-44) Place:3rd
Pace: 7:06
Splits: 7:03 7:14 7:12 :50
I was very tired for the race, not sleeping much the night before due to work.  I stretched and warmed up very good especially my right hamstring and knee.  The first mile was flat and downhill so I started easy just in case my right hamstring wasn't warmed up enough.  I ran 1 minute faster than last year but still was disappointed with the time.  If it wasn't for my hamstring problems over the last month I think I would be run sub 21:00.

Total miles for the week: 20.5 miles

Weight: 203  lbs 20% fat

Week Ending April 26, 2008 

Sunday:  DNR  Hamstring and Knee Felt surprisingly good today.
Monday: 6 Miles Twin Creek Trails.  Ran the same course as the race the other day.  Ran around the same time but felt a little better on the hills.  Still can't run very fast down hill or rough terrain.
Tuesday:  3 Miles Twin Creek Trails.  Started out with the goal of running the 6 mile course.  That changed at 1.5 miles when I twisted my sore leg in a creek crossing.  I ended up walking and jogging the last 1.5 miles finishing at a 12:30 pace.  My leg felt better a few hours later.  I will wait until tomorrow to decide if it is MRI time.
Wednesday: DNR
Thursday: DNR
Friday: DNR
Saturday: 6 Miles Twin Creek Trail  Still unable to run down hill very fast.  Hamstring feels great; however, knee is still sore.  Ran the Course in 56:30 which is 3:40 faster than the race a few weeks ago and 15 seconds slower than my PR.

Total miles for the week: 16 miles

Weight: 203  lbs 20% fat

Week Ending May 3, 2008 

Sunday:  3.25 Miles easy treadmill
Monday: 5 Miles treadmill 7:31 Pace Leg felt much better today
Tuesday:  7 Miles 10K Twin Creek Trail.  Leg felt really good today.  Only hurts if I twist my knee, so I was very careful.  Even running very careful I managed to cut 3 minutes off my previous best on this course. Time was 53:30
Wednesday: 6 Miles ran a local 5K course (Germantown Octoberfest 5K).  Didn't run at 100% and still manage to set a PR for the course.  The temp was 59f with a 8 mph wind.  My heart rate average was 150 and is normally 160 for a 5K.  My splits were 6:46 7:10 6:56 :43.
Thursday: 3.5 mile run and 6 mile bike.  Ran on the treadmill at 8:34 per mile.
Friday: 4.25 Miles treadmill 9:05
Saturday: 5k Race 10th Annual Derby Dash

Date: May3, 2008
Event: 10th Annual Life Essentials Derby Day Dash 5k
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Time: 21:54  Last Year 22:36  -:42 seconds
Overall Place: 10th  39th last year
Age Group (40-44) Place:1st  5th last year
Pace: 7:03
Splits: 6:30 7:08 7:18 :57
My hamstring and knee felt 100%  for the first time in months.  I think the 3 days off and easy running put me back on track.  I also spend more time warming up and stretching along with Ice and cold baths.  The temperature today was alot cooler than last year (60f and rain); however the wind (15 mph) over the last mile slowed my overall time down.  I started off faster than normal running my first half mile in 3:00  I slowed over the second half mile which was slightly uphill and ran it in 3:30.  I was feeling really good at 1.5 mile with a time of 9:59.  The next half mile was downhill but into the wind.  I was able to pick up the pace and still felt really good.  I started to struggle over the last half of the 3rd mile but was able to finish really strong holding off the runner's behind me.  I did finish ahead of a few runners who beat me last year.

Total miles for the week: 34 miles Weight 204 lbs Fat 19.5 % 

Total miles for month 90 Total miles for year 543

Finished the month strong.  Mileage was low due to sore hamstring and knee.  I had an MRI that came back negative on my knee.  I currently feel great probably due to 3 days off, easy running, biking, stretching and ice.  Hopefully I will be able to ramp my mileage back up to 50 mpw.

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

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