Day 85: 1 mile, 5:51.6

I made it to the track today. Had a nice 7 1/2-minute mile warmup, and then a good set of stretches. As soon as I started the mile itself, however, my adductor flared up. I get the pain right at the top of my stride, when my left thigh is closest to horizontal. I didn't want to stop, so I had to alter my stride so my thigh did not rise as high. Very disappointing. Here are my lap times:
lap 1: 1:23
lap 2: 1:29
lap 3: 1:31
lap 4: 1:28

I don't know whether to take a month off to try to heal it, or try to run through it. I did a couple of cooldown laps and stretched again, but I was so unhappy with my times I decided to run a fast quarter, to see if I could even break 1:20. I managed to do a 1:16.1, which made me feel a little better, but not much considering my goal is to average 1:15 for four laps. Feels like a long way off. I'm going to check in with a physical therapist to see if I can get some guidance on healing.

Day 83 (2): 6mi, 52:45

I decided to run again after work to get my mileage up. I feel a lot better in the afternoon than I do first thing in the morning. My times clearly are a lot better having had a chance to wake up. Not only was my 3 mile time (24:40) a lot faster than this morning, but my 5 mile time (43:12) was my fastest in a while. My splits:
mile 1: 7:48
mile 2: 8:09
mile 3: 8:43
mile 4: 9:09
mile 5: 9:23
mile 6: 9:33
HR t+1: 130
HR t+5: 100

I plan a short run tomorrow night, and will do a timed mile on Saturday morning, weather permitting. Since I am closing in on three months on this quest, I will also do a review this weekend of my progress so far and my plan for the next three months.

Day 83: 3mi, 25:15

I got up too late to do my planned 6-7 miles. A lacklustre performance.
mile 1: 8:22
mile 2: 8:15
mile 3: 8:38

Day 81: 5mi, 44:05

After a full night's sleep, my run today was a big improvement over yesterday, with the first three miles a full minute faster than yesterday. My speed dropped pretty quickly after that, though, so I don't think I am quite back to normal. My splits today:

mile 1: 7:57
mile 2: 7:55
mile 3: 8:30
mile 4: 9:27
mile 5: 10:16
HR t+1: 130
Hr t+5: 105

Day 80: 3mi, 25:33

Back in Boston, I had a long sleep and did a short run this morning. Felt pretty good, overall. My splits:
mile 1: 8:14
mile 2: 8:29
mile 3: 8:50
HR t+1: 120
HR t+2: 100
If I get up early enough, I'll try a longer run tomorrow morning. Hope to do a mile on the track on Saturday.

Day 77: 5.4mi, 50:54

I did my London parks run today in the drizzle. My legs felt really good. My throat and sinuses are acting up, however, so I think the travelling is finally catching up with me. I was slower again than last week on this run, despite letting my HR stay above 137 for stretches (I averaged 140). I'll blame it on all the travel and time zone changes.
HR t+1: 120
HR t+5: 105

Next week I plan to do two 6 milers and two 3-4 milers during the week, and then get on the track on the weekend to see where my mile is.

Day 76: 3.1mi, 28:43

Had to wait 20mins for a treadmill this morning, so I ran out of time and could only run a 5k. felt pretty lousy anyway, so that was fine. Looking forward to running outside tomorrow in London. No splits, but clearly a slowish pace. HR t+1 115, and 105 at t+5.

Day 75: 5mi, 45:12

Another night of limited sleep, but I felt ok today. My HR showed the fatigue, I think, as you can see by my splits:
mile 1: 8:24
mile 2: 8:23
mile 3: 8:42
mile 4: 9:43
mile 5: 10:00
HR t+1: 129
HR t+5: 105

Day 73: 3.1mi, 25:53

5k on the (metric) treadmill here in Taipei. Took it easy, as I only got about 4 hrs of sleep on the 11hr plane ride last night. Not sure I built any aerobic capacity in this run, but it was a good way to clear my head. My splits:

mile 1: 9:00
mile 2: 8:00
mile 3: 8:08
HR t+1: 120
HR t+5: 90

Day 70: 5.4mi, 48:26

I did my London parks run today. A couple minutes slower than the last time I ran it using the HR monitor. Maybe the lack of sleep on the plane last night had an impact. I'm off to Taiwan on Sunday, so won't run again until Monday.

Day 68: 6.33mi, 55:18

I ran outside today with the monitor on. Had to make a diversion from my normal 6 mile route to drop something off, which added a few tenths. I planned to do 4 or 5 miles, but decided to keep going because I won't have a chance to run tomorrow. The HR monitor allowed me to run a faster pace (8:44/mi ave) than the cautious pace (9:19/mi) I ran Sunday without the monitor. My HR at t+1 was 112, and at t+5 was 90.

Day 66: 3mi, 23:55

A nice workout today. I almost mailed it in, because I was tired and a little sore from my runs this weekend. But I needed to get some time in the pool, since I'm doing a triathlon in June, so I decided to do a short run and then a swim. I'm really glad I ran, though, because, although I was sore, I had almost no pain anywhere during the run. I stretched well before I ran, and the swim seemed to help stretch things out a bit more afterwards, so I felt great after I was done. I hope this becomes the normal situation.

My splits today:
mile 1: 7:59
mile 2: 7:48
mile 3: 8:08
HR t+1: 120
HR t+5: 96

The swim was 1/3 of a mile in 10:54. My HR monitor did not work in the pool, but told me my HR was 88 just after I finished, so I think I was well within the 137 limit while swimming.

Day 65: 6mi, 55:53

Another 50 degree day in Boston, so I did a long run along the river. It was very slow compared to my other runs on this route, but I am happy with it for a couple of reasons: one, my back did not hurt; and, two, my left adductor muscle was a steady ache but was not painful. After yesterday's mile, I wanted to keep a very relaxed pace. I also did not have my HR monitor, so I wanted to keep my pace slow enough to make sure I stayed under 137bpm. I spot checked it a few times, and got HRs between 125 and 148, so I think I was probably in the range. My HR at t+1 was 110 and at t+5 was 98, both of which look a little strange.

Day 64: 1 mile, 5:49

I made it out to the track today. I'm relatively pleased with how it went. My lower left back and left adductor made their presence known, but I don't feel like I made them any worse. My right calf was not a problem at all, so that seems to have resolved itself.

Not too cold out there (around 50), but blustery. I did a 3/4 mile warm-up (2:05, 1:50, 1:55), which took my HR up above 150. I stretched some more, did the mile, then did a couple laps warm-down.

My splits:
lap 1: 1:25 (long lap)
lap 2: 1:26
lap 3: 1:29
lap 4: 1:29
HR t+1: 140
HR t+5: 120
max HR: 187

Usually, I have an accurate feel for my lap times, to within a couple of seconds. My first lap today, however, felt like a 1:30. I was not trying to kill it, given my back issue, so I was surprised to see I came in at 1:25. And that included the stub 9 meter piece you have to do when running a mile on a 400m track. I'll give credit to the low HR training for giving me some extra aerobic capacity. The rest of the laps I tried to keep it steady. I was winded at the end, of course, but overall felt pretty good.

Day 62: 3mi, 24:58

A lackluster run. My calf felt ok, but my lower back suddenly was bothering me again today, even before I ran. Starting to feel like my body is working against me on this quest. Everyday, seems there is a new pain to deal with, or an old one that reappears. It would be nice just to end a run feeling tired, instead of in pain.
my splits:
mile 1: 7:55
mile 2: 8:17
mile 3: 8:46
HR t+1: 120
HR t+5: 89
I am tempted to try a timed mile on the track this weekend, but I won't do it if my back is bothering me. That's the one area I don't run through the pain - I stop. The back is way too central to everything else to be messing around with.

Day 61: 3mi, 24:41

Woke up a little early this morning and got in a quick 3 miles on the treadmill.
My splits:
mile 1: 8:35
mile 2: 7:46
mile 3: 8:20
HR t+1: 120
HR t+5: 90

Day 60: 3.5mi, 28:33

After Sunday's run, where I had a sharp calf pain, I noticed my right leg was swollen below the calf. I rested Monday, but it was still somewhat swollen today. I took it easy in terms of distance as a result. Might try to go back again tomorrow morning. My splits:

mile 1: 7:48
mile 2: 7:55
mile 3: 8:18
mile 4 pace: 8:59
HR t+1: 125
HR t+2: 95

Day 58: 5mi, 42:27

Back on the treadmill today. About 3/4 of a mile in, pain flared up in my right calf/Achilles area again. I almost jumped off, but instead slowed and changed my gait. I don't know whether this is what I should do (probably not), but I kept running anyway. The pain subsided but didn't go away, and started to rise again at about 3.25 miles. I think this is related to the injury to my right knee a few weeks ago, which has also been generating persistent pain. And on top of this, I've got a mild chest cold. I think that's all my excuses for today.

The good news is that my times seem to be coming down for the 137 max HR. Today's 42:27 compares to the 42:45 on Day 51, 44:49 on Day 42, and 44:00 on day 32, my first day of low HR training. I don't count the 41:49 on Day 39 because I used a max HR of 152 on that run. But now I am only half a minute slower than that time with a HR of 137, so it does seem to be helping my aerobic capacity.

My splits today:
mile 1: 8:12
mile 2: 7:57
mile 3: 8:21
mile 4: 8:45
mile 5: 9:12
HR t+1: 125
HR t+5: 98

I did not get out to the track for my mile, which is probably a good thing given the way my right calf is acting. I would like to see where I am, though, so I will try next weekend. I think I will throw some speed work/intervals into one workout this week as well.

Day 57: 5.4mi, 50:07

I did my London parks run today. I did not have my HR monitor, so I kept it slow to be sure I stayed under 137bpm. I'm also coming down with a chest cold, so that probably slowed me as well. Anyway, ran about four minutes slower than I did a week ago.

Tomorrow, unless it is too nice a day to run inside, I plan to do five on the treadmill to see how (if) my pace has changed.

Day 55: 4mi, 38:32

My right calf was painfully tight on Thursday, but bearable. A nice, easy 4 miles outside. Friday, I'm in a plane all day, but will get outside again on Saturday.

Day 53: 3mi, 30 mins

I had this whole week off, and it turned out to be one of my least productive in terms of mileage. On Tuesday (Day 53), I set out for a five miler, despite the snow on the ground, but within two miles I succumbed to searing pain in my right calf and had to walk/run back home. no idea where this came from (it was tight on Day 51, but not debilitating), although I'd guess it is related to my right knee smash the week before, which caused me to limp for a week. Not much more to say other than this was disappointing, and I took Wednesday off as well.