Training for 6/30/20

Yesterday afternoon, I did my first strength training class in several days, and then Pepper and I went to the gym so I could get in three miles at an 8:58/mile average on the treadmill.

Today, I had this week’s middle distance run on the schedule, which increased to seven miles. I reserved an early block of time at the gym so I could get it out of the way. Plus, the sun isn’t shining into the gym in the morning.

We’re only allowed an hour max in the gym — and that’s as long as a treadmill will let me run anyway — so I had to run a little faster than a typical easy run pace to get to seven.

It was an uneventful hour on the treadmill. I got in all seven at an 8:34/mile average.

That finished off June’s running total, so here’s a monthly summary.

Mileage:

• Week 1 (June 1-6): 3.1 miles
• Week 2 (June 7-13): 25.7
• Week 3 (June 14-20): 29.5
• Week 4 (June 21-27): 38
• Week 5 (June 28-30): 18

Total: 114.3 miles

I’d have had a higher total this month if not for that first week when I was dealing with a pair of shoes that had to be replaced early when they suddenly caused a weird pain in my right Achilles area. Fortunately, that was easily corrected when I got a new pair.

I also started training for a real live race this month, the St. George Marathon on Oct. 3 in Utah. So far it’s still on. Who knows what’ll happen though, seeing all these states dealing with increased cases of the virus after re-opening things too soon.

At any rate, having a goal has already improved my running. Just in the first three weeks of the training plan, I did all my long runs, two pace runs and two speed workouts.

I also continued with the virtual strength training classes on a near-daily basis, other than when my sister was visiting.

July is just a lot more training miles. Still no hint of any live races around here.

One more thing — “Days of Thunder” recently celebrated 30 years since it was released in theaters June 27, 1990. I just read a great article about it on ESPN.com that Clark recommended.

My favorite part of the article is when team owner Rick Hendrick, who helped a lot with the movie, said all the NASCAR people at the premiere groaned when they showed the rickety old barn where the film’s crew chief, Harry Hogge, built Cole Trickle’s race car at the beginning of the movie. By 1990, NASCAR teams weren’t yet operating out of the pristine mega buildings they do now, but they weren’t exactly tinkering in dilapidated barns anymore either.

A couple years ago, I wrote down what I thought were the top 10 most ridiculous scenes in the movie, and No. 1 was “Harry building an entire race car, to spec, all by himself in his barn, practically overnight.”

I just thought it was funny actual NASCAR people felt the same!

Anyway, as much as I love that movie, I remember it most for the time I didn’t get to see it. The summer it came out, my parents and my cousins’ parents waited until we were all at the beach for vacation to see it in the theater, when they could dump off all five of us kids, between 4 and 11 years old, on my two aunts.

I’m sure we were all little shits, but the two things I remember most are my one cousin, who was 6 at the time, suddenly refusing to eat the grilled cheese sandwich he’d been practically begging for since we left the condo for dinner at Dumpser’s, and then, on the walk back, my other cousin, who was 4, sitting on a curb and refusing to move. Turns out that’s what she did when she had to poop haha! But my poor aunts didn’t know that.

That was the last time my aunts volunteered to babysit on vacation so our parents could take off like that.

Training for 6/29/20

Friday afternoon, Julie and I met Clark in San Diego. We had lunch at Fathom Bistro Bait & Tackle on Shelter Island, this teeny restaurant on a fishing pier that has a great draft beer list and really good food.

Then we went to Point Loma, a peninsula between Coronado and the ocean. We didn’t have a lot of time before it closed, unfortunately, but we saw the Cabrillo National Monument and the tide pools.

Julie on one of the cliffs overlooking the ocean.

Clark tried to get Pepper to do a little mountain climbing with him:

But Pepper noped out of that pretty quick haha.

And found an easier way to go:

When that all closed, we drove into downtown San Diego and had a couple beers at Ballast Point. Then we stopped at Encintas Ale House on the way home for dinner, but it was too late to be able to dine in, so we just got burgers to go and went back to the apartment.

Saturday, we did not get up in time to do the Weekend Warriors workout. But after Clark made us waffles and bacon for breakfast, I went out to run a 6-mile pace run.

It went OK. A belly full of waffles and bacon was not ideal, but I at least never felt like I had to use the bathroom. I ran six at a 7:55/mile average (the first mile was way too fast but don’t worry, I got progressively slower from there) and then one more very slow to cool down, for a total of seven.

By that time, the sun had finally come out in Oceanside. We got some drinks and sat on the beach for a little while.

Then Julie left us for the rest of the day! I won’t get into her personal business, but I’ll just say Clark and I weren’t the only reason she wanted to come to San Diego. I don’t think we were even the top reason haha.

Clark and I stayed on the beach until it started clouding up again. We spent the rest of the evening at home. Julie eventually made it back too.

Sunday, Clark made us more waffles for breakfast. I put off my run until the afternoon, so we could all try surfing before Julie had to go tend to her personal business again.

After Julie left, I went out to run 8 miles. I was really glad I’d swapped long runs and done 13 miles last week, because this run was TERRIBLE. Well, the first half was fine. I went to the river trail and did four miles out at a sub-9 pace. But when I turned around, I suddenly felt like I had to use the bathroom, but there was nowhere to go until I made it back to the apartment. There were just way too many people on that trail yesterday to try to sneak off it. I had to walk the majority of those four miles back. It was an eternity, but I made it.

Later that afternoon, Clark found out he was going to have to go back this morning to the job site he just got back from Friday, so we did some laundry. As the dryer was finishing up the first load, it started making a very weird loud banging sound. I had to put the second load of clothes, which were in the washer, out on the balcony to try to dry. Of course, it rained overnight. Anyway, I called building management as soon as the office opened this morning and hopefully the dryer will be fixed soon. Who knows though.

Clark left super early this morning, and Julie a few hours later. Pepper and I are on our own again for the next day or two.

Today, I’ll do my first strength training class since last Wednesday, and then I’ve got a reservation in the gym for another fun treadmill run. At least it’s just a 3-miler.

Training for 6/26/20

Fridays are always supposed to be a day off running on my training plan, but I actually get to take it for once, because I don’t have to make up any runs I skipped earlier in the week.

And Julie was still asleep in the floor of my “home gym” (living room in front of the TV) this morning, so I didn’t do the last virtual strength training class of the day either. Rest day it is!

Yesterday afternoon, after I got done with my work, we drove south to Coronado to escape the cloud cover that had been hanging over northern San Diego County for most of the week.

It was nice and sunny down there! We walked around what we could at the Hotel del Coronado, though most of it is closed off to the public due to both coronavirus restrictions and construction.

The beach was really pretty. With the sun out, Julie saw for the first time the “glitter” in the sand down by the water here. There’s some kind of sediment that looks like gold flakes.

Pepper and me along the jetty on the beach in front of the hotel.

Then we walked around downtown Coronado a bit, until we reached a pub with outdoor seating that allowed dogs. We had a couple beers there.

Today, after I’ve gotten enough work done, we’re heading back down toward San Diego. Clark should be landing there in about an hour, so we’re meeting him there.

This weekend, I’m not sure exactly what the plan is, but I’ve got a couple runs to get done and maybe we’ll do the Weekend Warriors workout tomorrow morning.

Training for 6/25/20

My sister is here! Yesterday, after I got done with work stuff, we met Clark’s and my Realtor to look at another house (not impressed) and then we went to downtown Carlsbad. The highlight there was when we were crossing a busy intersection on foot and Pepper stopped right in the middle of the crosswalk to take a dump. Julie said someone on the sidewalk laughed and said he has bad timing. Personally I think he does that on purpose!

After we left Carlsbad, we drove down Coast Highway a ways, to Encinitas, and then came back to Oceanside. It was still light enough out to see the sea lions, so we went to the harbor. There was only ONE sea lion there! I have never been there when there weren’t at least a dozen hanging out on a floating dock, barking at each other. I don’t know where they are right now!

I wanted to get up early and do this week’s speed workout, but Pepper had other plans. He was an absolute jerk all night. Kept getting up and wanting to go out to pee and drink a gallon of water so he’d have to pee again in an hour. Finally, at 5 a.m., I took him out and he pooped, and then he went to sleep. That was also pretty much the first time I got to sleep. So it was almost 8:30 before I pulled myself out of bed.

I did some work, and then I went for my run while Julie hung out with Pepper. This week was hill repeats, but I did the 800-meter interval workout I never did last week instead.

I ran an out-and-back on the river trail. I did 1.5 miles to warm up, then ran four half-miles fast, with a quarter-mile of recovery after each, and another 1.5 miles to cool down, for a total of 6 miles.

I managed some decent splits for the intervals: 3:31, 3:30, 3:32 and 3:34, so, 7:00 to 7:08/mile pace. I ran the whole thing in 49:52, an 8:19/mile average.

When I got back, Julie said Pepper had been asleep on the couch almost since the moment I left. Gee, I wonder why he’s so tired? Jerk.

Anyway, later, after I get some more work done, we’ll go do some more sight-seeing. I wish the sun would come out! Up until the last several days, the clouds have burned off by early afternoon, but they just won’t go away here lately.

Training for 6/24/20

This morning, I got my whole workout done early, because my little sister should be here soon!

I did a virtual strength training class first. Today was the final fit test for the challenge Clark and I forgot to join. I still did the initial and final fit tests though. I think I might be maxing out on how fast I can do these exercises — I did the initial test a few weeks ago in 8:00, and today I was only eight seconds faster.

Later, I took Pepper to the gym to run the easy 3-miler on the schedule. We have to reserve the gym right now, and I had it at 8 a.m. for a half-hour, but someone was in there cleaning it when I got there. I didn’t want to get in his way, and technically dogs aren’t supposed to be in there anyway, so Pep and I went back to the apartment and waited a bit.

I tried again about an hour later. It was empty that time and I got in 3 miles at an 8:58/mile average while Pepper stood right behind the treadmill and glared at me. The usual.

That should be the last treadmill run for a while. I’m hoping my sister won’t mind hanging out with Pepper for a bit tomorrow morning so I can run outside again. And then Clark will be back Friday.

The first thing my sister will get to do when she gets here is go look at another house with me. The one we put in an offer for last Saturday was even more competitive than I realized. The seller’s agent said they got EIGHT above-asking offers and two of them could put down more than 40%. Sheesh.

So that’s not the one, but the search continues.

Training for 6/23/20

Yesterday, I did one of our gym’s virtual strength training classes.

This morning, Pepper and I went back to the gym here in the building for another treadmill run. Yippee. I had this week’s middle distance run, a 6-miler.

I set it for 54 minutes at a 9:00/mile pace and a 1% incline, and that’s what I did. Nothing exciting.

Today, Pepper went back to the vet for his surgery follow-up. Everything looks good!

Later this afternoon, I’m doing another virtual strength training class.

Training for 6/22/20

Saturday morning, Clark and I did our gym’s Weekend Warriors workout. Later, I ran the 6-miler at goal marathon pace on the schedule.

St. George has a lot of downhill (also a mile-long uphill at mile 7, but let’s not focus on that right now) and is generally considered a very fast course, so I’m shooting for 3:33, an 8:07/mile average. Really I’ll be happy with anything under 3:39, my PR from 2013 that just will not die. I figure if I overreach, I should land somewhere in between, right? Right.

It was overcast and not too hot out. Other than the humidity, it was great running weather. (I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it is surprisingly humid here. Nothing like Delmarva, but not dry either.)

For some reason, my Garmin wasn’t announcing my mile splits, and I had to keep an eye on elapsed time, but I just pulled off that goal pace. I ran 6 miles in 48:35, an 8:06/mile average. I then ran another half-mile at a 9:00/mile pace to cool down.

That pace did not feel sustainable for another 20 miles, I will admit, but that’s why training plans are 18 weeks long. It’s a build. I’m not supposed to be ready to run a whole marathon at that pace right off the bat. That’s what I told myself anyway.

That afternoon, Clark and I looked at another house. It’s definitely in need of some updating, but the location cannot be beat for our price range. We put in an above-asking offer immediately. It’s going to be very competitive though. All we’ve heard since is that they received our offer.

Then we took Pepper to Abnormal Beer Co., one of the brewers featured in the first virtual beer festival we did back in April. Kind of a long drive, but more than worth it. I tried a wide variety of styles — blonde ale, hefeweizen, sour, stout and pale ale — and I was a fan of them all.

We also stopped by AleSmith, and then got In-N-Out on the way home for dinner.

Sunday morning, Clark got up first and met some of our running group members for another bike ride on the river trail.

There are a couple overpasses that trail crosses under. Clark said on the ride to the other end of the trail, they saw a car that had apparently launched off one of those overpasses and landed nose-first in a ditch in a field just off the trail. There are no other roads anywhere near where the car was, and no tracks leading to it, so that was the only explanation. There were already police and fire trucks on the scene, and it was gone when Clark came back by on his way home.

When he got back, I went out for my long run. It was supposed to be a cutback week to an 8-miler, but I decided to swap it with next weekend’s 13-miler. My younger sister will be here next weekend and I figured I’d have more chance of completing my long run when I have a guest if it’s only 8 miles. Being proactive for once!

It was another gray day. June gloom makes for good running weather for people like me who can’t be bothered to get up early.

I did my usual out-and-back to Carlsbad. I turned the Garmin off and back on before I started, to see if that would correct whatever was causing it to not record individual mile splits (I’d checked the settings the day before and it was still set to do it.) Anyway, it beeped at the end of the first mile and showed me my split, so that had done the trick.

It was a decent run. I had to stop around mile 3 to use the bathroom for the first time. Then I had to stop again at mile 8.

If only I’d run a little bit farther.

I stopped at a port-o-potty along the beach in Carlsbad. When I stepped in, it was a normal day outside.

While I was in there, I heard someone say “Put your hands on the car.” It didn’t sound particularly urgent. Sometimes there are cops there on motorcycles, and I thought maybe someone was getting shitty with one about parking rules or something.

I washed my hands. There’s no trash can inside the port-o-potty, so I held on to the paper towel so I could throw it away in the one outside on the sidewalk.

I opened the door and stepped out into quite the scene. There were at least five cop cars stopped, blocking the whole road, behind one car that’d pulled over right there in front of the port-o-potty. The passenger was holding both hands out of the window. It was a bit tense.

For some reason, I decided since this had nothing to do with me and I really needed to throw away that paper towel, as well as the wrapper from the gel I’d eaten halfway through the run, no one would mind if I nonchalantly walked over to the trash can near the car.

The cops were, uh, not impressed with me. One said “Ma’am, you need to GET OUT OF HERE. NOW.” Another one was waving his hand in a “hurry the eff up!” motion.

I said something like “I just wanted to throw this away, sorry!” and went on my way. I really don’t know why it didn’t occur to me I could just hold on to that trash until I ran past the next can right up the road. Can’t say I’ve ever walked out into a situation like that before!

If I hadn’t had to use the bathroom, I’d have been well past that particular stretch of sidewalk when the car got pulled over. My cranky digestive system got me again!

Anyway, the rest of the run was fine, and I finished 13 miles at a 9:06/mile average.

When I got back, I was looking forward to watching the NASCAR race in Talladega, but it got rained out until today.

By the way, a sarcastic slow clap goes out to all the “fans” in Alabama who responded to NASCAR’s recent banning of the Confederate flag by parading around outside the speedway flying it, and especially to whoever hired a plane to fly over the speedway with a banner behind it with that flag and “Defund NASCAR” on it. You hicks are the worst embodiment of the NASCAR fan stereotype and no one will miss you if you go away.

Actually, I take that back — that award goes to whoever put a freaking noose in the garage area of the No. 43 team, the one the only black driver in NASCAR drives for. Just disgusting. That had to have been a team member. I don’t think there’s much chance a random spectator could’ve gotten into the garage area right now, with all the extra security restrictions in place because of coronavirus. NASCAR said they’re investigating that and will eliminate whoever was responsible.

Ugh. Anyhow…

Clark and I cleaned the apartment and did some laundry, and then he had to head to the airport. He’s away at a job site this week, so it’s just Pepper and me until Julie gets here Wednesday.

Today, I had an easy 3-miler and strength training on the schedule. Since I had to go to the gym and run on the treadmill, I knocked it out early.

Pepper was NOT excited to hang out next to the treadmill for the first time in a few months haha.

“I hate this.”

Well too bad, because we’re going back tomorrow and Wednesday!

I wasn’t too excited about running on that thing either. I got through 3 miles at an 8:58/mile average. At least someone turned on the air conditioner in there, so it wasn’t as warm as it used to be.

Later, I’ll do one of our gym’s virtual strength training classes.

Training for 6/19/20

Today is the last day of spring, which means tomorrow is the first day of my favorite season. Happy summer!

I don’t have a whole lot to report. Wednesday evening, Clark and I did a virtual strength training class, and then I went out for a very easy 3-mile run at a 9:35/mile average.

Yesterday, we did another class, but I put off the interval workout on the schedule until today, which is a day off running, so we could go to Stone for a couple beers and then a local restaurant for dinner.

The plan was to run those intervals this morning, when it was still cool out, and before the morning strength training class I do on Fridays. However, I barely got up in time to make it to the living room in time for the class! So obviously the run did not happen this morning.

I would like to still get the run in this evening when Clark gets home.

This weekend should be the same as usual. Weekend Warriors class tomorrow morning, a shorter run tomorrow and a long run Sunday.

Training for 6/17/20

Yesterday, after a virtual strength training class with our gym, I went out and ran the 6-miler on the schedule. It was a nice evening for it and I felt pretty good. I just did an out-and-back along the river trail at an 8:32/mile average pace.

Not much else to say today!

Training for 6/16/20

Guess who doesn’t have cancer?

This guy!

Pepper’s vet called last night and said the mass she removed last week was a tumor, but it was completely benign and the surgery should be considered curative. I am so relieved!

Before that, Clark and I did a virtual strength training workout with our gym, and then I went out for an easy 3-miler. I ran down the Strand and noticed the pier was finally open, so I went up there for the first time in 2.5 months. It was packed! That was a mistake. I had to weave through groups of people the whole way to the end and back.

Other than that, it was an OK run at an 8:56/mile average.

Today, we are doing another strength training class, and then I’ve got this week’s middle distance run, a 6-miler.

Oh also, our building’s gym is open tomorrow for the first time in three months, which is great news because Clark will be gone next week for his first business trip since this whole coronavirus thing happened. I’ll be able to get in my training runs on the treadmill. Yay?