H2C Week 2

Two weeks in and training is coming around better than expected. Here are the stats for the week:

6 runs, 26 miles, averaged 9:57 pace

Highlight of the week was definitely being able to race! Crown City 12k ended up being the very first race since COVID shut downs in San Diego. Amy and I were lucky enough to be a part of it. 2,000 people raced and at the start you can tell there was a lot of emotion, excitement and relief to have some normalcy. 4th of July was the theme and Amy and I represented!

Amy PR'd and I ended up approaching the race as just a fun long run as part of my H2C build. But as soon as I start warming up, my legs felt good and when we got to the start I naturally place myself closer to the front and the competitive juices started flowing. I was planning on doing sub 9 minute miles but after that first mile I clocked a 7:52 and it felt very easy so that's when I decided to just keep pace and see what happens. I ended up placing 11th in my AG.

Splits looked good:

I felt really good and in control for 10k and then the wheels started coming off. Struggled to a 7:43 that next mile and maxed out my HR to 194 for about 10 minutes until the finish. Felt good to hurt that bad again!

I clearly wasn't ready to run that fast and at the finish Amy was there to greet me and I can tell I was about to cramp up - like the good ole days! Just totally overextending but it felt good. I sat down and slammed two bottles and finally started to come around.

This is a perfect example that you don't have to run fast all the time to run fast in a race. I've just been doing easy aerobic runs. Harder workouts will come but I'm not going to rush into them until I lose some weight and put in consistent weeks. 

So far I've lost 0 pounds but can tell I'm losing fat and gaining muscle. More importantly my easy runs are faster with the same effort from two weeks ago.

This week I'm shooting for 25-30 miles. This is an aggressive build but with my running background I know I can do it if I do it smart.

Afterwards Amy and I enjoyed Little Italy downtown San Diego and had such a good time.

Cheers - thanks for reading!

H2C training week 1

 Week one is in the books and it went as expected. It's never fun getting in shape. The runs feel terrible, energy levels are low, soreness is real and there's a constant mental battle to keep trusting the process. That's why this sport is amazing! It gets rid of the weak and rewards those that can push through mental and physical barriers.

Here's my stats for week 1:

5 runs, 16.1 miles, averaged 10:33 pace.

Best run was a 3.5 mile run at 9:20 pace which was at the beach. That run was cool because it's a perfect example to not trust your legs that first mile. I felt terrible and flat and then as the run progressed my legs came around and I finished strong.

Mission Beach Run

I wanted 20 miles for the week but ended up going on an impromptu camping trip with the fam. I'll take that over running any day!

This week I can already see a lot of improvement. Just went on a 6 mile run and averaged 9 min pace and last mile was 7:45. Fitness breakthroughs will happen quick from here on out. Up next is my first "race" in over a year! The Crown City 12k this Saturday in Coronado. This is just going to be a fun long run for me and my goal will be to just go 8:xx for 12k, get the miles in and watch Amy race for the first time in a LONG time for the 5k. Post race beers and a fun 4th of July weekend are in my near future! 

Happy 4th everyone, enjoy!

Stepping down from coaching and stepping into racing

What a fun five years it's been at Linfield. We set a bunch of school records, sent kids to state, sent kids to college and I learned a ton coaching high schoolers.

It all came at a cost though. I tend to go all out in my pursuits and this was no different. Basically practice Mon-Sat for 2-3 hours year round. This may not seem like a lot to some but when you have a wife + four little ones vying for your attention and juggling two other businesses and investing - it's A LOT!

My own personal racing and training pursuits were also put on the backburner. Over the past five years I've just had random bouts of training (swim/bike/run) and I actually did race a 5k in January 2020 and won the Masters division in 19:40 haha. Definitely my slowest victory but a win nonetheless! 

After stepping down from Linfield, I've had a change to revaluate my own fitness pursuits. With races popping up all over the place and being in a place financially where my family can do destination races, I am really excited to get back to it! Not to mention, Amy has been training over the past few months and is ready to jump back into racing too- and who knows maybe the other kids will want to race as well.

It all starts with the Hood to Coast relay. It's been a bucket list of mine for a long time and after my buddy Eric got into it a few years ago, I told him as soon as someone drops out - get me in. And this is the year! Late August I will be flying up to Portland and joining the reining Masters champions for H2C and I couldn't be more excited to get back to training and racing.

COVID lockdowns have definitely done a number on my fitness though lol. I sat little too much, ate a little too much, drank a little too much and gained a little too much! Right now I weigh 160 pounds which is not obese for my height by any means but I would like to lose 15 pounds before H2C. That's just a good racing weight for me - it has nothing to do with body image - I just know I race well around that weight and it's a good indicator (if I'm eating well) that I'm fit and ready to race fast again.

So I'm going to be documenting this little 9 week journey weekly, posting my training and random thoughts as more of a diary to look back on (which is why I created this blog in the first place) as we move closer to the race.

For reference of my laziness - here are my training stats this year so far:

January: 42 (total miles for the month haha)
February: 28
March: 22
April: 19
May: 23
June: 26 (so far)

Most of this is walking & jogging with the dog or training with clients and then an occasional solo run. I'm averaging like 10 minute miles. Occasionally I'll test myself (like last week) and drop 7:20 miles just to see how it feels (not good haha). The bottom line is, I'm not super out of shape - just need to lose some fat, eat better and get really consistent training schedule.

I like building training blueprints and this is what it will look like:

Week 1 (this week): 5-6 runs @ 30 min run/jog/walks. Just putting in 30 mins consistently and jogging or walking as to not overdue it and stay injury free. Mileage around 20-25 miles/week

Week 2: 5-6 runs @ 30 min run/jogs. If feeling good, throwing in a 45 min "long run." Mileage 25-30

Weeks 3-7: 6-12 runs (lots of short double days) @ 30-45 min runs and incorporating 150m uphill/downhill strides twice/week. 45-75 min long run. Mileage 30-40.

Weeks 8-9: Start to incorporate track work/intervals, long runs up to 12-15 miles total and mileage up around 40-50 miles/week.

90% of this work will just be all low impact aerobic work. So many people think you need to run fast all the time to be fast (not true). I'll be incorporating a ton of prehab work in there along with strength training so I can stay healthy. I wouldn't recommend this plan for everyone. I have 30 years of running experience (wow, I'm old haha) so I know my body well and know when to back off or pour on.

I'll race three legs at H2C and probably will be around the 12-16 range in total miles. If all goes to plan and I stay healthy and execute this plan I expect to go from averaging 10 miles right now for 3 miles total to being able to do 12-16ish (split up in 3) around 6 min pace.

Think I can do it?? Follow along and see. Thanks for reading!