ADELANTE!

Friday, 7:30 AM, 9-29-2006 47'28" for about 7 Miles in Heritage Park Big-time recovery run, but I was still covering ground well. My hamstrings are both absolutely trashed due to some new squats I have incorporated in order to fully heal my left adductor. That's how weak I am, is that body-weight (actually, I hold two GU2O cannisters in my hands- probably weigh 2 lbs. each) squats tear me up. They were very tender and weak and caused me not to push the pace at all, which I did not mind. A good run, and am hopefully getting healthy and getting my dedication back. Thursday, 7:15 PM, 9-28-2006 45'36" for about 7 Miles at Memorial Park Solid run. I really opened up on this run. I started out for 24-minutes, passed my starting point in about 21' and then turned around at 24-minutes to retrace my steps. I really opened it up tonight in the darkness. My hamstrings were trashed, but they held up to the pace and I really felt like I was moving. "Moving" right

Tuesday, 9-26-2006 46'17" for 7 Miles around Heritage Park Much better run. Maybe I can run. Maybe I am a runner. What a difference between today and yesterday, muscle-wise. Today I was much more in control of my running, able to run strongly and fluidly throughout the course. I even covered more distance, about an extra half mile. Better pace as well. Anyway, I still must have bronchitis. I feel like a smoker when I finish, as I just have this horrible cough when I finish running. Anyhow, adductor was much less painful as well. I will not be fast until 2007, I believe. Oh well, at least we shall see.

Monday, 9-25-2006 48' for about 7 Miles around Heritage Park Alright, where do I begin? Well, I went to the Dr. on Friday after a week or so of refusing to admit that I was sick. However, as 10 days passed from my initial sickness, I soon came to the conclusion that I either have sinusitis or bronchitis or a little of both. So, after my last run of 30' on Wednesday of last week, my focus was on to rebuild my immune system by resting. And so I rested the best I could, coughing all day long and enduring sinus pain and headache after headache. Oh, the Dr. What a joke. I ended up getting on webmd.com and selecting a reasonably priced doctor from their list, as I do not have health insurance. Anyhow, by the time the Dr. sees me I know I am in for a disappointment. The guy goes on to question if I either have AIDS, am a homosexual, or participate in recreational drug use. I'm like, buddy, I'm a serious runner and I am sick. He reasons that he rarely sees men as thin as I am a

Mon (11), 9 miles in 59'32" Tue (12), 9.5 miles in 1h Wed (13), 9 miles in 1h00'42" Thu (14), 9.5 miles in 1h01'07" Fri (15), 8.5 miles in 59'49" Sat (16), 5 km in 16'05" Sun (17), Rest Total, 50 Miles Proposed Week VI Mon (18), AM: 1h at 6'40-7'05" pace / PM: 45' at 6'40-7'05" pace Tue (19), 20' warm-up, 10 km in 34'-34'20" Wed (20), AM: 1h at 6'40-7'05" pace / PM: 45' at 6'40-7'05" pace Thu (21), 1h30' progression (30' at 6'25, 30' at 6'10, 30' at 5'55" pace) Fri (22), AM: 1h at 6'40-7'05" pace / PM: 45' at 6'40-7'05 pace Sat (23), 20' warm-up, 12 km progression (10'30-10'20-10'10"-10') Sun (24), 2h at Huntsville State Park Total, 100 Miles

Sunday, 9-17-2006 Rest Opted to rest today, as I have been ill with flu-like symptoms for well over a week now and it is bothering me. Usually I am quick to recover, but I continue with chills, coughing, fever, and the such. Perhaps I'm dying. Perla says she may have found a grey hair on my head. I always swore that when I did, in fact, start getting grey hair it would be a sign to me that my body was aging and rebelling, and thus I could be less serious about my running. Yesterday's race proved worthwhile in establishing some new time goals for workouts and some new pace objectives. For example, my original goal schedule was oriented around 3'20" per kilometer for a marathon, or 2h18' pace. Now, I am back at my personal best of 2h31' or 3'35" per kilometer. This has impacted my training significantly. For example, recovery runs are now established at 6'40-7'05" pace, whereas before I hoping for 6'15-6'40" pace. I will still c

Saturday, 9-16-2006 16'05" for 5th Place Overall (1st in 20-29 AG) Absolutely horrible. I guess if one lines up with 1) flu-like symptoms, 2) an injury, and 3) absolutely no work done in the last 4 weeks in terms of being capable of racing a 5 km, than I guess what you get is what I ran today. Oh, and throw in the horrendous weather (Chad) of 80-degrees and humid (74 dew point)... and you get sh!t. I was amazed however, that I was able to move into second place overall after the short Mile in 4'17". I was blown away that I could be ahead of the likes of Brett Riley, someone who is in the peak of marathon training. Anyhow, I could never close on Junior Mitchell (bandit) and soon everyone passed me back, starting with Francisco Perez, Brett Riley, Gerardo Mora (who ran great), and John Yoder. I was expecting Bittinger to pass me at any second, but I truly could have cared less. I was wasted. I was like an inflated balloon starting out, slowly losing air and just waiting

Friday, 8-15-2006 59'49" for 8.5 Miles in Heritage Park Still am sick. I cannot get over this sickness and it is bothering me. I just have chills all day and feel muggy and drained. The run was okay at best. I am not liking recovery runs and prefer to really go up-tempo, but I have no energy. The roads were hard, but no real issues with the course. I prefer grass and hills and trails, but I needed some extra rest and got it. However, it did not help. Still sick. Race tomorrow.

Thursday, 9-14-2006 1h01'07" for 9.5 Miles around Allen Parkway I am one of two things lately, 1) sick, and 2) stressed. I still continue to have a low-grade fever and suffer from a cough, full-body aches, and dizziness. Also, I am amazingly stressed financially and that is truly affecting how I feel. Perhaps I'm suffering from a slight bought of depression, but I finish these efforts absolutely wasted. Anyhow, today the weather was much better and the workout was the same: 15' warm-up, followed by 45' up-tempo with the goal right under 6' pace on the hills. I finally felt pretty solid physically, as Dr. Sanders nailed my injury yesterday with his creative hip flexor ART and I have felt a noticeable "release" in my groin. Anyhow, I did not have the energy to attack the run, perhaps because I do have a race approaching on Saturday, but moreso because I have absolutely no energy. I was surprised that I passed the first loop in 31'30", which is

Wednesday, 9-13-2006 1h00'42" for 9 Miles on Memorial Park Once again was scheduled for 90', so I awoke at 5 AM and headed out to Memorial Park. Amazing the traffic at 6 in the morning. Took me 50' to drive to Memorial. Anyway, once out there I was feeling pretty good in the legs, so I headed off in attempt to run my hour and a half. Completed 2 miles and heading my way is Sean Wade. He asks me if I just started and we headed off together. Had a great conversation about his running and racing, injuries and competition, workouts and everything. We kept a good clip and I had no real issues with my adductor other than it was progressively tighter, but it never stopped me, which made me real happy. After the run, I headed off to Dr. Sanders and got some excellent treatment in which I felt some improvement in my hip flexor. That's how important he is, that I will dig into debt to get treatment and decided that 30' more of running was not more important than 30'

Tuesday, 9-12-2006 1h for 9.5 Miles on Allen Parkway Holy cow. After spending close to an hour in traffic, I lined up for my traditional up-tempo run on Allen Parkway. I had a good night of sleep and was feeling ready to run, although my legs have still been a bit achy. I started out easily, feeling pretty good and passing through 2 miles in 14' or so. Another minute later I began my up-tempo that would last for 45' and hopefully take me two times around the 4.75 mile hilly loop. I was rolling nicely by 20-25' but soon realized that I was going to struggle a little. Passed through the loop in 31'. Promising and only 7" slower than last time, but more importantly, over 30' faster than last Tuesday. However, within 10' I was getting wasted. I stopped to stretch and then kept going, finally stopping again to stretch and realizing that I was having a tough time getting started again. My breathing was heavy and my legs were fried. I finished the run with some ti

Monday, 9-11-2006 59'32" for about 9 Miles in Heritage Park Opted not to travel to Memorial this morning as I had a lot of housework to do, including going grocery shopping. Also, am looking for ways to cut-down on my eating expenses on days I run at Memorial. Anyway, I headed towards my Heritage Park mile loop and ran around there for 30' until I headed back home and finished up. Still feel quite sick, it's just a feeling. Was coughing up a lung most of the run. I am just dead-tired all of the time. No time to rest, and yet I am not doing doubles yet! Am truly looking forward to my non-working weekends. Anyway, a very mechanically efficient run with minor aches and pains, considering it was all on crowned roads and sidewalks. Need more strengthening, however. Good run.

Mon (4), 8.5 miles easy in 1h Tue (5), 9.5 mile steady-state in 1h01'10" Wed (6), 8 miles easy in 1h Thu (7), 9.75 miles steady-state in 1h Fri (8), 9 miles easy in 1h Sat (9), 9 mile progression in 57'43" Sun (10), 14 miles in 1h30' Total, 67 miles Proposed Week V Mon (11), 1h recovery at 6'15-6'40" pace Tue (12), 15' warm-up, 45' at 5'45-5'55" pace Wed (13), 1h30' recovery at 6'15-6'40" pace Thu (14), 15' warm-up, 45' at 5'45-5'55" pace Fri (15), 1h recovery at 6'15-6'40" pace Sat (16), 15' warm-up, 5 km time trial, 15' cool-down Sun (17), 1h30' on hills at 6'15-6'40" pace Total, 70 miles

Sunday, 9-10-2006 1h30' for almost 14 Miles in Huntsville State Park Made a late-call decision with Chad to repeat last week and head up to Huntsville. Last week was such a great run that we wanted to replicate the effort. However, there had been rain the forecast, so we were afraid of a muddy trail, but when we got there we knew we were in for some good conditions, as the trails did not receive any rain. Started out in a good rhythm and before I knew it the clocked had turned 45. I finished climbing the hill that I was running, took a leak, and then headed back to retrace my steps. I was definitely a bit more fatigued this time around, as I had been covering more ground, but I pressed on at a solid pace, dealing with the fatigue and hills and terrain the best I could. Got to the car with a couple of minutes to spare and ran around the parking lot until I hit 1h30'. Once again, only real tightness in the groin towards the very end of the run. Saturday, 9-09-2006 57'43"

Friday, 9-08-2006 1h for 9 Miles around Memorial Park Put in more distance today, as I was feeling stronger, yet tried to control the run to make sure it was still recovery, which it was. However, my adductor attachment was definitely achy, so I did not like that. My illness has made me not have much energy for other than running and working, so I have been skimping on my drills. Am scheduled for some much-needed Pilates tonight. Hope it comes through.

Thursday, 9-07-2006 1h for 9.75 Miles on Allen Parkway, including 9.5 Miles in 59'15" Still sick. Not much energy, but I knew I would have a better run than yesterday, as I did feel a tiny bit better. Did have some sensation in my adductor/groin, which I did not like (just slight discomfort), but it did not bother me on the run. This was the same run I ran on Tuesday, a 15' warm-up followed by 45' of steady state or up-tempo running. This time I passed through the first loop (4.75 miles), with warm-up, in 30'53" or about 6'30" pace. I ran my second loop in 28'22" (5'58" pace), which put me at 59'15" for two loops or 9.5 miles of hills at 6'15" pace. Hit an intermediate 4.75 miles at 28'35" which was 6'01" pace. Anyhow, enough about numbers, but it was a solid effort. I cannot wait until I am 100% healthy and not sick to test out this course again, because it is tough and 6'15" pace for abo

Wednesday, 9-06-2006 1h for 8 Miles at Memorial Park Ever heard the term "dragging @ss"? Well, that was me this morning. I went to bed early last night to try and beat this flu illness I picked up, but I awoke with a fever and completely achy. I truly felt like sweating out my fever and staying in bed, but a 90' run beckoned me. After much debate that I would not get any faster staying in bed, I decided to heat out. I managed a painfully slow 8 mile run around Memorial Park, just putting in the time. My kidneys ache, my body is full of chills. All I want to do is lay down and go to sleep, but here I am, working 10-7. I adjusted my 1h30' run for a simple 1h run, the only compromise I would make all morning, and that adjustment gave me time for some ART therapy with Dr. Sanders, which was nice. My injury is definitely on the righteous path to health... I am completely useless today.

Mon (28), 4.5 miles in 31'01 Tue (29), 7 miles in 43'50" Wed (30), 8.5 miles in 1h Thu (31), 7.5 milesin 43'31" Fri (1), 4.5 miles in 29'46" Sat (2), 8 miles in 45' Sun (3), 13 miles in 1h30' Total, 53 Miles Proposed Week IV Mon (4), 1h at 6'15-6'40" pace Tue (5), 15' warm-up + 45' at 5'45-5'55" pace Wed (6), 1h30' at 6'15-6'40" pace Thu (7), 15' warm-up + 45' at 5'45-5'55" pace Fri (8), 1h at 6'15-6'40" pace Sat (9), 1h progression (20' at 6'05", 20' at 5'50", 20' at 5'35 pace) Sun (10), 1h30' at 6'15-6'45 pace Total, @ 75 Miles

Tuesday, 9-05-2006 1h01'10" for 9.5 Miles (2 Loops) around Allen Parkway consisting of a 15' warm-up + 45' up-tempo running Ugh.. woke up barely able to even swallow and with a mild fever. Madelyn has been sick with a bad cough and a runny nose, but finally, with the stress of work and training, my body has broken down. Did not want to get out of bed today, but at 5:30 AM I awoke and started my day. The goal of this run was a 15' warm-up followed by 45' at 5'45-5'55" pace. I chose to complete this run on Allen Parkway's hilly 4.75 mile loop, as I figured I would hit 9.5 miles in an hour. I was close.. If I was a battery, I would have needed to have been replaced prior to this run. My energy level was just above a three-day old sprayed cockroach in the garage... just nervous twitchings were any sign that I was alive. I needed to be in bed.. Anyhow, I headed off on the course feeling quite crappy, loving that I made it harder on myself running on

Monday, 9-04-2006 1h for 8.5 Miles at Memorial Park Pretty tired, although not as much physically (body/muscle). Played some late night poker with Derek and family (leading in chips most of the night) so I got to bed late, but awoke on schedule and headed out to Memorial in some nice weather. However, I feel I am getting sick, mostly due in part to finally getting some serious training in combination with work. Anyhow, a very good run, as I only had some weakness in the left leg. Felt great post-run, but I need to work on the another area other than adductor. Almost more of a hamstring issue now. We shall see. Hopefully I will get off of work early today on this most blessed Labor Day...

Sunday, 9-03-2006 1h30' on Rolling Hills at Huntsville State Park for 13 Miles Gotta thank Chad for making this trip a reality. He sure is the trooper. We headed out to Huntsville State Park, the training grounds of champions, early Sunday morning at 5:45 in the "Silver Bullet", Chad's powerful Audi A3. Anyhow, upon arriving at Huntsville, we found a very dry and crisp trail with very nice 75-degree weather. The goal for myself was 90', while Chad was heading out on an 18-miler, or two loops of my infamous rollercoaster course. Chad led the early going, but then I took over, leading us up the single track through Lower Earth and into Middle Earth. It was only until late in the Upper Crust that Chad fell back into his own rhythm and I ran onward. At close to 47', and once breaching a very big hill, I decided to double-back, while Chad would go on for a full loop. I felt stronger as the run went on, actually running phenomenally through a very dense section of t

Saturday, 9-02-2006 45' Progression (15" faster/mile, every 15') for 8 Miles at Seabrook Ugh.. almost injured myself again but it would have been well worth it. Showed up at Seabrook to run with Rudy and Chad, and lo-and-behold, Dr. John Hedengren shows up. So, while Rudy and John were planning on running long (about 12 miles), Chad and I were going to run a 45' progression, stepping down 15" per mile every 15'. My goal pace was 6'05-5'50-5'35" pace. However, John and Rudy being the All-Americans that they are (3 All-Americans, John being the sole Senior All-American, in one run, can't get better than that in Clear Lake), they decided to jump into the progression. So, we head off, John pushing the pace. By 10' I am feeling the strain a bit, as we are close to 6' miles. Feeling like I have to get working after 15', I up the pace, and as Chad drops, Rudy and John, follow suit. John is just chatting away, but I am working hard, a

Friday, 9-01-2006 29'46" for 4.5 Miles around Heritage Park Ran my standard loop and focused on recovery and smooth running. My left hip flexor/adductor has been quite fatigued and over-worked, so an easy 30' run was very well received. Ran well, no major issues. Just need to focus on recovery for tomorrow's 45' progression.