Feb. 28 through March 6

Monday Feb. 28: lifted in the early AM. My buddy, who is a strength and conditioning specialist, customized a weight training workout for me. I did 2 sets of 15 reps of the following exercises: deep squats (at 95 lbs), hops (no weight), bench press (did reps of 8 on this one, at 115 lbs), leg press (at 90 lbs), pull downs (100 lbs), power press (with 25lb dumbells), sit-ups at steep incline (did reps of 20 on this one), step ups (with 25 lb dumbbells). Overall felt good. My heart rate was up and I probably could have gone a third set. Took two scoops of Recoverite afterwards.

Ran 4 miles over the noon hour. Felt great. Total time of 29:20 for an avg pace of 7:19 per mile. Avg. heart rate of 168. I defintiely pushed it more today, but I felt good. Each mile was quicker than the previous mile.  For more info, click here.

Tues. March 1: Did sprint work this morning at the local track. Ran two 1-mile sprints, with a half-mile walk in between the sprints. First mile was 6:18. Second was 6:39. Total workout time was 22:39. My heart rate peaked at 188! For more info, click here.

Wed. March 2: Ran 4 miles over the noon hour. I felt just okay. My inner & upper hamstrings are still sore/tender from lifting and sprinting. Took me 30:00 to run the 4 miles, at an avg pace of 7:30 per mile, with an avg heart rate of 167.  For more info click here.

Thurs. March 3: Lifted in the AM. Did squat jumps (3 sets of 15 at 85 lbs.), push-ups (2 sets of at 15 reps), squat press (2 sets of 15 w/ 20 lb. dumbells), pull-ups (2 sets of sets of 4), sitting calf raises (3 sets of 15 at 25 lbs.), and a gnarly ab workout. Took two scoops of Recoverite afterwards.

Did my hill workout over the noon hour. I did 9 loops, each a third of a mile. So, 3 miles total. Elevation gain of 1309, elevation loss of 1366. Power hiked up, ran down. Legs felt pretty good, considering I lifted this morning.

Sat. March 5: Ran 14 miles on the local "Alien Run Bike Trail." It is a mountain bike trail, but makes for a great running trail. A very beautiful area and enjoyable run.  Took me 2:25 to do the 14 miles for an avg of around 10:20 per mile.  Took two scoops of Recoverite afterwards and an ice bath for 10 minutes. Felt fine Sunday.  Todays run was after driving to Monticello (2.5 hours), coaching wrestling (which means standing or kneeling all day), and driving back from Monticello (2.5 hours). So, it was a good test of my endurance to run after the earlier events of the day.