See BamaDave Run (and Lift)

[BamaDave]

Bill, from your neck of the woods, hang a right in North Georgia and you land where I live! It ain't much different. When you get back in the remote hills around here, it can be hard to believe what you see sometimes as far as how people live.

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SUN. 4.2.06
LONG RUN

DISTANCE: 15.55 miles
TIME: 2:10:10
AVE. PACE: 8:22/mile

(Does anyone else think the looks more like an "I'm just sittin' here dreamin' about you" emoticon more so than an eye-roller emoticon?? )

It's almost sauna-like here today, as I expected (75 to 80 with high humidity -- more like a Summer morning). I was kind of slow getting started due to leg soreness and fatigue from yesterday. Then I ran pretty well for awhile. Almost three miles of nasty rolling hills starting at 5.5. Those went really well overall. I started a 600 foot incline around the 10 mile point. That went pretty slow. I walked briefly about halfway up - then had to walk again a couple of times near the top. By that point, I was getting pretty badly dehydrated. Ran down the mountain okay, but still kind of sluggish. Then several more walk breaks for the final couple of miles. I noticed that I was weaving at one point! Oh well, I knew this was coming after how dehydrated I got yesterday on the 6.2 miler. My shoes were still soaked this AM from yesterday's run. I'm going to have to do a better job with hydration on these warm weather long runs. I brought 24 ounces of Accelerade with me on my fuel belt, but I think started drinking it too late (about 8.5 miles in), and it's just not enough for me. I need to drive the course before I run and plant some water or electrolyte drink along the route.

[twinsavsvikingsfan]

Man, I just can't get over those hills! What belt do you have? Would you recommend it? BTW, we may get some snow the next couple nights.

[BamaDave]

Snow!!! I don't want snow but am looking forward to some mornings in the 40's this week. That will be nice!

I have an Amphipod Fuel Belt that I can put four 8 ounce bottles on - plus it came with a small pouch, which is good for stashing gels or pepper spray for dogs (I occasionally have to spray one -- there are lots of loose dogs here). I like it a lot - the bottle are designed to minimize any bouncing effect. It definitely comes in handy for long runs and hot weather.

[Mahler]

Dave,
I run a 2.5 mile course a few times a week. I can't imagine what it would be like to run a long run like you do on a regular basis. Damn.

[BamaDave]

Thanks, Mahler... It's an adaptation thing... sorta like adapting to be able to do 365 pound deadlifts!

I had a pretty poor recovery from my Sunday run. I was having some mild involuntary muscle spasms (in my fingers -- I get these every once in awhile) and fairly frequent heart palpitations Sunday night into Monday morning. The heart palpitations were extrasystoles, which are single, very forceful heartbeats that are scary but not harmful and are caused by heartbeat mistiming. Both of these things can be traced to electrolyte imbalances, so I think it just took me until midday Monday to recover from dehydrating on Sunday. I drank 24 ounces of Accelerade right after my run on Sunday and ate well the rest of the day, but I guess I didn't do enough to recover. My legs were really sore all day Monday as well. I feel normal today and plan to work out tonight with a run on Wednesday AM.

[Bill2380]

Sometimes on a real nice day I get the urge to go for a run. I usually fight the urge because it hurts my knees and feet and I get bored easily. Now that I've read your recent posts I have even more compelling reasons not to go: loose dogs, heart palpitations and most importantly, sodomy by hillbillies. I think I'll stick to the treadmill in my climate controlled basement until I toughen up a bit.

[BamaDave]

LOL, Bill!! I'm glad to motivate you to run!! Of course we don't really have sodomy in Alabama. Even between consenting heterosexuals, that would be a crime punishable by electrocution!

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TUES. 4.4.06
PM WORKOUT

A. BURGENER WARMUP EXERCISES - 60# - 4 sets

B. SNATCHES: 6x70; 5x90; 4x100; 4x100; 1x110 (F-2); 2x110; 1x120; 1x125

C. BENCH PRESS: 7x140; 4x175; 4x175; 3x175

D. OVERHEAD SQUATS: 4x100; 3x100; 2x110; 2x115

E. MILITARY PRESS: 3x115; 3x115; 3x115

F. WEIGHTED SIT-UPS: +50# - 30 reps

G. KNEES-to-ELBOWS: +20# ankle wts: 9 reps; 5 reps

Did some snatches for the first time in several weeks. The 120 and 125 were pretty sloppy. If I would get down lower, I could probably move up the weight. I'm still not too confident on these, especially after almost throwing my shoulder out a couple of months ago when doing them.

Bench presses were weak - maybe the snatches weakened them?

Concentrated on getting down really low on the O/H squats. It's really hard to push out. I failed on these with being able to keep the bar overhead.

Military Presses = weak, but my shoulders were done before I even got here. I probably need to walk around with a barbell over my head to strengthen my upper body. Maybe I should incorporate that into running.
After feeling like crap on Sunday and early Monday, I can definitely feel the rest associated with tapering by now!

[kmwest]

Dave, only twelve days until Boston. Just in case you forgot. If I can be near a computer periodically, I'll try to track your progress throughout the race on the BAA website using your bib #.

[BamaDave]

I think that's really cool that the Boston runners can be tracked during the race. I have to let my Dad know about that. I think I'm okay on the taper - I didn't do any heavy duty leg stuff, and my mileage reduction is on target. Although I have to admit, I overdid it on Sat - Sun.

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WED. 4.5.06
AM RUN

TOTAL DISTANCE: 8.55 miles
TOTAL TIME: 56:36

WORKOUT:

~1 mile ramp-up to tempo pace: 7:14 (Forerunner was off - this was actually ~1.05 miles instead of 1.0 -- which makes ave. pace ~ 6:53 -- dang, I thought I was going to try to be less anal! )

5 miles at tempo pace... LAP TIMES:

6:00
6:15
6:21
6:21
6:13

Time for 5-miles @ tempo - 31:10 (6:14 ave pace)
** Turning back on anal retentiveness -- the Forerunner was still losing some distance on this 5 mile stretch. So probably a little bit over 5-miles.

~1.5 miles at slower pace for recovery -- 11:45 (7:50 ave pace) -- including a little bit of walking at end of tempo miles plus big incline

1.0 miles fast pace to end of course -- 6:23

I shaved off a couple of tempo miles versus last week. Much of the course was the same. This went really well and made up for Sunday. I was at 38:24 for the first 6.05 to 6.1 miles, including the first mile ramp-up to tempo pace. That's right around my current 10K PR race pace, so I'm happy about that for a training run. I definitely need to put in some more speed work after Boston and try to find a 10K to run in May.

[BamaDave]

THURS. 4.6.06
PM RUN

DISTANCE: 6.4 miles
TIME: 47:49
AVE. PACE: 7:28/mile

Had to do the urban run thang between work and my daughter's soccer practice. Roughly the first half was mostly uphill (to top of Red Mountain in Birmingham and then along the top of the ridge), from fairly steep stuff to low grade. Then the second half was back down the mountain and through some fairly level to rolling areas. So that was pretty easy. I was a little sore from Wednesday, but actually 7:28 average pace isn't too bad for me for a run in the city.

[BamaDave]

FRI. 4.7.06
PM WORKOUT

A. FRONT SQUATS: 8x120; 8x150; 8x160; 8x160; 5x175

B. DB ROWS - 2 ARMS @ same time: 65# each hand: 6/6/6/5

C. DIPS: +35 -- 7/6/5/5

D. PULLUPS: +25 -- 5/4/5/4

E. CORE:

1. BICYCLES: +20# ankle wts: 40 ea. side

2. HANGING LEG RAISES w/TWISTS (left-Center-right) +20# ankles: 18 (6 ea. position)

3. DB WOODCHOPPERS: 50# - 12 ea. side

4. WEIGHTED SIT-UPS: +50# - 20

My legs weren't feeling as rested as I would have liked at this point, so I opted for Front Squats versus heavier Back Squats for what will probably be the last of any significant lower body stuff until after Boston. Depth was nice and low. Felt pretty weak by the time I got to pullups.

Planning a 6-mile run with 4 x 0.75 miles at faster pace later today...

[Marykaa]

Hi BAMA DAVE, I'm always learning..

are Front Squats easier than Back Squats?

[BamaDave]

Hi Mary,

I think generally people find front squats a lot harder than back squats. It's a lot more difficult to keep proper form - it's much easier to tilt forward with the bar on your shoulders than with it on your back. Great exercise, though!

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SAT. 4.8.06
PM RUN

DISTANCE: 5.5 miles
TIME: 38:50
AVE. PACE: 7:03/mile

We had a very busy day, and I didn't get my run done until almost dark. I ate a lot of "party food" during the afternoon and decided not to run the 4x0.75 mile repeats. Even this run had me on the verge of puking!!! I usually don't have GI problems at all when running -- not fun. I was really tired as well - we were up half the night into Saturday AM due to a tornado threat, sirens blaring, etc.

My Sun to Sat weekly mileage totals have gone from 75 miles two weeks ago, to 52 last week, to 37 this past week. For the upcoming week preceding Boston, I only plan to run 3 times -- probably 17 or 18 total miles.

[twinsavsvikingsfan]

My Sun to Sat weekly mileage totals have gone from 75 miles two weeks ago, to 52 last week, to 37 this past week. For the upcoming week preceding Boston, I only plan to run 3 times -- probably 17 or 18 total miles.

Don't you just want to get out there and run or are you enjoying the rest?

Just another week or so! When are you getting to Boston? And will you stay and leave the day after?

[BamaDave]

I felt a little bit like a slacker this week with the 37 miles. This week will be the one where I really feel the taper and start to go crazy, thinking I'm losing fitness, gaining 10 pounds to slow me down even more, etc!!

My wife, Pam, and I get to Boston early Saturday afternoon. We'll have Sat. evening and all day Sunday to see the sights. Monday is the race, and then we leave out Tuesday morning. No way would I want to fly back the day of the race and deal with airports, etc!!

[BamaDave]

MON. 4.10.06
AM RUN

DISTANCE: 9.3 miles
TIME: 1:08:15
AVE. PACE: 7:20/mile

This one counts as my final "long run" before Boston. My legs didn't feel as light under me this morning as I would have liked one week out from the big day. Lots of climbing on this course, but I still would have preferred an easier feel to this one. I'm going to have to get a lot of rest this week!

[BamaDave]

TUES. 4.11.06
AM WORKOUT

A. PULLUPS: +30#: 7/5/5

B. BB MILITARY PRESS: 120#: 6/4/3

C. BENCH PRESS: 175#: 3/1 170#: 3

D. BENT OVER BB ROWS: 160#: 7/7/7

E. DIPS: +30#: 7/6/5

F. CORE:

1. WEIGHTED SIT-UPS: +50# -- 25

2. RUSSIAN TWISTS (feet elevated): +20# - 15/9

3. KNEES TO ELBOWS: 12/12

Bench press was pitiful this morning -- I'm not a big bench presser, but I'm irritated by my losses in this exercise, nevertheless.

Even though I ran a fairly long distance yesterday, I can really feel my legs "coming alive" today. Some hamstring soreness, but most other minor aches and pains have disappeared. I don't realize how tired my legs are all the time until I'm at the end of a tapering period.

I certainly am sleeping well these days - I hope that continues all the way through Sunday night. Probably not, though!!

I think my weight is holding reasonably steady so far through the taper. Over at RWOL, I feel like a porker. Over here, I feel scrawny. A guy I may run with for awhile at Boston posted today that he is 5'10" and 140 -- my age, too! I'm 5'11" and averaging 176 right now. I wish I could temporarily shed about 30 pounds for Monday. LOL!! I could dart through that course like a rocket!!!