SUMMARY, JULY 20-26, 2009

Daily Quote: "Once I went into Chinatown in San Francisco to buy a pair of T'ai Chi shoes. When I told the Chinese woman behind the counter what I wanted, she took one look at the running shoes I had on and said, 'I don't understand why Americans wear shoes like that...all they do is make your feet stupid.' What she was implying, in a not too subtle way, was the less shoe you have on your foot, the more your foot will educate your body to move correctly." --Danny Dreyer from his different running book, "Chi Running."


The more I read about minimalist shoes and/or barefoot running the more I understand how important it is to run with "less" shoes. Once I wear out both of my stability shoes, (New Balance 720 and NIKE Air Structures), I'll be purchasing minimalist shoes for my future training.

9:00 a.m. General Aerobic Run, 8 miles. Time, 1:17 Overall pace, 9:40 minute miles. 24 Hour Fitness Health Club on Alta Road/Rainbow. Life Fitness Treadmill set at a 1% grade. All eight miles at 6.2 mph (9:40 minute miles) Average heart rate 144 bpm. Cardiac Drift 150 bpm. (Note, my maximum heart rate is 190 bpm.) Shoes, Nike Air Structures. Body feels great, no aches nor pain and my next General Aerobic Run I'll run progressively, with slightly faster speed.



SUMMARY, JULY 20-26, 2009


Second week of base training and ran a total of 57 miles. I've continued my running streak and haven't had a day without running since February 14th. I plan on adding more mileage this week, but the following week will be a cut-back week as to recovery for the next four week cycle. Only 19 weeks until the 2009 Las Vegas Marathon.

No circuit weight training last week because I had hurt my right shoulder on the shoulder press machine. I attempted to lift weights yesterday, but shoulder is still sore. I'll try again next week to lift weights.

I lost THREE pounds last week!! I now weigh 173 pounds on a six foot frame. I usually strive to lose only one pound per week and don't know what contributed to the weight loss as my diet is pretty much the same and my running mileage wasn't drastically higher than the previous week. I might have lost upper body mass since I've had my shoulder injury two weeks ago and unable to do weight circuit training, which might have contributed to losing more weight than normal. My racing weight is 170 pounds and I'm close to reaching my goal weight.

My sleeping patterns have been good, especially since I haven't been lifting weights immediately after work, and I'm still sleeping 7-8 hours nightly. I've been able to get extra rest during the weekends due to long afternoon naps. My morning heart rates have been approximately 38-41 bpm.

A short recap of last week's training:
Monday: Hill Program, 6 miles.
Tuesday: Recovery Run, 5 miles.
Wednesday: Long Run, 16 miles.
Thursday: Recovery Run, 6 miles.
Friday: Medium Long Run, 10 miles.
Saturday: Recovery Run, 6 miles.
Sunday: General Aerobic Run, 8 miles.
Total Weekly Mileage: 57 miles.