Monday August 27 - Sunday September 2

Monday: 5 mile smooth run to Japan town and 1.5 mile walk, felt great.
Tuesday: Doctor's appointment, off from workout.
Wednesday: 13 mile hike across the Golden Gate Bridge to Rodeo Beach through the Headlands 50M coarse. Some of the trails are closed for construction so the coarse might be altered for this race. At mile 2 on the trail i felt a sharp pain on the side of my left knee and then 2 miles later on the right knee too. I had my protein shake w/chia seeds and a chocolate pastry and the pain went away.
Thursday: Off, will take a couple days off to alleviate the knee.
Friday: Off
Saturday: Boot camp and spin this morning with Mr Julia on boot, Stas on abdominals and John on spin. Mr Julia made us sweat with a varied routine incorporating not only out typical upper body workouts but, also leg workouts. Stas had no compassion on us and drained every drop of energy we had left over from Mr Julia's workouts. John was there to witness most of the routine and although didn't tell us, he waited about 15 minutes after the boot camp/abdominals. Most of the time we begin right after the workout. John was great like always but his class seemed like a piece of cake considering what we had just experienced. Excellent workout this morning.
Sunday: Off

Monday August 20 - Sunday August 26

Monday: 2 mile walk to Kabuki
Tuesday: 5.5 mile run in Glenn Park Canyon.
Wednesday: Ran to the gym (3.5) and did TRX and Spin tonight. Great sessions and great effort.
Thursday: 2.5 mile walk to the shop.
Friday: 2.7 mile run from the shop 22 minutes at 7:20 min/mile felt great.
Saturday: Ran to the gym and did boot Camp & Spin this morning. Great effort considering the 3.5 mile run to the gym prior. Walked to work after (1.5).
Sunday: 2.5 mile run from the shop.

totals: 
                Run: 15 miles
                Walk/hike: 6 miles
                Gym: 1 TRX, 2 spin, 1 boot camp
                Bike: 2 sessions of both classes.

Monday August 13 - Sunday August 19

Monday: 2 mile run to CCSF Track and a session of dynamic stretches.
Tuesday: 2 mile run at CCSF Track and a dynamic stretch session.
Wednesday: TRX & Spin, excellent workout. Great energy, great people, great effort.
Thursday: Walked to work on my minimalist shoes and worked with them all day (2.5 miles).
Friday: Walked to and from work on my minimalist shoes (5 miles)
Saturday: Boot Camp and spin this morning, EXCELLENT workout. My best effort in months considering my body was not responding well.
Sunday: Off

                   totals:
                                  Running: 4 miles
                                  Walking/Hiking: 7.5 miles
                                  Gym: 2 sessions of both classes
                                  Biking: 45 min. Spin

Monday August 6 - Sunday August 12

Monday: Off
Tuesday: Light run to stretch from the race on sunday.
Wednesday: Off, hanging out with Marcela.
Thursday: Off
Friday: Light run at Glen Park Canyon with Karla and Kat. 2 miles or so.
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 5 mile early walk home from Mike's place on Sunset.

Slow week following Steep Ravine, Recuperating and hosted Kathy this week.

Steep Ravine 50k

Started out as a nice cool foggy morning perfect for running. It was such the pleasant weather that i got in a good flow and left most of the other runners behind, the problem in that however was that i didn't know the trails around the Muir woods or Stinson Beach enough to be on the lead. What happened next is a blessing in disguise, i took a wrong turn about mile 14 and my race was over. I crossed the finish line at 4:46 minutes with 28 or so miles under my belt and a DNF "did not finish". I waited at the finish line for the 50k finishers and they got in at around 5:40, what a bummer for me and great for them.

What i learned from this is that i need to get better at doing my homework about the races as i register for them and not line toe to toe with the big dis-advantage of not knowing squat about the coarse to come.

The following are things to prepare for about a race:

• Study the trail maps weeks before the race if possible.
• Talk to the race directors before the race and confirm the coarse on the website.
• Get familiar with the trails as much as possible before the race and run these trails and especially the different turns and turnarounds. 

This has come at a good time as i would have been disappointed at this happening to me in the middle of say The North Face Endurance Challenge in December or the Mt. Diablo Challenge. Not to talk down about Coastal Trail Runs, Steep Ravine or Wendell and his races, they do a fantastic job at organizing these races for us to enjoy. I just say this because i see these two latter races as a bigger challenge for me at this point in my racing/running. Focusing on these two races this year, what i learned from this event is so valuable and is going to give me that much more experience on executing race strategy. 

The Running was excellent. I felt great, the course was a moderate to tough coarse for the area events and i think i felt very comfortable without experiencing any significant low points at any point on the race. At some points i even pushed-it up a notch because i felt the need for speed but it was a single random isolated time. 

Overall, great event, great coarse, good people. Thanks to Wendell, Coastal Trail Runs Race Director for the free t-shirt and the hot soup after the race. 

Credit to Coastal Trail Runs for the nice finish line picture.

Monday July 30 - Sunday August 5

Monday: 7 mile run from Whales Cove to North Peak of Pedro Mountain. Ran slower than normal on my way up the hill and bit faster on the down-hill. Felt ok, maybe a bit exhausted. For some reason my thyroid or something in my lower neck felt like it was closing up. It felt like sometimes when i drink pills with not enough water and the pill does not go down all the way and stays in the upper esophagus. Like that i felt like i had something i needed to get down with some water or as flem. A whole lot of flem kept coming out of there so i had get it out and spit it.
Tuesday: 5 mile run to and from the coffee shop. Felt good, nothing to point or worry about.
Wednesday: Ran to VM for TRX/Spin classes. 4.5 mile run at moderate speed. Felt great during Tony's TRX and John's spin. 15 minute ad-ductors stretch. Nothing important to point out, just business as usual.
Thursday: Walked to the coffee shop and back on my amphibians minimalist shoes on my way back (5 miles).
Friday: Off from activity, walked to Potrero and 24th st. (2 miles)today and to my surprise i felt a bit of tingling sensations on my VMO's. Never felt this before but due to the intensity of the last two weeks is understandable to feel this way.
Saturday:
Sunday: Steep Ravine 50k race (went off coarse and as a consequence got a DNF, did not finish). Completed 29 miles 

totals:
                             Running: 45.5 miles
                             Walking/hiking: 7 miles
                             Biking: 1 bike session at VM
                             Gym: 1 TRX, 1 spin sessions at VM

Monday July 23 -- Sunday July 29

Monday: 7 mile run from Whale's Cove to North Peak of Pedro Mountain, 1:14 minutes. 4 Mile hike to Coit Tower with sister and cousin.
Tuesday: 2.5 mile walk to the coffee shop.
Wednesday: Ran to Valencia Muscle (4.5 miles), and from bart station on my way home, for TRX & spin tonight. Had two excellent classes with Tony "the torture chamber" on TRX and John on spin. TRX was ok, i feel like i am better able to handle the exercises now unlike the first couple sessions. Tony i think has a lot to do with me pushing myself since he is such a great motivator, the class always goes by so fast with him. Spin with John was like always, challenging. I started off a bit tired with the known lactic acid creeping in my quads the first 10 minutes and then it went away. By 25 minutes i felt great with tons of energy. I feel like i pushed spin like i had not pushed in a couple weeks. Great feeling since i'm still on a no sugar or carb diet. Talked to John about no sugar & carb diet tonight and he advised me not to race on this diet. Just like i expect it, the body uses the stored carbs and fat on the body and when it runs out, it uses muscles tissue. This is where it causes injuries. John once more has proven to be a fantastic resource for my running, thank you John.
Thursday: Off
Friday: Off
Saturday: Ran to the gym for Boot Camp and Spin and back home through a steep mountain at Noe Valley. I think the estimated distance running was about 8 miles with a significantly steep elevation considering the kind of running i do here in the city. Boot camp was ok with Brandon for 30 minutes doing boot camp stuff and David taking over the second half with some core routines that are excellent. Spin was as always, awesome. Great effort and body felt great, no complaints. I just noticed i hardly talk about my knee anymore. That is great news, i want to do a bit more of the weigh training though. I'm 100% sure that was the key element to me getting healthy.
Sunday: 6.5 mile run 1:15 minutes tonight through the Noe Valley hills. These hills are great for training as they are steep and short. Felt great!

totals:
                Running: 25.5 miles
                Walking/Hiking: 6.5 miles
                Biking: 2 spin sessions
                Gym: 1 TRX, 1 boot camp, 2 spin sessions at VM