Monday, January 11, 2016
6:07 am – about 2100 revolutions on the Elliptical in 20:00, 5/8 resistance.
It feels so easy after riding 3/4 resistance for a couple days. Not exactly sure on the revolution count. The display was turning off and on early. It started working normally after a few minutes. I estimated based on that reading and average rpm.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016
8:08 am – 3262 revolutions on the Elliptical in 30:10, 5/8 resistance
Planned 20 minutes, but was in a bit of a groove, so I added another 10. Really turned up the cadence for the last 90 seconds, nearly too fast. I almost lost control and had to grab on to the desk.

3:11 pm –  6.18 mi, 512 ft gain, 1:08:39. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 red #5.
Took a logging road farther than I had before. Hit the end and saw another across a clear cut. Crossed the clear cut and explored a bit. It turned out to be farther out than I had been on another road. I ran out a bit farther on that road before turning back. There were several more out past there to explore still.
I did a few fartleks to get my legs turning over and extend my range of motion. It felt a bit smoother than my gait has been feeling. I’ve felt a little joggy since coming back, like I’m bouncing just a little too much. I can’t tell if anything is different, though.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016
10:00 am – 2279 revolutions on the Elliptical in 20:00, 5/8 resistance
Fast last 90 seconds again.

2:44 pm –  7.02 mi, 815 ft gain, 1:10:36. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5.
I wanted to explore the area I found yesterday, but there was someone else parked at that gate, and I didn’t have leashes for the dogs with me. So I went to the next gate.
My hip flexors were a little sore to start, but they loosened up after a little bit. My lower legs were sore between my shins and calves again. It got a little worse for about the first 4 mi, then started to get a better.
I started to feel pretty comfortable towards the end. I bombed down a couple of the hills and finished with a kick at the end. My legs felt great running fast. I definitely need to work on range of motion more. The elliptical won’t help with that.

Thursday, January 14, 2016
6:30 am – 2165 revolutions on the Elliptical in 20:00, 5/8 resistance
I wanted to go fast for the last 90 seconds, but wasn’t paying attention. I ended up doing the last 60 seconds.

2:27 pm – 7.30 mi, 1048 ft gain, 1:24:04. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #2, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 red #6.
I was a little less sore starting out today, but my legs were more worn out by the end than yesterday. I’m still making progress though.
I also reminded myself that being comfortable in training won’t lead to much improvement. I’m not going to start pushing myself hard right away. I’ll still build up to it.

Friday, January 15, 2016
8:28 am – 2249 revolutions on the Elliptical in 20:00, 5/8 resistance
Turned on and reset the display, then it just shut off when I started and didn’t come back on. The display is not located in an ideal spot, directly under my front. So when I sweat, it drips straight down on and around it. I covered it with some clear plastic. Hopefully it starts working again, and that solves the issue.
A few hours later, I tried the display again and my full ride from this morning showed up. The LCD screen just wasn’t working at the time.

3:16 pm – 11.51 mi, 816 ft gain, 1:41:45, through town to WFSP RR Grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #6.
The lower leg discomfort is slowly getting better. I felt pretty good after I warmed up about 2 miles in. I got a little bit of a late start. I don’t remember exactly why I wanted to get back so soon, but I pressed the pass after the turn around. I had 9 min/mi pace as sort of a loose goal for the run. I had to make up time on the return portion, since I took it fairly easy on the uphill in the park.
I was well ahead of pace by the time I got to the RR crossing near home. However, there was a train in the way. I decided to run up the road and get a little bit more distance while I waited.  I ended up with about 0.5 mi extra.
I almost felt like I did before the back injury on the last half of the run. It was easier to hold a faster pace than it has been. And I didn’t have to make such a conscious effort to hold it.
After I got home, I think I was too sedentary right afterwards. My right hip flexor tightened and got really sore. It hurt to raise my right let.

Saturday, January 16, 2016
9:17 am – 2159 revolutions on the Elliptical in 20:00, 5/8 resistance
I guess I had some rather restful sleep. My hip flexor felt just fine when I woke up this morning. When I went to bed, it felt much like when I pulled it last year.
The elliptical ride went great. The display worked just fine, and the plastic kept my sweat off it. I wasn’t paying attention and only caught the time with 30 seconds to go to pick up the speed. I like to do the last 90 seconds.
I’ve started having my feet pointed ever so slightly out. When I had them straight forward with my heels and big toes against the inside lip of the tread, the top of my right foot would start to get sore after 10-15 minutes. With my feet turned just a little, so my big toes are maybe 1/2 inch from the side, that pain is gone.
2:41 pm – 11.03 mi, 775 ft gain, 1:46:59, through town to WFSP RR Grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #5
It was a toss up between doing the same run as yesterday and taking the dogs out to the tree farm. I went with a repeat of yesterday (minus the extra train distance).
I was dressed in compression shorts, tights, a long sleeve compression shirt, fleece beanie, gloves, my OR Helium 2 jacket and my hi-viz vest. I almost took the tights off, since it was a little warmer today than yesterday, and it wasn’t raining at the time. But it had been pouring down earlier today, and it looked like it was going to rain again. A couple miles in, I wasn’t sure it was the right choice, as I was getting quite warm. I took off the hat, rolled up the shirt sleeves, then rolled up the jacket sleeves and unzipped the jacket. Finally, I took my gloves off. I ended up putting the gloves on and taking them off a couple times.
My legs weren’t really that sore today, but they were just a little heavy. It wasn’t enough to slow me down much, but it took a little more conscious effort to hold a given pace. It took about 4 miles to warm up today. My legs felt a bit better after that.
I made a short pit stop at restroom at the end of the RR Grade trail. Then it started raining. In the trees up there, it wasn’t that bad, and it wasn’t raining very hard yet. But I was getting wet. I kept the gloves on after that and started wearing the jacket’s hood off and on. After a while, I rolled the jacket sleeves back down. My arms were already soaked, so it didn’t keep me dry, but it did help with warmth. I also zipped up the jacket.
By about 8 mi, I was glad I didn’t down dress before starting. I was completely soaked when I got home. The jacket didn’t work that well, mostly because I had it unzipped some of the time and the hood off most of the time.
After I got out of the wet clothes, I felt that warm muscle pump that you get after a good run. It felt great.

Sunday, January 17, 2016
10:11 am – 2119 revolutions on the Elliptical in 20:00, 5/8 resistance.
The ridges and bumps on the treads are starting to bother my feet, mostly my big toes. I think I’m going to find some sort of thin padding or something to put over them.
I didn’t focus as much on keeping up the cadence. I also tried to drink some of my smoothie while riding, and it didn’t work very well. I had to slow way down, almost to a stop. I just waited until I was done riding to finish drinking it. I still went fast for the last 90 seconds.
3:22 pm – 8.33 mi, 751 ft gain, 1:28:03 , Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 red #6.
I was going to run around the May Creek loop on the roads by myself, but I decided to take the dogs out and head for the tree farm.
I definitely felt the increase in mileage this week in my legs, but it didn’t impact my pace too much. I wanted to check out those roads I found on Tuesday. None of the spur roads out there went very far before they ended. I hoped they were longer or connected to others.
I wanted at least 7 mi to hit 50 for the week, the first time since September. Even taking all the spur roads I hadn’t been on before, I was going to come up a little short. On the way back, rather than just doing a short out and back or backtracking to make it up, I decided to take the loop instead of the more direct route across Olney creek. My lower legs felt a little better by then, and I could hold a decent pace fine, but I definitely felt some fatigue from the week. At some point in the past, that would have gotten me down. Now, however, I see it as a sign of rebuilding my strength. It’s progress, and I like it. But I’m still going to take tomorrow off from running.
Weekly totals: Running – 51.37 mi, 4716 ft elevation gain. Elliptical – 2:30:10, 16333 revolutions.