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Crossfit:

Warmup
1 round of FGB, roughly one minute of max reps of each, empty Bars
Push Press
Box Jump
Row
SDHP
Wall Ball

Strength
Deck Press
5×5 (95#, 95#, 115#, 115#, 125#), 5×3 (125#, 125#, 125#)

MetCon
15 min EMOM
3 Stone to Shoulder (115lb stone)
6 Box Vaults (24″ box)

Lunch:
easy 3 mile run on treadmill (testing shin splints, yep still there), 8 min miles.
Stretching

Karate:
Lots of stretching
Semi-free sparring
Enpi, Jion (worked on the steps after the Migi Jodan Morote Uke). When moving into Gedan Juji Uke, my left heel was turning ever so slightly out of place. Then when landing in Gedan Juji Uke, my right foot was turned slightly to the right. Need to land with the toes pointed left. My Jodan Juji Uke, Migi Ura Zuki Hidari Age Uke, Migi Jodan Nagashi Uke, and Migi Jodan Ura Zuki were all too high, per Sensei’s instruction. I always thought these were blocks (or attacks) to the opponents face. Apparently not.

I didn’t prepare as I usually do for this event, because of shin splints that have been getting progressively worse this season. I hadn’t really done any runs longer than about 6 miles for 8 to 9 weeks. So, I was pleasantly surprised with my time of 1:31:48.

Since I knew I probably would not PR, I focused on my running form a lot during the race. I wore my CrossFit Nanos which have a much shorter heel, and tried to toe-strike during the whole race. I think I succeeded for the most part because after the race I had no hip soreness, and minimal knee tightness. However, my calves were screaming

Looking forward to the NYC marathon and the Trenton Half marathon this fall, when my shin splits have completely healed.

Today the Sconzo family ran the Action Karate 5k in Tyler State Park. The weather was just about perfect. It was just a little windy which made it feel cooler than it actually was.

The race started at 9am and there were about 150 competitors. At the start, Matthew ran out in a full-out sprint ahead of me. He held third place for about 600 meters. Once my shin splint numbed up a bit though, I gained on him and tapped him lovingly on the shoulder as I passed him. I was hoping he would keep pace with me and beat me, but the hills were tough on him. Also, he has not been training hard this season, while I have been doing speed workouts.

The first mile was blazing fast, with much downhill. I clocked it in under 6 minutes (about 5:50), but then the inclines came I could really feel those hills chewing up my pace, but I kept pushing.

Jeannie started toward the back, with a goal of finishing. This was a really tough course for her. In retrospect she said “If I had known about these hills, I would have sat this one out.” Kudos to her for completing the whole course, with a pretty respectable time considering the difficulty.

Unfortunately, Peter couldn’t run with us, though he was registered to. He needed to stay home and work on his awesome zebra art project. He spent so many hours through the weekend trying to fit in this project that demanded so much focus and dedication. I’m happy to say he finished the project and it looks awesome. Anyway, Matthew’s friend from Fisher Middle School joined us to take Peter’s spot. He finished just ahead of Matthew.

My time was about 20:10. Like I said, the hills were challenging. This put me in third place overall, and first in my age group. The two leaders were almost 2 minutes ahead of me. This is the kind of thing that happens in a new, small race. I wish I could run these all the time Matthew finished in about 23 or 24 minutes. The results are not posted at Pretzel City Sports yet. I think Jeannie finished in about 35 minutes.

Matthew placed second in his age group and took home a nice medal, as did I.

Nice race, and the mascot for Action Karate, a shark, chased us at the start of the race. I’ve done other races hosted by Pretzel City Sports, and they do a good job managing them. And that was the case with this one. Very well organized.

10 Mile Run at Mercer County Park with Gary (Francis joined in shortly after the tennis courts)

I focused on the POSE running method during this run. The pace was about 8:10 to 8:20. My shin splints (right leg) bothered me a lot the first two miles, then less the remainder of the run. After the run, my left knee was very tight again, and my right shin has been in pain all day. I’ve been icing the shin, and using the couch stretch to help my knee.

80 push-ups, 80 sit-ups, 80 second side-plank on each side.

Warm-up run before karate.
Karate at 7am: stretching, basics, then 1-step and semi-free sparring. During basics, we did lots of kicks, which was sure to effect my race performance today
During the sparring, we tried to defend using various kata techniques instead of the typical rising block or fore-arm blocks and counters. I used some foot retraction and opposite leg kicks, trying to land the kick before the attacker lands their strike. We also practiced submission moves.
Unsa kata: when dropping to the floor, bend the right leg underneath in order to reach forward with the subsequent kick. I’ve been keeping the leg straight, which doesn’t allow a far-reaching kick. Then, when switching from the right hip to the left, the switch must be more dynamic. I’ve been doing this too slow.

9am: Bordentown St. Patrick’s Day 5k
The first mile was 6:05, but my legs got heavy (probably from all the kicks at karate this morning), and the other miles were closer to 6:30. Finish time was 19:56 according to my Garmin. I placed 11th overall, 1st place in the 30-39 age group. I’ll probably do a separate blog post with more details about this race.

Late morning workout:
73 pushups, 73 situps, 73 second side plank on each side, 15 pull ups.

After I finished 7am karate class, I headed to Bordentown to meet up with Jeannie and the boys for the 9am race. I got to the Clara Barton gymnasium and found the family in line waiting to get race bibs. Matthew and Peter were running with me, but Jeannie had originally planned to work today, so she wasn’t signed up. The weather was just a tad chilly, but I knew once I started running I would feel great.

My legs and lower back were pretty sore going into this race. I did lots of kicks in karate class this morning, and crossfit workouts this week were intense as usual. I didn’t taper at all yesterday. In fact, I still ran to crossfit and back home, logging 7 miles. I also did my “March Pushup Madness” routine yesterday (and will need to do it later today as well).

The race started on Crosswicks St., then made two loops around Farnsworth, Courtland, Prince, and West Chestnut, finishing back on Crosswicks.

I didn’t have high hopes for this race given my shin splints and sore muscles and joints. However, I pushed hard in the first mile, then felt the issues in miles two and three. I probably went out a bit too fast, at 6:05 for the first mile, but it does include a downhill at the start. In mile two, my legs started feeling pretty heavy but I kept pushing. I managed to squeeze out a smile as I ran past Jeannie during the end of the first loop…

…but in the second loop at about mile 2.8, my form was not ideal and I was not smiling much anymore.

According to my Garmin watch, I crossed the finish line in 19:56. I was surprised to finish in under 20 minutes given my maladies and lack of proper taper. I can probably attribute that to all the short intense training bursts from CrossFit Mercer WODs.

Matthew had been hoping to break 22 minutes today, but he hasn’t been training for this 5k. He was pretty disappointed, but I think he did great considering his lack of training. And to boot, he placed second in his age group with the time of 22:49. Awesome!

After I crossed the finish line, I raced backwards along the course, snapping pictures of Matthew, and other friends, in my attempt to find Peter. I saw all the folks from Crossfit Mercer (Jen Soss, Donna, Jodi, Mark and Jen Costner, Patti, Rob D, etc), and John B, Angela M, and Neil Proshan. I found Peter on Prince St near Neil Proshan. He told me he hadn’t stopped to walk at all yet, and I was very proud of his efforts. I ran with him until about 0.25 miles from the finish, where I sprinted ahead to get some additional pictures of him approaching the finish. Looking at the results now, I can see that Neil finished at #427, while Peter finished at #395. So he essentially passed 32 people in the last mile. Nice job!

Here’s a shot of us that Jeannie took before the race:

The CrossFit Mercer crew did well too. Three of us placed: Jennifer Soss finished with a time of 22:38, slightly behind my friend John Beck (who is chasing a 20 minute 5k this year) and earned second place in her age group. Donna also placed second in her age group, with a time of 29:45. And my official time was 19:57, first place in my age group, 11th place overall.

Here’s the team from CrossFit Mercer (minus Patti who had left):

Here’s the course (click for a larger version):

And here are the results for 2013.

I prefer to do my long runs in the morning, and on Sundays I have the opportunity to join the HATRs for some company. I usually get 10 to 12 miles done before 7am, then meet the other runners at 7am in the East Picnic Area of Mercer County Park. But this weekend, I couldn’t be away from home in the morning. So, I had to do an afternoon run, going it alone.

I decided to run from my house in Ewing to the canal path on Lower Ferry Road, then to Lambertville and back. This was about 22 miles.

Now that I’m on the Paleo diet, I shouldn’t be eating things like Gu or Shot Blocks, etc. Also, I didn’t have my normal peanut-butter toast in the morning, or additional carbs the day before. Now, I’m not a crazy carb-loader, but I do typically consume a healthy portion the day before long runs. So, this run was going to be a serious test.

And… I failed. I was properly hydrated, but not properly fueled. I was strong until mile 14, when I started to feel a loss of energy. At the pace I ran, that shouldn’t have happened so soon. At mile 15, I felt completely energy-depleted. The last 7 to 8 miles were completely horrible. I struggled through them as if I was gutting out the last few miles of a marathon race. So, I’ll need to do lots of research on fueling for endurance events while on the paleo diet.

In my quest to follow the paleo diet, and still run long distances, I need to determine good foods to eat during long training runs or races without resorting back to GUs or Shot Blocks, etc. I found this list of 10 natural race food alternatives from active.com.

Race nutrition can be an experiment if you aim to fuel with whole foods as much as possible. It’s important to look for food that is natural, compact, easy to carry, and tastes good. These 10 race foods fit those criteria. Give them a try when training for your next race.

1. Dates

These can be used for making your own energy bars, or can be eaten on their own. They contain natural sugars and simple carbs that will keep you running over long distances. They’re also easy to chew.

More: 5 Foods to Try This Spring

2. 100% Natural Coconut Water

This drink provides the electrolytes your body needs to replenish the minerals you lose through sweat. It also tastes great and is extremely refreshing on a run.

3. Homemade Baby Food

Use a variety of fruits and vegetables to make your own “baby” race food. Anything is fair game, so get creative and use your favorite fresh ingredients to blend flavors that you will love. Just mush everything up so it’s easy to digest. You can pack it in small Ziploc bags and just suck it out like a gel when you’re ready to fuel.

More: How to Fuel Your Body for Energy

4. Sunflower Seed Butter

This has a great nutty taste and is a source of both healthy fat and protein. Sometimes you can find these in small gel-like packs that are easy to carry. Otherwise you can pack your own in small Ziploc bags. A good brand is Sunbutter, which is completely peanut-free and gluten-free.

5. Frozen Grapes

Frozen grapes are just as sweet as candy. They cool your mouth and they’re easy to carry. Freeze small bags of grapes and carry them on your long runs.

More: 5 Best Carbs for Athletes

6. Homemade Gels

Making your own gel is fun and saves you money. Here’s a recipe to try.

Combine:

7 and 1/3 tablespoons of honey
3/4 teaspoons of blackstrap molasses
1/10 teaspoons of table salt

7. Watermelon Dipped in Salt

The watermelon rehydrates you while the salt replenishes your electrolytes. This is a refreshing and satisfying snack that can immediately boost your energy and help you pick up the pace.

More: 7 New Super Foods

8. Dehydrated Fruit

I bought my own dehydrator so I could make a lot more of this. Dehydrating fruit allows it to keep longer and it’s easier to carry. I also find it sometimes makes fruit taste sweeter. With a dehydrator you can make your own natural fruit rolls, and you can even dehydrate meats and vegetables. You could almost carry entire meals. The possibilities are endless.

9. Honey

Use raw, natural honey as a sugar source. Your body will appreciate the fuel and the good quality honey can also boost your immune system.

More: Eat Green to Run Better This Spring

10. Navitas Power Snacks

These are just a combination of fruit and nuts. They come in small bite sized pieces and they are gluten-free and dairy-free. They’re less chewy than a bar, but not as watery as a gel. I enjoy the consistency and the flavors are delicious.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different foods during training and long runs. On race day, always stick to what you know will work.

This year I’ve joined with Hamilton Area Trail Runs to do the NJ River to Sea Relay on Saturday, August 4, 2012. Seven runners will trek 92 miles across New Jersey from Milford to Manasquan. This event is a lot of fun.

The team is running to raise money to help Thea Danze and other children affected with brain tumors.  The goal is $2,500 and we need your help. Thea, now age 5, lives in Robbinsville with her parents, Trisha and Jeff, and her baby sister, Lilly. In October of 2007, Thea was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and a brain tumor. She was just 4 months old. She underwent 3 brain surgeries that first week, including a nine-hour operation to resect the tumor. They got about 50%. A few days later, she suffered a stroke that left her with right-sided hemiparesis and a long road of therapy.

To date, Thea has had 43 months of chemotherapy, countless MRIs, several hospitalizations and hundreds of hours of PT, OT and speech therapy. But she is one of the lucky ones. Despite all the vomiting and hair loss, her side effects, thus far, have been pretty minimal compared to many other kids with brain tumors. Many other families are not so lucky. Please read more about Thea’s and the funraising effort Thea’s star of hope and if you are moved by her story, please make a donation: http://www.giveforward.com/theasstarofhope

You can also read more about the Hamilton Area Trail Runs “Run for Thea” here: http://www.hamiltonareatrailruns.com/run-for-thea.html

Thank you in advance!

It’s January 31, 2012 and I just made a log entry into runningahead.com for today’s nine mile run. My total distance for the month of January is 173.4 miles. This is something new for me, because in all the years I’ve been running I never tracked my accumulated distances so closely. I can thank Dimitri Bilenkin for his great example of how to maintain a detailed running log.

I didn’t start the year off using RunningAhead. Rather, I was using a paper-bound log I received in my goodie bag from the Asbury Park Marathon last year. It’s a nice book, however, not being able to share and compare my workouts easily with other people detracts from its social score. About mid-way through January I saw Dimitri’s log and thought, “I could really use this.” So I transferred my paper log to the RunningAhead website and have been an avid user since. Now it’s easy to send someone a link to one of my workouts or running plans by pointing them to the website. Also, the tools, graphs, and summaries on the RunningAhead site are pretty useful. I tried RunningAhead about a year ago but didn’t stick with it.  This year I am more consistent. I am also making use of the “Training Plans” feature to prepare for the Pocono Mountain Marathon: Run for the Red, on May 20. I’m using the Pfitzinger 18 week/70mi peak training plan, which is nicely laid out in my calendar log along with my completed workouts.

I mention this mileage statistic because it’s a personal record. I don’t believe I’ve ever run this many miles in a single month. With this much mileage I am trying to take precautions to avoid injury. I’m continuing my cross-training workouts, karate classes, and miscellaneous fitness activities like: pushups, stretching, and foam/pvc rolling. I believe the foam/pvc rolling is making a big difference in recovery times from my runs. For instance, I ran 17 miles on Sunday afternoon and Monday I was up and about with very little soreness. In the past, runs like that had left me walking around like a zombie the day after.

Next up: set a weekly record in mileage and continue my running streak since December 30, 2011. By continuing my planned activities, I should exceed 58 miles this week.