Mizuno Wave Ekiden Series Review

   I love the Mizuno Wave Universe series.  I have raced in the 3, 4, and 5, but the 4 is my all time favorite.  It was the perfect 5k racing shoe (in my humble opinion) at 3.9 ounces, a nice comfortable fit that could be dialed down and a really responsive feel.  The shoe disappeared off the feet and I used it as my racing shoe for over a year.  Mizuno decided to upgrade it to the Mizuno Wave Universe 5 (REVIEW) which was great, but not as good as the 4.  It didn't feel the same, wore out quickly... and I moved on.  I had always kept an eye on the Ekiden, but had never taken a chance on them.  Finally I made the move and was glad I did.  The Wave Ekiden is the Wave Universe 4 with just a hair more there.  And it a really cool Japanese racing flat.  I am also racing in the Adidas Takumi Sen 2 right now and I have to say, both of these shoes give the feel of high quality the second you put them on your feet.  Asia knows how to make really high quality and cool shoes, especially racing flats.  The Mizuno Wave Ekiden is no exception.

Sole:  I would describe the Wave Ekiden as the Mizuno Wave Universe 4 with just a little bit more underfoot.  I can feel that small increase in material and it definitely keeps your feet comfortable during races.  This is a shoe that easily handle 5k-10k and maybe even the half and full marathon.  It's not a super cushioned shoe, but there is just enough there that combined with the 4.7 ounce weight you will totally forget about your feet.  The grip is also much better on both road and XC/trail.  I have used this shoe on wet roads and an XC course with dirt, grass and trail.  The Wave Ekiden has performed very well on all of them.

Upper/Fit:  The upper is drool worthy.  It is extremely comfortable and high quality.  The upper completely disappears off your feet when running.  There is plenty of room for the toes and it is not a super tight fitting flat.  The shoe does really stay on to your feet, especially if you lace lock them (I do that with all my shoes).  The upper is not super thin, but there is just enough there that I don't think I'll ever worry about durability issues.  There is a small heel cup in the back, but it isn't noticeable and keeps your feet locked in.  The achilles tab is perfect.  It is very comfortable and I love the split for the achilles tendon.  More racing shoes need this!

I don't' know what else to say other than the fact that Mizuno nailed the fit of the shoe.

Responsiveness:  This is a fast racing flat.  It has a nice balance of pop and protection.  The Wave Universe 4 definitely has more pop, but lacks that extra bit of protection that allows this shoe to be used from the 5k to the half marathon and beyond.

Heel-Toe Drop/Ramp:  This is supposed to be a 6mm drop shoe and it feels somewhere in that 4-6mm range.  Just a hair more drop that seems to save your legs for longer races.  I can understand why elite Mizuno athletes can race in this shoe up to the marathon.

Durability:  The durability is decent.  It is a racing flat, but I think I can get over 150 miles in these.  Currently I'm at 82 miles and they look fine.  The upper looks exactly the same when I bought it and there is some, but not too much wear on the sole.  Way better than the Wave Universe 4 and 5.

Weight:  At 4.7 ounces, this shoe will disappear off your feet.  While the Universe 5 is almost 2 ounces lighter, I need to remind you of the amazing range of this shoe.  This is the only shoe I can think of that you could use up to a marathon that is under 5 ounces (again, your leg strength and endurance may vary).

Thoughts as a PT (Student):  I can see nothing wrong with this shoe as a racing flat.  Obviously I would not suggest training in it if you have biomechanical issues, but if I had known about this shoe during my super minimalist phase, this would have been on my feet all the time.  I really like the full ground contact which gives it a more stable ride (not supportive.  There is no medial posting in this shoe).  The upper is fantastic as I mentioned early and does not constrict the toes at all.  The toe spring isn't too bad either.  The heel counter isn't hard or soft, but provides just enough to keep your rearfoot relatively locked in.  I have no problems with this shoe.

Final Thoughts:  I love this shoe.  It is the Wave Universe 4 with just a bit more.  I have enjoyed racing in these and have won 2/3 races I've used them for.  I will continue to use them and hope to get my feet and legs strong enough to use them in my second half marathon (whenever that ends up being).  I have never had a more comfortable short distance racing flat in my life and will continue to use these.  Additionally, although I don't usually comment on this, they look awesome.  Again... the developers in Asia know how to make racing flats.  They just make you feel fast.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to Tack On!

These shoes were a personal purchase and I put at least 100 miles on every pair of trainers and 50 miles on every pair of racing flats before I review them.  Currently I have 82 miles on my pair.

As always, my views are my own.  

-Matt Klein, SPT

*Images obtained from the Mizuno Running USA website.  Head down to your local run specialty store to check them out!

Training Log 10/19 to 10/25

Another week in the books!  I'm taking a break from racing to put in some solid work.  I may transition to running longer races (10k-HM) for my goal races.  Or I will just continue doing what I've been doing.  We'll see what happens.  Had several high quality workouts this week ranging from an introductory 4 mile tempo run to an awesome Fartlek on Friday.

SUN Total: 20.31 miles
AM: 14.04 mile Long Run averaging 6:58.
PM: 6.26 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:29 with a friend.

MON Total: 11.04 miles
AM: 6.01 mile Recovery Run averaging 6:50 pace.  Accidentally woke up late so I had to cut it short.
PM: 5.01 mile run.  Speed Workout 8x100m All Out Sprints with 300m rest.  Definitely need to do some true speed work, so this was a little experiment.  Made sure to take at least ~2ish minutes rest between reps.  Really got the legs moving after feeling sluggish this morning.

TUES Total: 13.85 miles
AM: 6.01 miles.  4 Mile Tempo Run averaging 5:34:  5:45, 5:30, 5:29, 5:33.  Definitely should have had more than a 1.5 mile warm-up, but was time crunched due to an 8 AM class.  Other than that this was some great quality put in for my first tempo run in a while.
PM 1: 4.04 mile Recovery Run averaging 6:52 pace.
PM 2: 3.8 mile Shake-Out Jog averaging 7:55 pace.  Run with a friend.  A decent 3-a-day!

WED Total: 10.99 miles
AM: 7.47 miles.  Short Hill Repeats 8x20 second repeats with 2 min rest.  Great workout.  Felt fast despite yesterday.
PM: 3.52 mile Shake-Out Jog averaging 7:27 pace.  Legs a bit tired from the last three days.

THUR Total: 11.19 miles
AM: 7.59 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:16 pace.
PM: 3.6 mile Shake-Out Jog averaging 7:34 pace.  Legs are tired.

FRI Total: 13.89 miles
AM:  8.88 miles.  Fartlek 5x3min ON 2min Off in trainers.  This was a fantastic workout.  Definitely doing all my longer intervals as fartleks from now on.  Didn't worry about pace and just focused on effort.  More of my future work will be based on time.
PM: 4.01 mile Recovery Run averaging 6:41 pace.  I'm feeling really good today!

SAT Total: 7 miles
AM: 7 mile Horrible Run averaging 7:26.  Extremely nauseous and sick.  Bad headache but still went for a run.  Definitely a recovery day today.
PM:  Nothing.  Still nauseous/sick.  Recovering.

Total Mileage: 87.27 miles
Shoes used: Brooks Adrenaline 14, Brooks Ravenna 5 (transition full time to this shoe as my trainer) and the Brooks ST 5 (Tempo Run and Sprints)

So other than Saturday this week was awesome.  Two great workouts with two awesome speed/strength workouts.  I really like this schedule and may keep it for the next few weeks.  I'm not really sure about my racing plans other than probably going after the Into The Wild 12k Championships in November and maybe the Holiday Half Marathon in Portland in December.  I am going to start doing longer tempos to get ready, but mostly I just want to get my body a little more used to those longer distances (again).

Thanks for reading and don't forget to Tack On!

-Matthew Klein, SPT

Asics DS Racer 10 Initial Review and Return

I'm going to try something new.  I'm going to start posting initial reviews and the reasons why I return shoes just to get my thoughts out there.  I try a large number of shoes on out of curiosity and hope that they will live up to the hype that companies put behind them.  I also win a good number of races that offer free shoes as the top prize, so additionally I try shoes on trying to pick that one.  Most of the time I end up taking the first one back because I am both curious and picky even after 1-2 hours in the store.   Additionally I try on and end up returning most of the shoes I get from Running Warehouse (yes... I have taken thorough advantage of their free shipping and return policy.  I never take the shoes out on the road though and keep the testing to the carpet and my apartment hallway only).  So instead of just returning them without reason, I'm going to post my thoughts about them.  Maybe something I don't like someone else will and they'll try the shoe.  Or maybe this will serve as a warning and stop someone else who shares my feelings from wasting their time.  Or maybe I'm just looking for a reason for more posts.

On deck first for this round of Initial Review and Return we have the Asics DS Racer 10.

Intro:  I really wanted to like this shoe.  I've been having some stability needs recently due to a neglect of my Peroneus Longus and Posterior Tibialis muscles.  These two muscles are very important in maintaining arch strength and should be kept strong.  I pronate heavily and tweaked my left Peroneus Longus muscle a few weeks ago running in a great but unstable and very neutral shoe while neglecting my foot strengthening routine.  Long story short I'm back trying in stability shoes until I get this under control.  I thought the Asics DS Racer 10 would be perfect for my racing needs having some medial posting and weighing only 6.4 ounces.  It is currently the lightest stability racing shoe on the market right now with the next lightest being the Fastwitch 6 (Review).  I'd hope the combination of mild medial posting and an 8mm drop would take some load off my mildly irritated PL and give me a fast responsive shoe for racing while I strengthened my ankles.  The result was not what I'd hoped for.

Sole/Ride: The sole had major potential.  The initial feel was actually really good!  I liked the springy feel of the sole and the duromax support was present but unobtrusive on my foot.  The 8mm drop felt perfect (actually felt more like 6-7 because of heel compression.... not that 1-2mm matters).  When I ran a few steps though, I immediately noticed how jarring the transition of the shoe was.  Heel strikers beware, this shoe does not transition well.  I actually noticed this when I tried the Asics DS Trainer 19 as well.  Asics just doesn't have the nice rounded heels like Adidas, Brooks, Saucony, etc.  Initial contact is fairly jarring and I don't like that.  Now maybe that breaks in with use and the shoe becomes more smooth with some wear, but I don't want to be out $110 to find out.

    Another issue I had with the sole is that the supposedly durable Asics High Abrasion Rubber (AHAR) seemed to be wearing out a bit even with a bit of jogging on the carpet and back and forth down the hallways of my apartment building!  Now I realize racing flats are expensive due to the work to get them so lightweight, but this isn't a sub 4 ounce shoe.  I usually get ~200 miles about of Brooks T7 Racers (Review) which are very similar to these in regards to weight.  My initial experiences with the Asics DS Racer 10 is that they would not make it that long.  Now I could be totally wrong, but that is what my gut, mind and legs are telling me.

Upper/Fit: Another set of major problems.  The upper is extremely stiff, it tapers way to fast on the lateral forefoot and bunches badly over the toes.  The toe bunching would normally go away with breaking in the shoe, but based on how stiff the upper is I have my doubts.  The taper issue however,  will probably not go away.  The lateral forefoot tapers really fast and hits my 4th toe in such a way that I am thoroughly afraid of losing a toenail and a lot of blood attempting a 4-8 mile tempo run or any kind of decent length workout (maybe that's why the shoe is red?).
     Additionally, the achilles tab does not have the nice split that most shoes have and digs into the back of my achilles tendon.  This is a bit nitpicky since I have been racing quite a bit in the Adidas Takumi Sen 2 (Review soon) which has something similar but does not come up quite as high.  The Takumi Sen 2 achilles tab did not bother me initially and never has.  Not sure what would happen with the DS Racer 10.

Reason for Return:  As I mentioned, the ride was not smooth, the upper didn't fit well and was really stiff and durability do not look like it would be good.  Not something I would expect from a $110 shoe.  I applaud Asics for getting a stability racing flat down to 6.4 ounces, but they need to smooth out the ride and upper.  If that happens then they will have a winner.  For now though I'm going to pass.

I'm not trying to scare you away from this shoe.  I highly suggest you try it on if it does fit your foot and you do like the ride.  The Asics DS Racer 10 is the lightest shoe with stability and if that's you need you might as well try it on!

Thanks for reading and don't forget to Tack On!

All thoughts are my own.

-Matthew Klein, SPT

Disclaimer: These shoes were a personal purchase from Running Warehouse and were returned.  I only ran on the carpet and the hallways of my apartment to keep the shoes in good enough condition to be returned.  My thoughts are based on 4 years working in running specialty stores and experience with more shoes than I can count.  If I ever receive the shoes for free I will put them through their full paces, but as a graduate student with little money I have to be careful with my shoe purchases.  Thank you for reading.

*Images obtained from the Asics America website.

Training Log 10/12 to 10/18

Another week in the  books.  Had a bit of a calf injury right after the Chapman U 5k last Saturday (seems to be an irritation of the insertion of the left achilles tendon on the posterior lateral side) which also happened last year around this time.  It's not bad and has not stopped me from running, mostly because I went back to my trusty Brooks Adrenaline GTS 14s (Review Here) and they have kept my ankles/achilles happy.  Interestingly enough, when this happened last year I got my first pair of Adrenalines and was able to keep training.  Beside the fact that I have been messing around in very neutral and unstable shoes (Adidas Glide Boosts, which I love, but are probably what caused this because of the instability in my ankles which I have not addressed.  I know I should be training in supportive shoes and racing in neutral shoes, but I have a hard time following my own directions), I was also doing fairly hard interval training at that time as well.  This has made me rethink this 6 week isolated training plan I've been following of doing long runs, then hills, then intervals.  Other than being boring, doing only intervals has injured me before.  Luckily this time I know enough as a 2nd DPT student to treat myself well enough to keep training, however in the last year this has sidelined me twice where I was not able to run for a week.  I am not usually injury prone, but now that I am on my own training wise, I am beginning to learn what works for my body and what doesn't.  The conclusion I've come to is that my body tends to like a variety of things with a focus on tempo runs, hill repeats of different varieties, and short reps like 150-300s for speed.  Intervals are to be sprinkled in their sparingly.  Last time I did this I ran 15:13 on a legit course (Magic Shoe) almost out of the blue when I didn't think I was in that kind of shape.  So instead of hoping for immediate results following 18 weeks of some set plan with little variation and not hitting all the bases, I'm going to settle into doing what hopefully works for me.  I know I won't see immediate results, but 2-3 years down the line I'm hoping for big things if I just put in the work.

Who knows.  I may change my mind as I am prone to do.  If that happens, at least you'll get to read about something interesting!

Anyway, here's what happened last week.

SUN Total: 22.96 miles
AM:  15.01 mile Long Run averaging 7:32 pace.  A casual long recovery run with a friend.  A bit sore from the Chapman U 5k and the workouts I did immediately after.  Cautious of the left achilles.
PM: 7.95 mile Easy Recovery Run averaging 8:58 pace.  Easy Run with a female classmate.  Accidentally ended up making the run longer than it was supposed to be.  Achilles doing ok on the run.  Tight after.

MON Total: 13.11 miles
AM: 8.09 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:06 pace.  Legs remember the Adrenaline.  I love this shoe.
PM: 5.02 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:21 pace.  Legs tired, probably from running 23 miles Sunday.....

TUES Total 12.42 miles

AM: 7.41 miles.  30 minute Informal Fartlek.  This is one of my favorite workouts.  No time constraints, just focusing on my body, breathing and rhythm.  I go when I feel good, rest when I don't.  Another workout that has paid big dividends in the past.  I'll progress this up to 50 minutes through the next month.  Today felt awesome.  Very smooth even running in 11 ounce stability shoes.  Always amazed that the Adrenaline can handle these workouts well.

PM: 5.01 mile Shake Out Run averaging 7:03 pace.  Legs great.  Had to take a break from study for my neuro exam tomorrow.

WED Total: 16.1 miles

AM 1:  4 mile Shake Out Run averaging 7:10 pace.  Pre-exam run.

PM 1: 9.01 mile Progression Run.  This came from exam frustration and was not planned.  My splits for the run were 7:30, 7:13, 6:42, 6:57, 6:17, 5:33, 5:45, 5:38, 5:32.  Really did some work the last 4 miles.  Also done in the Adrenalines.  I need more workouts like this.  That was actually some decent quality after yesterday!

PM 2: 3.1 mile Shake Out Run averaging 8:06 pace.  Easy run with a female friend.

THUR Total: 12.03 miles

AM: 8.01 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:10 pace.  Legs tired and stiff.  Not surprising.
PM: 4.02 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:13 pace.  Legs loosening up a bit.

FRI Total: 6.07 miles.

AM: 6.07 mile Pre-Race run averaging 7:02 pace.
PM:  Nothing.  Rest.

SAT Total: 11 miles

AM: APU Homecoming 5k: 1st place in 15:06.  Actual course length was 2.97 miles.  Didn't have any competition for this race.  First two miles were nice with gradual long uphills and downhills.  The last mile was through Azusa's campus with a ton of quick turns.  Still managed to negative split the race (or I should say tempo run).  5:14, 5:05, 4:47 for last 0.97 mile even through those turns.  11 miles total.  Decided not to do a second workout after and just let my body recover.  It's been a rough week mentally and physically from my neuro exam.
PM: Rest and beer.

Total Weekly Mileage:  93.7 miles.
Shoes Used: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 14 (Training/Workouts) and Adidas Takumi Sen 2 (Race)

So that's what happened!  My whole goal for the race was to win and get the free pair of shoes that were being offered to the top overall male and female runners.  Definitely going to race to race from here on out.  I've mentioned this a bit over the last few weeks, but it is so much more fun race for a win than a time.  I have wasted too much energy over time.  If I do happen to get into a fast race and PR, so be it.  Not going to lose sleep over it.

Excited to get some tempo runs in and do more long informal fartleks like I used to.  Excited for the future!

Thanks for reading and don't forget to Tack On!

-Matthew Klein, SPT.

Training Log 10/5 to 10/11

As promised earlier, I am getting back into posting my weekly training logs.  This week went really well although I probably over trained just a little bit with two 20 mile days.  It's all about long term improvement so whatever.  Here is what happened last week:

SUN: 19.53 miles
AM:  14.02 mile Long Run averaging 7:37 pace.  Did 6.6 miles with a female friend of mine.
PM:  5.51 mile Recovery Run w/ another buddy of mine.  This includes 6x150m strides.

MON:  12.05 miles
AM: 8.02 mile Normal Run averaging 6:57 pace.  Legs felt oddly good today.
PM:  4.03 mile Shake Out Jog averaging 7:29.  Easy study break run.

TUES: 20.35 miles
AM:  6 mile Easy Run averaging 7:06 pace.  Right before my exam
NOON:  6.05 mile Easy run averaging 7:31 pace.  Right after my exam
PM: INTERVALS 10x550m @1:39-1:40 w/ 70 seconds rest.  1:38, 1:41, 1:39, 1:41, 1:39, 1:40, 1:39, 1:40, 1:39, 1:40.  This was an awesome workout done at 7:30 at night.  I could not see my watch in the dark during the repeats, so I had no idea what my splits were.  However I hit them pretty much right where I wanted to and was really happy to see that after I finished.  I can't believe I did this workout as part of a triple today.  Absolutely awesome day.  Also I did well on my exam.  8.3 miles for this run.

WED:  10.01 miles
AM: 10.01 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:06 pace.  Ran 6.6 miles with a friend.  Legs feeling ok... which is weird after yesterday.
PM:  Playing it smart and did nothing.  Fell asleep

THUR: 13.04 miles
AM:  7.01 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:06 pace.  Legs ok.
PM:  6.03 mile Recovery Run Averaging 7:18 pace.  Legs a bit tired.

FRI:  6.01 miles
AM:  6.01 mile Pre Race Run averaging 6:47 pace.  I don't know why the hell I run my pre-race runs so quickly.  It happens way too frequently....
PM:  Nothing.  Watched new show Gotham.  Really tired

SAT:  12.57 miles
AM:  Chapman University 5k: 2nd Place in 15:31 on a slightly long course (I had 3.15 miles).  This course had +10 sharp turns on it, so not the fastest course.  I played it smart, hung with the lead pack and made a huge surge with a mile to go.  Thought I had it but one of the Cal Coast masters runners was able to come back at me and I had nothing left.  Definitely a battle the last quarter mile before he got me.  This was a great race that I learned a great deal from.  After the race I did a 15 minute tempo run averaging 5:23 pace (2.78 miles) and then 8x110m sprint strides.  A ton of quality in one day.  Despite getting 2nd, I'm happy with how this went.  I'm just coming off of hill workouts and still have a ways to go in regards to speed over the next few weeks.  The 5k was part of this workout and it went well!
PM:  Nothing.  Studied, ate Chinese food and a doughnut.  Now my stomach hurts.  Going to have to make sure I take a dump before my long run tomorrow or there will be trouble.

Total:  93.56 miles.  Great week with extremely high quality workouts on Tuesday and Saturday.  I just have to keep this up!  This is the second week of interval training and I'll probably do 2-3 more before moving on.  I feel like intervals are different from hills and base building in that it's better to error on the side of not doing too much so as not to burn out.  So far I've done 6 weeks of long runs and tempos, 6 weeks of hill workouts and 2 weeks of intervals in this training cycle.  I think I'm going to have the interval session a little shorter just to see what happens.  Also because I'm craving a long tempo run right now.  This is all one big experiment.  Curious to see what happens.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to Tack On!

-Matthew Klein, SPT

Klein Energy Bites Recipe

     Being a graduate student, I don't have a ton of funds on my hands.  In fact they are pretty limited.  Hence why I race so much, because that allows me to (hopefully) win training shoes with a $20-30  investment.  Additionally I am a big fan of doing and creating things yourself.  If I could make my own training shoes, I would.  Which is why I hope to do some side work developing shoes for a running company on the side of being a Doctor of Physical Therapy in the future.
 
   One of the ways I do things on my own is creating my own energy bars.  I started with Kleinbars (RECIPE) a few years ago in college because Clif Bars were too expensive and I wanted to be able to have a similar product.  It took a good amount of time and tweaking (most of the original batches tasted like sh*t because I put way too much cocoa powder in the recipe.  Lesson finally learned) but they eventually turned into a really good product.

    Fast forward to graduate school where I now am more tired and lazy (Kleinbars only take 30ish minutes to make.  That's not that long... but I'm lazy).  I generally don't have a wide variety of ingredients at my disposal because my kitchen is stocked with the essentials and not too much else.  So I began the journey to create a bar/quick snack that I could take either before I ran early in the morning or as a quick snack throughout the day.  I have learned the hard way about not having something in your stomach before morning runs due to some pretty horrible experiences almost passing out.  Also because I'm diving deeper into Exercise Physiology and Therapeutic Exercise in DPT school.  If you don't have some kind of carbohydrate in your system before you exercise early in the morning, your body will use some of your precious lean body mass (skeletal muscle) in order to fuel itself for exercise.  Normally if you are fueled, this occurs after ~60 minutes of exercise, hence the purpose of gels and during exercise nutrition.  Without fuel, it happens almost immediately.  Having some carbohydrate in your system prevents/delays your body from breaking down proteins into their basic building blocks, amino acids, which can then be used for energy.  That's not good.  You want to save your lean body mass because that is what keeps your metabolism high and it's what makes you strong.  That's what your body will go for in the morning if you run while fasting.  Now, that doesn't mean you have to eat a full meal and then go run.  My stomach can't handle running hard right after a large meal, so I usually have a small snack and then head out the door.

Anyway, because I like things simple, I wanted to see what I could make from basic ingredients.  After some experimenting, I actually have something pretty good!  I call them, "Klein Bites" because you can roll them into little bite sized servings as quick snacks.  I generally leave them in one giant  clump and just pull off bites.

The recipe only has 5 ingredients and all you have to do is mix and freeze them.

In a large bowl, combine the following:

2 cups Old Fashion Oats
3/4 cup Peanut Butter (Get the good kinds without Hydrogenated Oils).
1/3-1/2 cup Honey
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 teaspoons of Vanilla

Mix them until all 5 ingredients have been thoroughly blended together.  Then stick the container in the freezer for 30-45 minutes and you should have this:

From here you can either take the time to make little snack sized balls of this stuff and put them on a cookie sheet and/or plate.... or you could just leave the whole thing in the bowl.  I just leave the mixture in the freezer to make sure it stays cold and take chunks off.

Try it out and let me know what you think!  There are many ways you could make this creation way more interesting with dried fruit, chocolate chips, protein powder, seeds, nuts and more.  I just keep it simple.  This is the stuff that fuels my morning runs and I enjoy it.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to Tack On!

-Matthew Klein, SPT

Training Log 9/14 to 10/4

So I was supposed to post my weekly training.... every week.  Let's see if I can get back on that.  DPT school has been pretty busy with at least one exam every week in addition to all the other assignments, quizzes and studying I have to do.  So I've been a little preoccupied.  However, I'm going to try to keep on posting weekly updates.  So I'm going to post the last month of training in one go here.  I finished up 6 weeks of hill works and have transitioned into intervals.  Curious to see what happens at the end of this training cycle as it's the first one I've really done since college!

So here's what I've been doing the last (almost) month.

9/14 to 9/20

SUN Total: 21.57 miles
AM: 15.19 mile Long Run averaging 7:18 per mile.  Hot as hell (97 degrees) because I started late...
PM: 6.38 mile  Shake Out Run with a friend of mine.  Legs tired from the morning

MON Total: 12.11 miles
AM:  8.57 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:05 per mile.  Nothing remarkable.
PM:  3.54 Shake Out Jog averaging 7:29.  Legs still a bit tired from Sunday

TUES Total: 13.02 miles
AM: 8 miles: Hill Repeats 10x200m Uphill and 10x200m Downhill alternating between the two with 100m rest.  Went really well.  Definitely seeing some benefit from the hill workouts
PM: 5.02 mile Shake Out Jog averaging 7:34 per mile.  Legs tired.

WED Total: 14.04 miles
AM: 10.01 mile recovery run w/ 4 miles w/ a friend.  Average 7:13 pace.  Legs doing ok.
PM: 4.03 mile Shake Out Jog averaging 7:16.

THU Total: 12.02 miles
AM:  8 miles: Hill Down-Ups 16x210m.  200m with 100m downhill and then immediately 100m uphill w/ 100m rest between reps.  I love this workout because it messes with my body and forces it to adapt to the change of downhill and then uphill.
PM: 4.02 mile Shake Out Jog averaging 7:16 miles.

FRI Total: 11.1 miles
AM: 7.01 miles averaging 6:31 pace.  Legs feeling good today.
PM: 4.09 miles averaging 6:44 pace.  Legs feeling good today.  Reading to hammer tomorrow

SAT Total: 9.02
AM: 9.01 miles.  Uphill Trail Tempo:  3.55 miles in 28 minutes w/ 1700ft elevation gain.  Averaged 7:40 pace.  Very happy with this.  Hurt like hell, but ran ~14 seconds per mile faster than when I did this last time.  Did this workout on the route up to Potato Mountain near the Claremont Wilderness.
PM:  Nothing.  Legs f*cked up.  Well earned rest.

Weekly Total: 92.87 miles, 3 great workouts.  Very happy with the progress.

9/21 to 9/27

SUN Total:  13.09 miles
AM:  7.51 mile Recovery Run averaging 6:49 pace.  Legs tired from yesterday so I decided to skip a long run this week.
PM: 5.58 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:08 pace.  Legs really felt sluggish.

MON Total: 15.1 miles
AM: 9.09 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:24 pace.  I just felt like crap today.  Still got the miles in.
PM: 6.01 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:21 pace.  Little more relaxed than the morning.

TUES Total: 12.04 miles
AM:  7.42 miles: Hill Repeats 10x200m Uphill and 10x200m Downhill alternating between the two with 100m rest.  These went really well.   Went from averaging 5:20 mile pace down to 4:40 pace on the uphills and 5 minute pace to 4:10 pace on the downhills.  Getting better!
PM:  4.62 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:02 pace.  Feeling way better than the previous two days.

WED Total: 14.03 miles
AM:  10.02 mile Recovery Run w/ 6.6 miles with a friend.  Averaged 7:16 miles.
PM:  4.01 mile Shake Out Jog averaging 7:31 miles.  Yesterday catching up with me a bit.

THU Total:  11.57 miles
AM: 7.5 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:18 pace.
Noon: 1.5 hour plyometrics lab for my Therapeutic Exercise class.  Legs very tired.  A little worried about the race Saturday.... but it is really just another hill workout
PM:  4.07 mile Shake-Out Jog averaging 7:26.  Good lord my legs are tired

FRI Total:  3 miles
AM:  3 mile Shake Out Jog averaging 7:35 pace.  Legs are so tired from yesterday's plyometric lab.... figure I need a recovery day.  Starting to get sick.  Sinuses aching, massive headache and my nose won't stop running.  Still going to race tomorrow.
PM:  Nothing.  Legs shot.

SAT Total: 11.4 miles
AM: Megan Savage Memorial 5k:  1st place in 16:08.  Did 8x150m hill sprints after the race.  Totaled 11.4 miles.  This is a great race and I set the course record last year.  Glad to be able to defend my title.  There is not a single meter of flat.  It's a mile uphill, 1.1 miles downhill and then another mile uphill.  Tough course.  No idea how I ran 15:51 there last year.  Used this race as a hill workout.  Great day.
PM:  Nothing.  Body is fried.  Very sick.  Totally worth it though.

Defended my title, got the win and had my first race in the Adidas Takumi Sen 2s!

Total:  80.23 miles.  Not bad for only running 3 miles on one of the days.  Last week of hill workouts.  The Megan Savage Memorial 5k was a great way to cap this hill training segment.  Now onto to intervals!

9/28 to 10/4

SUN Total: 13.59 miles
AM:  13.59 mile Long Run averaging 7:27 pace.  Legs a little cranky.  Basically a long recovery run.
PM:  Nothing.  Lots of studying as usual.

MON Total: 10.68 miles
AM:  8.07 mile Recovery averaging 7:08 pace.  Legs doing ok.
PM:  2.61 mile Shake Out Jog.  Didn't get the time on this one.

TUES Total: 9.53 miles
AM:  8.03 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:03 pace.  Legs ok.
PM:  1.5 miles.  Stress test for my Therapeutic Exercise and Cardio-Pulmonary Classes.  Hopefully this doesn't affect my workout tomorrow too much.  Also I outlasted the stress test so they didn't get an accurate measure on my VO2 max.

WED Total: 11.67 miles
AM:  9.5 miles.  Intervals 15x400m @ 72 seconds w/ 70 seconds rest.  71, 75, 73, 73, 72, 71, 72, 71, 72, 71, 72, 72, 72, 73, 72.  Average of 72.  This went really well.  Tried to keep things under control and not blow my load on any of them.
PM:  2.17 mile Shake Out Jog averaging 7:37 pace.  My legs are tired!!

THU Total: 12.56 miles
AM:  8.52 mile Recovery Run averaging 7:02 pace.  Legs are doing good.
PM:  4.04 mile Shake-Out Jog averaging 7:21 pace.  Legs are not doing as good.

FRI Total: 11.01 miles
AM:  8.01 mile Recovery Run averaging 6:54 pace.  Glad to be able to average under 7 minute pace again.  Not focused on it.  We'll see what happens tomorrow.
PM:  3 mile Shake Out Jog averaging 7:48.  Ran with a really fast female 1st year DPT student.  Going to see if I can get her racing again.

SAT Total:  11.5 miles
AM: Conquer the Canyon/Wildcat Open/Brea XC Invite Open Race:  1st place in 15:53.  Awesome XC course that was quite hilly.  Dropped the pack with a mile to go and held on for the win.  Did a 17x 30sec hard 1 min easy Fartlek after.  Great quality day.  Met some awesome people.  11.5 miles total.  Today taught me that I need to focus on racing instead of times.  I was sitting in 5th place relaxed and comfortable at the mile mark and slowly worked my way up.  Then I struck when we went around a corner and gutted it out.  Felt so awesome to really compete rather than run a time trial.  Of course this was not the kind of course to attempt a PR on.  Really hilly course with grass, dirt, road, hills and everything in between.  If I race though, the times will come.  It's only taken me 5 years to realize that.  I can hear my college coach calling me a "dumbass" right now (that was my nickname when he was mad at me.  Usually the team called me "Kleiner") because he has told me that so many times.
PM:  Nothing.  Legs are shot and I need to study as usual.

Total:  80.54 miles.  Not as much as I would like but I am getting some high quality stuff in despite how hard school is right now.  Too many exams, practicals, assignments and studying!!!

Summary:  These have been a great couple of weeks.  Very excited about the transition to interval work for 6 weeks.  So much great quality that I think has been enhanced by only doing 2 hard workouts per week instead of 3.  I did 3-4 hard workouts every week last year that got me in shape really fast.  However I ended up getting hurt and losing some fitness right during the middle of October and didn't race for a while.  So this year I'm hoping to play it smart and focus on these training cycles instead of just trying to peak every race.  I am still racing often, but I am using them as workouts and learning opportunities for racing.  That and I'm just trying to win free stuff... like shoes... which are expensive... especially when you are a graduate student.  So let's see where this goes!!

 I'll post my training week of 10/5-10/11 next.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to Tack On!

-Matthew Klein, SPT