Jeff Banks

Fun run which was the first time on my feet for a few weeks. The knee is finally feeling better but I'm not confident it will stay at 100%. Still 4 miles with no pain and it was so nice to be running again!!!

3 slow ... trying to get back into it without hurting the knee.

Finally a full run ... really short, but a full run!! Knee feels relatively good but still I am worried.

Coming around finally. My head is still hyper-sensitive to my knee, but it feels like it will fully heal and I might be able to get back to some real milage by the end of January.

Steve is not very fast but he is fun to run with. Its probably good to go slow anyway.

Out with Shawn ... it feels so good to run sort of fast again. Still I worry about the knee and every little sensation makes me cringe, but I'm really hopeful now.

All by my lonesome up through the construction site. Still feeling like the knee is getting better and I'm lovin' it!! Its amazing how much you miss it when you have to stop ...

Slow miles with Steve and Shawn. I really needed the run and the company after the day my family was given!!

On my own up through the construction site. I took a mile or two to stretch out m stride and that felt great. I've got it in my head to hit 55 or 60 miles the last week of January and then put myself on a schedule for Boston.

2.5 hours hiking with Cara and John. Not really a running workout but at least I wasn't on my butt either!

7 miles up through Tanoan. I wanted to see how my knee would feel with a little longer run and although it was tight it was not really sore. This makes me hopeful that things will keep going in the right direction.

After a little longer run yesterday my knee was a bit tight, but four slow miles with Steve didn't seem to make it any worse and it never really hurt so that is good. With a little ice and some advil it might be good by tomorrow.

Shawn and I had to hurry today so that I could get back for a lunch meeting. Running relatively fast felt OK and the knee held up no problem. A few more nights of ice and hopefully it will be good for speed on Saturday.

Past the dam and up the arroyo a little way.

Out with a crowd and it was quite slow. At the end Shawn and I took off for a bit but still it was a pretty broken up workout ...

3 by mile over on the track. Just trying to see how my legs feel with a little harder workout. Its going to be a long haul to get back in good shape. Speed is just one of those things that after you dont do it for a while you loose the ability to do it.

Around the construction site with Shawn

Slow miles up the arroyo by myself.

Up to the dam with Brett, Shawn, and Steve. Slow miles but it was pretty cold and I didn't have tights so thats fine by me.

Up to the dam with Steve. He turned around really early and I had to truck it try and catch back up. Feels good to really stretch out and run like I meant it.

Longest run since October. I found a new way to get up to the four hills arroyo. All dirt as far as I could ever run!

Running in the rain is soooooo nice!!!! Went up the four hills arroyo again and it felt really nice to be out in the wet weather. Two days in a row at 9 miles and my knee felt just fine so it looks like things are going well.

Shawn and I went out through the construction site and it was really windy! I think we went kind of fast but since I forgot my watch there is no way to know. Only a few more runs from work before I move!

Up though the construction site and then on through the neighborhood. Even after a few miles on pavement through residential areas, my knee felt fine. I must say that running a little more reasonable milage the last few days has my legs pretty sore. My calves are pretty bad but this too shall pass.

Last run with most people from SNL ... it was a big group but kind of sad!

Last run from Sandia as an employee. Went out with Shawn up through the construction site.

Up through the high dessert arroyo and then over down past Tanoan. I had some stomach problems but managed to make it home ok.

First run in Livermore. Its amazing how much oxygen there is when you come down 5000 feet in elevation!!

Out for a second time through the streets in Dublin. The pavement and concrete is hard on my knees so I'll have to find some trails soon. Perhaps Morgan territory this weekend for a long run!!

Still trying to find some longer runs around here and some routes that aren't on pavement. Still the oxygen and rolling hills feel good

Found a longer run, but still all pavement. Running here is really beautiful once you get away from the houses! My legs feel OK but I'm worried about my knee still. Perhaps tomorrow will be nice enough to go out for a long ride instead of running.

50 miles on the bike. It seems that I am not in very good biking shape, but this will be fixed. It felt really good to be out again and the top of Morgan Territory was beautiful.

Still finding my way through the routes around here. It looks like I'm going to have to either run on the pavement or drive somewhere else to get very long runs in. After I got back I went ahead and did some light lifting and will probably be sore tomorrow.

Running out of daylight and lost ... it always makes you run a little faster :).

Out through the country club for five slow miles. I'm really trying to focus on proper form with the hope that it will save my knees in the long run. I suppose that running is never really a good way to save your knees but we can all dream can't we?

Really windy but I found a new route that opened up through a new neighborhood. Tomorrow I'll have to try it out.

Nice long run ...

Feels good to stride out a bit, but I'm going to have to start putting in more miles.

Cara came into town for a visit so no running ... we went out for about a 5 mile hike just to keep the blood flowing though.

Cara and I went to the zoo and walked all around. Probably went 8 miles on our feel but no running.

On the bike for 3:20 minutes with ~3500 feet of climbing. To the top of Diablo and it was beautiful! Kind of ran myself out of steam though because I've not been riding very many miles lately.

Seven easy miles in the rain ... Legs were somewhat tired from riding yesterday, but feeling pretty good.

Out exploring new trails, but ended up mostly on the roads. Still I feel pretty good and my knee seems to be completely better ... good good.

Slow miles just before the rain. The humidity is AWESOME!!

Pretty cold today ... nice steady run to warm me up.

Today I felt like a runner. The cold rain almost made me stay inside, but in the end I made my way out and had a very nice run. I felt pretty good the whole way through, but the pace was pretty slow so that helped.

I got an hour break in the rain and took advantage of it. Ran through Pleasanton and didn't really like all the stop lights etc ...

Breaking in new shoes. They seem to be quite a lot less beat up than what I just retired, but still I'm probably going to get blisters.

Just enough light in the day to make it 10 miles before it gets dark ... Felt pretty good and the new shoes are breaking in.

I really didn't intend to go 10 today, but I got lost and the next thing I knew getting home in only 10 was a task. Oh well it was slow mileage and I finally feel like I'm starting to get in the appropriate base for some future training.

Starting out I felt pretty spent and was taking it pretty slow, but around the 5 mile mark I finally started to feel pretty good. I found a trail up off the pavement and took advantage. Livermore is beautiful this time of year with the green grass really making the hills seem quite comforting. Then it was back into Dublin and my legs started to feel good so I finished the last 4 miles at a something like 6:15 pace. All in all a really good run.

Kind of windy out and I needed a bit of a break. Still I went nine and it amazes me how running longer for even a few days makes a huge difference in what we consider shorter. I felt slugish at the start but got into it around 3 miles and felt good the rest of the way.

This morning I went for around a 5 mile hike up Mt. Diablo. I was surprised to see how much it wore me out, but I felt like my long run was still required. I managed to find the way from Finley road up to the Morgan Territory trails and it was quite nice. I was amazed however, that noone else was out on those trails!

Out on the trails at Morgan Territory. Beautiful run but I got kind of muddy and had a hard time getting started.

Man it was tough getting started today. I ran a mile on the track just to check my pacing and found that I've been running something less than 6:30 for most of my miles. After getting started my legs felt pretty good and the weather was beautiful!

Slow miles. I had some tummy problems and had kind of a rough run. Oh well ...

Short run ... fewer miles feels really easy!!

Medium paced run, but I had a really hard time with my stomach again. Perhaps I've got some kind of cold or something.

A bit of a longer run. Because my legs felt good after 10 I picked up the pace for the final 3 miles.

I ran WAY too soon after eating and more importantly having coffee. What a miserable 9 miles!!

In Albuquerque so the elevation was kind of rough, but after settling in it felt pretty good. Started out for 2.5 with Cara and then ran up Bear Canyone Arroyo. Honestly if my legs can feel anywhere that good at 18 miles into a race I'll be quite satisfied.

Three different runs today with three different people. Had to say hi to as many running buddies as possible while I was in town!

Went five with John E. and Shawn. Nice easy miles, but the wind was kind of rough. Then I went 7 more when I got home. I ran up through Bear Canyon Arroyo and probably went too fast. Oh well I suppose. My legs are getting a bit rough from the increased mileage, but all in all I'm holding together remarkably well.

Over lunch I ran 4 miles with John S. A slow pace but good conversation. Then I ran 6 with Cara once we got home.

Out for 6 with Shawn around noon and then 6 with Cara later.

8 at lunch and it was incredibly windy!!

Really good run today up Bear Canyon Arroyo. The wind was pretty strong on the way home but my legs felt great.

Got up early to fly back to Cali and didn't have the motivation to go for a long run after heading to the grocery store and settling in. I was thinking about reducing mileage this week anyway to give myself somewhat of a recovery week. My legs feel great but something tells me a week of lighter mileage will really do me good. I'll shoot for somewhere around 65-70 I suppose. Perhaps I'll even put in a day of biking rather than running ... does anyone have a rational way to count time on the bike in terms of a long run substitute?

Ran the outer loop and figured if I'm running less miles this week I can afford to go a bit faster. It took the first 3 miles to warm up, 2 more to start to stretch out and then I can 3 miles pretty quick. I clocked the last mile or so around 5:15 pace so I felt really good about that.

Outer loop again but with an extension so that I could test my pacing on a local track ... 6:30. I was pleased to see that 6:30s roll off comfortably after 10+ miles.

Really slow mileage ... I felt terrible and suffered through every minute of the run.

Out Tassajara and then cross country. Over fences, through mud, a few cow pies, a twisted ankle (its a good thing I'm in pretty good shape or I'd still be up there), and finally down through the Dublin Ranch roads. I started off feeling pretty bad but pretty soon I really perked up and felt great by the end.

Out with Cara for a few miles and then up Croak road by myself for a while. My ankle hurts from yesterday but all told my legs feel pretty good.

Out on a new trail and ran negative splits the whole time. My legs felt pretty good but the heat started to get to me by the end. Ahhhhh I love spring!!

Nice long hike with Cara ... 3.5 hours. Then a few miles running at a fast pace just to be sure my legs know how to keep moving.

Out with Cara most of the day walking around Oakland and then out for a run.

After two days of very slow mileage my legs felt awesome!! I really blasted too quickly though my inner loop and again backwards. We will see how tomorrow feels.

Relaxed mileage with Cara. Legs feel fine but I'm sure the mild pace does me good.

Outer loop at a nice steady pace. Yesterday was off because I had to get Cara to the airport and all told this nice easy week has let my legs recover a bit ...

Outer loop and then up through the construction site. Added the extension on the way home so it was probably a bit longer than 13 but I like the nice round numbers. Legs felt good and I'm beginning to get so that 13 miles feels like about the distance where I should start to try and open it up a bit.

North from Monterey along the coast.

South from Monterey along the coast.

South again but much further.

Short loop. My legs feel kind of tired from running too fast the last few days. Still my mileage is coming along really well.

Outter loop with half a mile on the track to check pacing ...

Nice slow steady miles ...

Made a large loop around the outer neighborhood. Felt really pretty good ... hopefully that is good news for Boston.

Out around the golf course but it was incredibly windy!! My hip kind of hurts so I took it easy and hope that it will feel better with a few days of lighter mileage.

Just a few short easy miles. Trying to make sure my hip doesn't become problematic.

Mild mileage making sure that my hip gets better before Boston.

Nice steady miles.

Outer loop nice and easy. The wind has been terrible but what can you do but deal with it.

Golf course loops and back. Nice run and spring is here in force!! With the temps up the wind has died down to it is absolutely lovely out there!

Golf course loops, half a mile on the track to check pacing, and then an extension to add a few miles. It was ~85 out and still so it was hot but felt pretty good. Probably the last time I'll run more than an hour until after Boston.

One golf course loop. Getting ready for Boston.

Wow the wind was ROUGH!! Still 6 miles isn't so much so no problems.

A few short miles to keep the legs moving.

I'm trying not to completely sacrifice my fitness level just for Boston so I ran a pretty nice run today. From here on out its going to have to be nice and easy though. 

A few miles to keep the legs fresh and enjoy the fabulous weather!!

Four quick miles out in the wind. Legs felt good, knees felt good, hip felt OK, foot felt reasonable .... I'm ready.

Four slow miles to prepare.

Really fun race. The crowds were awesome and the weather was close to perfect ... just a little too warm for my taste. The crowded start forced me to start slow which was really good and so I ran relatively even splits the whole time. First half was 1:22:30 but the second harder half slowed me down a bit. I really felt awesome and should have dropped the hammer at 20 after heartbreak hill but convinced myself otherwise. I felt just fine at the finish and even today I feel fine. My feet are kind of beet up but thats life I guess. Overall a really great race and a 12 minute personal best.

Really slow relaxed run to get the blood pumping and get my legs along the way to recovery. It is kind of a cold windy day anyway.

Again some slow mileage to get the blood flowing and the residual lactic acid removed. I'm feeling pretty good, but the blisters are going to have to come off soon and that will probably leave me limping for a day or so.

The blisters came off last night and my feet hurt something fierce! I'm really trying to make sure it doesn't effect my stride either walking or running but having only mild success. A few days though and they will be back to normal.

Had a few minutes before catching a plane so I went for a run. Legs feel fine and the blisters are pretty much fixed. I am however getting sick.

Really sick ... :(

Still sick ... far to sick to run and I hate that!

My lungs were on fire but Cara forced me out for a short run. I thought I might perish on the side of the road, but managed to wheeze through it. It was good to get the blood moving, but boy that was a tough 3 miles!! 

Five really slow miles at lunch and five miles with Cara at home. My lungs are still sore but it felt good to get out for a little longer.

A nice short run up bear canyon arroyo. My cold is still hounding me so it was kind of tough to breath but still not a bad run.

Five slow at lunch with John and Mark. It was SUPER windy today but thats the way it is.

Out for ten in the new neighborhood. It felt good to run a little again, but this cold is still hounding me. Soon ... soon ...

Out from Brannigan one of the last times. I forgot socks and my feet are going to pay for it tomorrow!

Finally got over to the new place and got the internet up and running (no pun intended). Explored some new trails and ended up at the intersection of 580 and 680.

Still exploring ... just a short run and then home for chores.

There are a lot of trails around here! Its mostly loose gravel, but usually there is a path of more worn dirt so its not too bad actually. Its going to take a few weeks to get all the paths explored but I do know that Amador Valley has an awesome track less than a quarter mile away ... I feel some speed work on the horizon.

Man Phoenix is HOT!! Did ten today and felt pretty terrible in the heat.

More running in Phoenix. The rocky trails and heat are fine for ling miles but it would be really hard on your speed.

Nice slow mileage and I found a way up Croak road from the new place. Nice flat run to start and then good hill up Croak. Then back home and I felt really pretty good.

Still finding the ways around the trails ...

Just a nice slow run but it was really hot out! Summer is here and it seems I'll have to start morning runs soon.

Over 100 degrees and I told myself it would be 15 miles ... man I am SPENT!!

Over 100 degrees and it was tough going. First 40 minutes with Cara and then finished off on my own. Felt pretty good after a relatively high mileage week and I feel like the training is coming to a point where speed might be effective.

Relaxed day. We had to go pick up packets for Bay to Breakers tomorrow and ran a few to keep the blood pumping. Should be a really fun race tomorrow. 

AM: Bay to breakers 12K. Anyone who lives in the Bay area and runs should try this race at least once. It was kind of hard to go for a fast time because even if you had a seeded bib you still had to compete with the thousands of people who jump in after the start and clog up the road. However, it was a blast and I highly recommend it! The costumes alone are really fun to watch and the course is pretty nice.

   The actual race was almost exactly as I planned. 6:30 first mile, 6:15 second, whatever happens to the top of Hayes hill (a short climb at 11%) and then sub-6 pace for the rest of the way. Also it was nice to run negative splits because there are always more people to pass. After a week of pretty high mileage for me, I felt really good about that especially because I felt AWESOME the last few miles. That tells me I need to start hitting the speed because the conditioning is finally there. 

PM: Ran eight more because I had the time and felt good. Nice slow pace just making sure to clear out the lactic acid from the morning.

Slow loop around Pleasanton. I'm settling into a few favored routes now so perhaps its time to force myself to explore more. 

Found a new way to Foothill and then made a bit of a loop around home. Legs felt great the whole time.

No running :( ... have to get ready for the movers to come and pack up our things.

Perhaps my last run in Albuquerque ... sad but happy at the same time. The altitude is definitely noticeable coming from ~400 and running at ~5500 feet.

No running ... packing and then driving all day!

Trying to make up for lost mileage and so I went for a nice long slow run. St. George is a pretty nice place to run, but the biking would be MUCH better.

Drove all day ... finally done with that part of the move.

Found my way down to the Pleasanton Ridge trails and ran to the first crest. Fooled around a bit on the trails and by the time I got home I was really ragged! Now my whole body is completely spent and I'm going to spend the evening recovering.

Relaxed miles with Cara. The weather was nice but my legs were shot from yesterday ... this was the perfect recovery run.

Foothill loop. My quad felt really really tight, but loosened up slightly near the end. Hopefully this is just some kind of residual soreness from being cramped in the car for 2 days.

Fooling around finding new routes. I'm beginning to feel pretty good about my level of conditioning ...

Foothill loop with an extension and then a mile on the track to check pacing. Felt pretty good but it was too windy.

~50 easy miles on the bike with Bill in the morning ... call that 12 running miles. Then the freeway loop in the evening.

All I wanted to do today was run some speed but they closed track and locked it up. Instead I got lost on the Pleasanton ridge trails and went longer than I wanted ... oh well.

Foothill loop at a really nice pace. My legs felt great and overall it was a really nice run.

My first speed workout in quite a while. 5 x mile with a strict 2 minute recovery.

1 - 5:55

2 - 5:50

3 - 5:44

4 - 5:30

5 - 5:29 

All in all I felt great and could have done more but starting small seems to be the wiser path. 

Foothill loop. I had to fast last night for a cholesterol test and it completely threw me off ... hopefully the test comes out well.

Over the last weekend I missed ~6 meals and ~20 hours of sleep so today I was running on empty. Still it felt good to do more than a short run again.

Foothill loop again ... feeling a little better now.

New route after eating ... 

Foothill loop but found a new way to get there. Its too stinking hot around here now!

Another loop around foothill. I had a breakthrough today figuring out that my hands have been way too hight typically. It will take a while to get used to running with them lower but I think it should help.

Also I was wondering if anyone knew anything about a relay across the US. The idea came to me today while running and I figure with 15 or so high mileage runners and some support staff I think it could be done in just about 2 weeks. Any ideas from the BLOG? 

Up to foothill and then found my way onto the trails. Great run and my legs felt awesome the whole time. This gives me confidence about my level of conditioning going into the next few months.

Longview loop ...

Bad day at work and that ALWAYS makes for mileage too fast! Oh well, I feel a bit better now.

Foothill loop. It was pretty hot today and my weight dropped ~3 lbs!

Foothill loop plus some.

Foothill loop again ... That run is getting too much use these days but it is way to hot to go much longer.

Foothill and a bit. Over 100 degrees the whole time and it made the whole thing pretty stinking hard!

Out to Longview and then hit the trails for a few hours. The heat is oppressive but all in all a pretty productive run.

Foothill loop and a new way home with Cara. The air feels like there is some smoke from wildfires ... hopefully that doesn't come back to haunt me tomorrow.

Foothill loop again and I'm worried about the smoke in the air.

Valley loop. The smoke was really bad but I wanted to run a few miles.

Foothill loop even though the smoke is probably not healthy. Hopefully this will break soon and we can get back to normal.

The smoke is horrible! I'd love to run longer, but its probably not healthy to run at all so I'll settle for what I can get.

Knee trouble after water skiing 

More knee trouble

Feeling out the knee ... really worried about it

Out with Jan 

Really fast short miles

Out with Cara

New shoes make my knee somewhat better

8 with Cara ... I'm pretty sure my knee is in a bad way :(

Up Diablo on my Bike with Bill (~60 miles). I'm going to have to ride for a while until this knee thing clears up.

Finally I got a few miles. Knee felt OK but not great. 

Five more ... getting back into it slowly.

Feeling pretty good still. My knee is still holding up but man am I out of shape. I'm thinking about trying to run the half at Phoenix this winter.

Out for slow mileage with Cara ... I think my knee is going to be OK. 

2.5 hours on the bike and I was really tired. Bill and I went up Morgan Territory and by the time we got home I was really spent. Thats what happens when you are out of shape I guess.

A few short miles and my knee is starting to feel pretty good.

Same short loop. Gotta start small and work my way back into it but I'm getting more confident about signing up for the half ant Phoenix and perhaps Boston next year.

Freeway loop with Cara. We went pretty slow but it felt good anyway.

Short loop ...

Short loop ...

~6 mile hike and then 5 mile run later ... really hot ...

Red bridge loop. Quite hot again but not unbearable.

red bridge loop ...

Short loop ...

Short loop ...

Nice slow miles with Cara. The weather is getting to be really nice and it might even rain this weekend!!

Short loop with Cara after getting really frustrated working on the car ... soon it will be back on the road.

Short freeway loop quite fast ... legs feeling good but not perfect. My foot has this annoying twinge in it so hopefully that will go away.

Short loop with Cara ... getting back into real mileage is a slow process!!

Medium loop with Cara.

short loop

Freeway loop ...

Freeway loop

short loop 

freeway loop

Freeway loop really fast ... felt good but it was probably too much

Freeway loop

Long hike ...

short loop

Red bridge loop ... longest actual run in quite a while and things are feeling pretty good.

short loop ....

warm up ... 1.7 mile fun run/race and a cool down. I can't figure out how to race those shorter distances.

short loop

Foothill loop. Longest run in a while and my legs felt pretty good.

short loop ...

freeway loop ...

short loop ...

After almost a week of being really sick I finally ran again. Only the short loop and my legs were pretty heavy but it was nice to be out.

Freeway loop and I felt pretty bad. My flu is still with me and I had chills the whole way. On the plus side the rising moon was fantastic.

Short loop with Cara before heading over to the football game.

2.5 hr hike with Cara exploring the ridge. Freeway loop when I got home and I probably should not have. I'm still getting chills when running and there is still a sinus headache.

Short loop ...

Freeway loop ... boy it gets dark early these days!!

freeway loop fast. My legs felt really good!!

short loop with Cara.

Red bridge loop nice and slow.

freeway loop with Cara.

Red bridge ... I've got to start getting serious about training now. The sun will start staying up later and its time to start into the miles.

Foothill loop. My legs are still sore from a few days ago but not too bad.

Freeway loop