Hope To Run Again Before End Of The Year

Road - Tread - Road workout..again !

Run To Gym -

Treadmill - 6 miles - 45:00 (7:30 avg.)

Run Home - * PR for this route.

Off the next two days, then begin a week of day shift.  Hopefully it will be a long time before I see a treadmill again.  Unless these dang hurricanes bring tons of rain, then I will have to use the tread again.

Run To Gym -

Treadmill - 6 miles - 48:00 (8:00 avg.)

Afternoon - 

It was about 94f out on this run.  Ran 5 times around the block.  Wanted to stay close to the house with the heat.  Left an ice cold water bottle at my mailbox and took a swig each time around.

Evening - 

So get this.  I was near the end of my run tonight, after 9pm and definitley dark.  And a voice calls out, it was a lady sitting on her front porch.  She says, "I like your new shoes."  I yell back, "Thanks, I must run by here a lot for you to notice that."  Then she says, "Oh no, they just don't smell bad anymore !"  Now come on, could she be serious or was she just joking around.  Could she really have been smelling my old running shoes?  But then again just a few blog entries ago I mentioned how that pair had become the rottenest, stinkiest, most foul smelling shoes I had ever had.

Tonight I wanted something faster than normal.  I warmed up a mile.  Then decided on 4 miles at 7:00 pace.  In the dark my sense of pace can get a little off.  So I depended on the Garmin right much.  The 1st 2 miles looked at the watch under every street light I passed by.  Was basically right on pace.  Next 2 miles I knew I was moving a little faster than the other 2.  So I did not look at it much more.  The 4 miles felt good, and had to work to maintain the last mile.  I could have held it another mile...maybe even 2.  Cooled down another mile.

 Another hot one today.  Cut the front yard grass.  The backyard has so much shade, bare spots, and moss there was no need to cut it.  Sweat a lot.  Decided to go to the gym for 6 on the treadmill, then pick the kids up from school.  My wife had a meeting tonight so my PM run was after 9 o'clock.

Treadmill - 6 miles - 45:00 (7:30 avg.)

Tonight's run was a fun one.  And I rarely have a run that I consider fun.  First of all I took it very easy.  I should do that much more often.  And second there was a live concert in town tonight.  It was close to wrapping up but I could hear it very well for my entire run as it echoed around.  When I first started there was a medley of slow songs from the 60's, 70's and 80's.  Then it was two songs back to back from Morris Day and The Time, Jungle Love and The Bird.

 My jungle love, yeah
I think I wanna know ya (know ya)
Jungle love
Girl, I'd love 2 show ya (show ya)

Oh-wee-oh-wee-oh

Alright, y'all got 10 seconds 2 get 2 the dance floor
And...

Wawk!

America, have U heard?
I got a brand new dance and it's called "The Bird"
U don't need no finesse or no personality
U just need 2 arms and an attitude and everybody sing with me
Come on now!

Went for a run after work today.  A small band of showers passed through town, courtesy of Hanna, about an hour before the run.  The temps dropped to the mid 70's, the the humidity was through the roof.

 Run felt fine.  My legs are tired now though.  I did a lot of work cleaning out our basement after dinner.  Unfortunately it has flooded twice before with 11inches and 6 inches of water.  Both were from hurricanes that passed near or over the area.  The basement is unfinished and it quickly accumaltes with "stuff."  Tonight I only needed to borrow a pick up truck and drive to a dumpster to take care of most of it.  But lots of up and down stairs tired my poor legs out.

 I hope the rain does not come down to hard.  I really hate the mess, smell, and dampness of a flooded basement.

Tropical Storm Hanna in the morning.  And a wedding to attend in the evening.  No run.  But it's ok, because my legs could use a rest.

End Of Week Shoe Mileage- 

Asics - 30.66

Saucony - 20.31

 2 Dogs, A Deer, And A Snake

In less than 200 hundred yards from my starting point I had to deal with two dogs.  The first only looked my way and gave a bark.  I replied with a yell of my own.  Turns out he had come loose from someone's yard and it it unusual for this to happen.  Two houses down a real little do ran off a porch running and barking towards me.  It stopped at the curb and did not enter the road.  This is the third time in about a year this has happened.  Saw a deer crossing the road about a 100 feet in front of me a few miles later.  Too dark to tell if it was a buck or a doe.  Then a mile later a car passed, I recognized it and knew it was coming up on its house.  Then it stopped, backed up, stopped again, went forward, then back again.  I was confused by this.  Then she yelled out her window, watch out there is a snake in the road.  Sure enough it was in front of her vehicle.  Looked like either she or another car had run it over.  I think it was a copperhead.  It had some black diamond shapes on its back.  I could not tell how long it was, but it was pretty big around.  I had just come past that same spot about 5 minutes prior and did not see it.  But it was dark and I had no light tonight.

Workout wise I decided on 8 miles.  Wanted to mix in some faster paced miles.  Ran a 1 mile warm up.  Then tried for this: 7:30, 7:15, 7:00, 7:00, 7:15, 7:30.  I missed the splits a couple of times, but the overall average was about right.  Depended on the Garmin for my pacing.  I am still unable to pick out a pace, then run it without the aid of technology.

Holy Cow !! I have my first Half-Marathon this weekend.  I will attempt a mini taper towards the end of the week.  This will be my first race ever over 10k.  And I have only run two of those in the last three years.

Also realized a couple of things tonight.  1) I am still shocked when I see anything sub 7:00 pace on my watch.  Yet it is starting to become more frequent lately.  2) With a 1/2 mille left in my run I could not believe I had only run 8 miles.  A very short time ago anything over 6 miles was a long run.  I guess these are just two examples showing that I am making some progress in my running.

Ran a comfortable 4 on my own then met John at his house.  Another 4 with him.

Ran with John again tonight.  He was hurting, so we took it easy.  My right shin area hurts.  Been tender for close to a week now.  Usually stops hurting within a few minutes of running.  But hurt almost all run tonight.  I will keep my eye on it.

Messed up on my Garmin and did not realize it at first.  But between my watch and John's I think it is just about right.

Run - 6.24 miles - 51:58 (8:19 avg.)

Much cooler temps. today.  Only 68f and overcast when I came home from work. Still pretty humid though.

And the shin was tender all day.  Could feel it when walking around.

.07 before the end of each mile I ran a fast stride, 6 total.  Converts to about 123 yards for each.

Last run before my race tomorrow.  Ready, or not, here I come !

implosion - a sudden inward collapse; a process in which objects are destroyed by collapsing in on themselves

bonk - run out of energy, tire.  a state of severe exhaustion caused by the depletion of the main source of fuel in the muscles

 I experienced both of these today.

Woke up at 5:15 am.  Took a shower.  Ate a light breakfast.  Picked up C.B. and John and drove 80 miles to the race.  It was already pretty warm when we arrived.  The humidity was outrageous.  I checked the weather when I got home.  Beginning of race was - 72f / 98% humidity.  End of race - 79f / 78% humidity.

Ran a short warm-up, and was feeling good.  No aches or pains to speak of.  Already sweating a lot though.  Continiued to take in some fluids before the race.

There was a 5K and half marathon.  Both started and ran together for the full 5K.  I wanted to be careful of not going out to fast with the 5K'ers.  Did not completely play out that way though.  I felt like I held back pretty good on the first mile.  Split was 7:09.  Much faster than I had wanted and managed to slow down to a 7:13 on the 2nd mile.  Crossed the 5K in 22:22.  I was feeling so good.  Not tired at all.  Also found myself in a big gap between runners once the half marathon people separated from the 5K people.  I was not sure about the course and did not like running alone so I caught a group of 4 about 20 to 30 seconds in front of me.  Ran with them until the 5 mile mark.

On mile 6 I started to feel great !  I thought the others were slowing, but I now I realize I started running faster.  Felt good on 7 as well.  I noticed my pace had slowed on 8, but was not concerned.  As a matter of fact I knew this pace was probably to much for me, so I was happy I had backed off.  At the time I still felt I could keep on going like this to the end.  Then between 8 and 9 things changed...and quickly I might add.  When I got to 9 there was a water stop.  Unlike the others where I only swallowed what I could, I stopped and walked so I could drink two cups of Gatorade.  When I started to run again, everything still was ok.  Time got slower, but I did walk a little.  About the same for mile 10, except there was no walking this time.  Just could not go any faster.  Just before 11 was another water stop.  Walked and took in Gatorade again.  Getting slower too.

From 11 to 12 I walked a couple of times.  Each time I would restart my run I would feel decent for about 2 minutes, then I would get the urge to walk again.  My hamstrings and groin area kept twitching like a big cramp was about to come.  So I would walk, run, then repeat.

 At 12 something weird happened with my right foot.  My shoes were so soaked in sweat, and sounded squishy.  I thought my sock had just moved around under my foot.  Then when I walked again I saw that the insert that comes with the shoe was coming out the top near the inside of my ankle.  So I quickly took it off and fixed it.

I did not walk again after that since I had about a half mile to go.  I was not breathing hard at all, and felt like I still had a little energy.  But the legs were dead, and crampy.

Finished in 1:44:43 (7:57 avg.)  My watch measured the course a little long, but could not confirm if it was me or the course.  But I did concentrate of good tangents as much as I could.

After the race I had cramps in my calves and feet.  They would hit with a vicious fury..quick and painful.  Had some more cramps in the car and when I got home.  Taking in more fluids seem to have helped.

I am a little bummed about my overall time.  But I also feel good about my performance.  I know why I suffered...started to fast.  But also got a glimpse of what I am capable of when I run smart.  I hit the 8 mile mark in 57:39 (7:12).   That would be the fastest I have ever run for that far.  If I had run closer to 7:40 pace earlier I think I could have gone under 1:40.

I will call this a learning experience.  Now I have my first marathon in November to worry about.  All along I have decided to make this something I just want to finish.  Not a race.  No matter how good I feel early, I will make sure to keep it easy so I can finish. 

A day off, and I really needed it.

So yesterday my wife comes home from the grocery store.  As I am helping her get the bags out of the car she says, and I quote, "I have a big pork butt."  I gave a quick glance and said, "No you don't."  Then she explained to me how she had just bought a pork butt at the store.  Tonight she made some bbq out of that butt and it was good.  I had three sandwiches about 50 minutes before my run.  My stomach was heavy, but it was still worth it.

I set out for 8 miles.  Legs had been tight yesterday from the race on Saturday.  They loosened up quickly tonight.  Man it is getting dark so early now.  I will have to adjust for that I guess.  Anyway, I was feeling fine.  At 4 miles I became bored and for some reason just felt like stopping.  I was not tired though, just mentally not into the run.  Decided to speed up.  I told myself if I hurried it would all be over before I knew it.  Ran faster than normal for a training run, but felt good.  Glad I sped up rather than quit.

Rainy day and my legs were sore from last night's run.  Tried to wait for a break in the rain, but it did not come.  Went out for another 8.  It was a medium rain to drizzle the whole way.  A little windy and much cooler than it has been lately.

Felt good.  Legs are sore now though as I type this.

First of 6 Midnight Shifts begin tonight.  I hate staying awake all night and being away from home !

Fell asleep about 8:30am, then was awakened at 9:30am and was told to come into work at 5:00pm.  Another officer hurt his knee on his motorcycle and will be off for awhile.  So I have switched shifts.  Run today was ok.  Just a little off from staying up all night, then sleeping only a few hours before the run.

I wanted to run today, and at the same time I did not.  From the get go I felt tired both mentally and physically.  Was very glad when it was over.  Tomorrow I will run, but something short and easy.  Saturday may be the same with a rest on Sunday.

Just to see if I could...

Last Saturday           Versus           This Saturday

Race	Training Run
72ºf - 79ºf / 98% - 78% humidity	70ºf - 74ºf / 78% - 76%humidity
no wind	light to medium wind
virtually flat course	small to medium hills
took a Gu before race	ate roast beef sandwich & chips
drank water & gatorade often	no water or gatorade
1st 7 miles - 50:12 (7:10avg)	1st 7 miles - 54:16 (7:45avg)
2nd 6 miles - 53:02 (8:50avg)	2nd 6 miles - 43:50 (7:18avg)
Total - 1:44:43 (8:00 avg)	Total - 1:38:53 (7:32 avg)
+ 5:50	- 5:50
not a PR	Yes ! - a PR
ran dumber	ran smarter

Wanted to run 13.1 again today.  But planned on maintaining a 8:00 pace at least through 10, then picking it up a little over the last 3 just to beat my time last weekend.  Pace was about 15 seconds faster than I planned at the halfway mark.  That is when I decided to see if I could really push it in for the 2nd half.  This would have been the thing to do last weekend.

 It was a bit cooler today with much less humidity.  More wind and hills today though.  Also last weekend was run in mostly shade and today there was plenty of sunshine on my shoulders.

Legs did start to get tight with about 1.5 to go, but overall it was a good run.  And a new PR !

Legs were a little tired today.  Run felt fine besides that though.

 I am entering this a few days after I ran it so I am a bit fuzzy on all the details.

I started with a 4 mile warm-up.  Then ran 2 miles on a loop around my house.  It has a few small hills.  I jogged the odd numbered miles (downhill & flat parts) and did fast strides on the even numbered miles (uphill).  I hit the lap button at the beginning and end of each stride that is why the results look so crazy.  Next time I will just let the watch run.  Followed it by a 2 mile cool down.

This is a run where I should have paid better attention to my surroundings both before and during the run.  I knew the wind had been blowing pretty good all day from looking at the trees outside my window.  But apparently for the first 3 miles of my run it was at my back and I did not realize how hard it was blowing.  On miles 4, 5, 6, & 7 I was head on into it. I kept trying to maintain my pace, and it killed me. At mile 7 I started walking for a 1/2 mile or so.  Then got to running again and ended up with 9 total.  I was so tired when this one was done.

Today was my first day off from work in 8 days.  And I still had to attend a 4 hour training class.  To add to my lack of enthusiasm I had to drive 82 miles to and from the class.  Some day off !!

I got off work at Midnight.  Went to bed at 12:40am.  Woke up at 5:30am and left at 6:10am.  I was beat. During the first hour of the class I started to feel very sleepy.  Eyes were closing and I could not stop them.  Ended up checking my pulse.  Counted for 1 minute and had a 44 bpm !  I could not believe this, so I kept counting for another minute. 45 bpm on this one.  This is much lower than normal.  I have been under 50 a couple of times (48 & 49) after sitting on the couch for awhile just before bedtime.  After our break I checked it again and it had gone up to a 54.  Kind of exciting to see lower numbers.  Just another way to measure how good running is to us.

After getting home I took a nap instead of running.  I needed the sleep more today than I needed the miles.

 In the evening I took Justin to his soccer practice.  Then we met up at his favorite restaurant, Burger King, with my wife, daughter, and other relatives for a birthday dinner.  Justin turned 6 today !! 

His "big present"  was a Green Machine.  Like a Big Wheel, but better !  Turns out his legs can just barely reach the pedals so he cannot make full use of it yet.  But I meet the weight requirements and have had a blast on it rolling down the driveway and doing big spinouts.  And I only turned it over once.

This must be the longest entry I have ever made on a day with no run !

A big Nor'easter is off the coast of North Carolina.  Lots of wind today.

3 miles on a cool 57ºf morning.  Right shin was tender.  Favorable cross winds and tail winds the whole way.

Ran 8 more later on.  Very windy, but I must have been running the right directions because it was only head on a couple of times. But I did have sideways drizzle and mist to contend with.  Still cool at 60ºf.  Towards the end I started to feel great, so I went with it and went sub 7 on the last mile.  It felt easy to do it.

Though the National Weather Service refuses to give it a name, the low pressure system off the East Coast is every bit of a Tropical Storm.  It has high enough to winds qualify on the Saffir-Simpson scale, has good counter clockwise circulation, heavy bands of rain, a low barometric pressure, and is producing high surf with a storm surge.  The local weather man out of Raleigh, NC said he had contacted the NWS several times throughout the day to find out why it is not being considered a tropical system and he was never given a good reason why it is not.  It has also been gaining strength as it moved along.

So today I took a run in Tropical Storm No-Name and got soaked.  I was protected from the wind most of my run, thankfully.  Did get chased by a dog.  I had never seen it before and hope it was just a fluke since it is on a common running route. I was just feeling ok, until the dog chase.  He must have given me a boost because my mile splits picked up after our meeting.

Shoes got wet and heavy very quickly.

Lately my legs below the knees have been starting to hurt some.  My right shin has been tender for almost 3 weeks.  Both calves are feeling sore in a wierd way.  Not tight, but some pain.  And my the 2 toes to the right of my pinkie toe on my left foot are having some pain where the connect to the rest of the foot.  I wonder what is going on with all that.  It may all stemming from the shin pain.  I think I am compensating for it and causing other parts to hurt.