Hope To Run Again Before End Of The Year

Another 4.06 miles this morning.  I started off relaxed and seemed to get a little faster as I went along.  My goals for the morning runs are to just do it.  Whatever gets me through it whether it be a slow jog or more as long as I get it done. 

am - 4.06 - 8:26, 8:12, 7:52, 7:34, :23 - 32:29 (8:00 avg.)

Went to the pool and swam 1000 yards.  Anymore than that and I was afraid it would effect my run later.  Got home and ran 4.07.  I felt tired and slow on the 1st mile.  I would have bet anything I was within 5 seconds either way of a 9:00 mile.  But the watch showed an 8:05.  Maybe I was tired because I was running my 1st mile a little faster than usual.  The next mile felt about the same as the 1st.  I could tell I had picked it up a little on the 3rd.  Was a bit tired with about a 1/4 mile or so left.

pm - 8:05, 7:52, 7:41, 7:24, :29 - 31:34 (7:45 avg.)

I believe the increase in mileage this week is starting to catch up with me.  My legs are tired and sore.  A few little aches and pains that were not there last week.  I will skip my morning run and do an easy one in the afternoon.  I will decide how far to go based on how I feel after a couple of miles.

am - 4.06 - 8:47, 8:41, 8:23, 8:03, :27 - 34:22 (8:28 avg.)

pm - 5.20 - 7:53, 7:52, 7:28, 7:34, 7:50, 1:30 - 40:10 (7:43 avg.)

My legs were tired all day and the bottom part of my calves were tight.  I am glad I did not do a morning run today. 

Went out for a run after work.  My calves were still tight and I felt it limited my stride.  This went on for at least 2 miles or so.  After  3 miles I looked up the road ahead of me and saw the 8:00 guy.  He was only 16 seconds in front of me.  I decided to try and catch him before the end of my run at the 6 mile mark.  On the 4th mile I made up 11 seconds and was not feeling to bad.  On mile 5 though I was getting tired.  I wondered if I could keep up the pace.  But when I looked at my split I saw I had passed him and now had a 6 second lead.  On mile 6 I began to struggle and could feel him breathing down my neck.  I had to stop for a second or 2 at an intersection for a couple of cars.  Then he made his daring move.  Since he is a bit more transparent than me, he had the nerve to pass right through those cars and go past me.  Now I was mad and pushed on.  I was able to pass him again and finally finished.  I beat him by 29 seconds.

I did not feel good during this run.  My legs were tired and I had low energy.  I am not sure if it was the heat (86ºf), the extra miles this week, or a combo of both.  Most likely the mileage will be lower next week with Midnight Shift coming.  It might help my legs out.

Run - 6.09 miles - 8:08, 7:59, 8:09, 7:49, 7:45, 7:41, :46 - 48:19 (7:56 avg.)

Got home from work and was feeling tired.  I also did not want to run in the heat.  So my plan was to run in the evening after the kids were asleep.  But then it ended up being so close to my bed time I just bagged the run and called it a rest day.

So yesterday I skipped a run.  I could tell my legs were a bit fresher.  And though it was a little cooler the humidity was very high.  I wanted to go at least 8, and flirted with the idea of 1o if everything was feeling ok.  I ran a comfortable pace for 6 miles.  The next 3 I picked it up a bit without really giving much more effort.  The last 1 1/2 miles I started to feel it in my legs.  The last 1/4 was tough.  I was glad the run was over at 10.05.  But I am more glad I was able to run this far.

This maybe the furthest I have ever run at one time.  Even in high school cross country we may have gone 10 a few times, but no more.  This is certainly the longest amount of time I have spent on a run.  I might get in a couple of miles in the morning to loosen up the legs.  Then the whole family is off to Kings Dominion.  It is an amusment park with rollercoasters, rides, shows, etc.  Should be lots of fun if the rain stays away.

Run - 10.05 miles - 1:23:14 - 8:16 avg.

1. 8:33
2. 8:20
3. 8:16
4. 8:17
5. 8:18
6. 8:17
7. 8:04
8. 8:01
9. 8:07
10. 8:30
11. :25

1st 5miles - 41:44 - 8:20 avg.

2nd 5 miles - 40:59 - 8:11 avg.

The 2nd half was :45 sec. faster than the 1st.  I cannot complain about a negative split.

Morning run before going to King's Dominion with the family.  Did a lot of walkking around the park today.  And after the 215 miles of driving my legs felt like I had run for hours.  They were so stiff when I got home.  But it was a fun day.  The kids were not scared of the rides and even surprised me with their bravery a few times.

Run - 3.76 miles - 8:34, 7:57, 7:32, 6:24 - 30:28 - 8:06 avg.

45.41 miles this week.  Another personal best, at least as an adult.

Legs were so stiff when I woke up this morning.  I really wanted to wait a few hours for them to loosen up before running.  But the high today was supposed to be 94ºf.  So I got out a little after 11am and it was already 84ºf.  But I ran in the shade as much as possible.  Based on my splits I felt good for the pace I was running.  My goal was just to run comfortable and get in about 6 miles with hopes of another short run tonight.

Ran 2 miles this evening.  Again, I just wanted to go slow and easy. 

am - 6.37 miles - 8:05, 7:54, 7:53, 7:50, 7:37, 7:26, 2:38 - 49:26 - 7:45 avg.

pm - 2.11 miles - 8:33, 8:09, :52 - 17:35 - 8:20 avg.

Another warm/hot morning.  A little cooler than yesterday's run, but it seemed to bother me a lot more. 

am - 6.36 - 50:44 - 8:11, 8:01, 8:02, 7:53, 7:56, 7:33, 3:05 - 7:58 avg.

pm - 2.16 - 17:20 - 8:21, 7:45 - 8:02 avg.

By the time I felt like running the heat had really gone up outside.  So I went to the gym to run on the treadmill.  I wanted to go 6 miles.  I had only run 5 miles once on a treadmill and usually never go over 4.  I really hate running on the treadmill.  As far as pacing I wrote down a few notes on what speed I would have to run to average X minutes per mile.  So I hope I did all the math correctly.  But in the end the treadmill's odometer and my watch splits seemed to come together in the end.

While working that feeling in my leg never went away.  When I woke up it was still there.  The more I thought about it, I decided to skip a run and see how it felt after a days rest.

I could only feel something when getting up from a chair or going up steps.  Still could not tell if it was muscular or the femur.  Felt similiar to how it was a few months ago.  But it did not hurt when putting weight on it then letting off like it did then.  So I decided to go for a 2 mile run after work.  I had been awake about 17 hours and wanted to get it done quickly if there was no pain.  I want to be done with the run and this blog and in bed by 9am.  I got 15 more minutes.

Once I got started I felt absolutley nothing in the leg, so I ran faster than usual.  I was stunned at my 1st mile split.  30 seconds faster than I thought it would be.  Well I had to see if I could keep this pace and even negative split.  Wholey Moley the 2nd mile was way better.  I am pleased with the idea some kind of speed is coming back.  But still a long way and a lot of miles to go to get the most out what I am capable of.

am - 2.32 - 7:14, 6:47, 2:54 - 16:56 - 7:17 avg. - cooled down on last .32

I went out for 8 miles just before dinner time.  As I ran I noticed I was feeling pretty good.  After 4 miles I noticed I was wanting to pick up the pace.  I held back a bit and decided I would wait until a little closer to home to give a little more.  Just in case I wore out, I would not have as far to go.  The slight pace increase over the last 2 miles felt good and was almost comfortable.

After it was done I could not believe how fresh my legs felt.  I am sure the cooler temperatures today helped.  But I think this gave me a tactile measurement of my progress in the last month.  I am definitely gaining better fitness in my running. 

What a great run.

pm - 8.02 - 8:02, 7:54, 7:44, 7:47, 7:48, 7:42, 7:30, 7:23, :06 - 1:02:01 - 7:44 avg.

1st 4 - 31:27

2nd 4 - 30:23

negative split - 1:04

am - Got home late from work and could not get in my short and quick morning run.  Had to to get to bed instead.  I also did not sleep well today.  I kept waking up.  This will come back to get me working tonight I believe.

afternoon - Wanted to go at least 6.  1.6 into it I saw Steve Jones.  He is a local runner who lives on the other side of the county.  He said he owns a rental house here in town and decided to run from there today.  We ran the next 3.4 miles together.  It was a casual pace and we were able to keep up a conversation.   It has been a few years since I have run with someone and I enjoyed it.  But running and talking was a little harder than I remembered.  After we went our seperate ways I ended up with about 6 1/2.  Once home I took off my shoes and had a little surprise.  A spot of blood was on my sock about the size of a nickel.  Apparently my "index" toe was rubbing against the nail of my "middle" toe.  I am not sure what made this happen today, but I will trim the nails and use a band-aid for a couple of days.

night - Wanted to get in a couple of more miles before work. 

run - 6.51 - 8:05, 8:07, 8:13, 8:27, 8:29, 8:08, 4:15 - 53:47 (8:15 avg.)

run - 2.15 - 7:53, 7:35, 1:07 - 16:36 (7:43 avg.)

I never imagined I would get 50 miles in a week.  I always thought it would be too hard.  Yet only after running about a month and a half since my injury I have done it.  Reading these blogs made it seem so attainable.  It is amazing how helpful this site has been for me mentally.  It has allowed me to realize what I can do if I only try....plus a few two-a-days mixed in.

Run - 7.15 - 7:59, 7:52, 7:47, 7:45, 7:47, 7:22, 7:31, 1:03 - 55:09 (7:42 avg.)

After waking up I did not feel much like running.  But I went anyway.  I ran a slow 4 miles.  Later in the evening I ran another 4 before going to work.

4.12 - 8:45, 8:36, 8:25, 8:26, 1:01 - 35:15 - 8:33 avg.

4.05 - 7:41, 7:24, 7:19, 6:52, :25 - 29:43 - 7:20 avg.

Same course for each.

Got home from court after work and finally got to sleep at 11:45am.  Woke up at 3:30pm.  I am tired and the legs are tired.  So here's my rest day for this week.

Now I just need to re-adjust to normal working/living hours.

am - Got up and ran an easy and relaxed 4.

pm - The temperature had gone up a bit, but still much cooler than a couple of weeks ago.  Did 7.5 on a hillier(not sure if this word is correct) course than I normally run.  By the end my legs felt a little beat up and tired.

4.07 - 8:41, 8:41, 8:26, 8:25, :31 - 34:46 - 8:32 avg.

7.55 - 7:46, 7:27, 7:39, 7:38, 7:42, 7:44, 7:32, 4:06 - 57:37 - 7:37 avg.

My legs were a little tight and sore on this morning's run.  Only went 2.  Very slow.  And for the second morning in a row my left shoe came untied.  This never happens to me.  I used to tie them in double knots long ago, but stopped.  Guess I will start doing it again.

This afternoon it was a warm 87ºf.  I like warm weather as much as the next person, but it should not be this hot near the end of October.  Ran 6.  Legs getting tired.  I think the last few weeks of upping my mileage is catching up with me.  I will back off some the next couple of days.  I still want to run each day because I have heard this will actually keep the legs fresher.  I hope so at least.

2.14 - 9:17, 9:08, 1:12 - 19:39 - 9:10 avg.

6.37 - 7:50, 7:47, 7:44, 7:42, 7:47, 7:39, 2:52 - 49:25 - 7:45 avg.

By the way last night I took my daughter to her dance class.  There I met Robbie Pecht.  I had heard his name before and he lives 2 towns over from me.  He won the Richmond Marathon in 1981 with a 2:19:16(a PR).  He said he never started running until his senior year of high school.  Then he went to the University Of Virginia and joined a running club.  He also made the trials in 1980.  He commented how the mood was because Carter had already boycotted the Olympics for that year.  I found an article on Runner's World Online that said the current trials record was set that year.  Also 56 men went under 2:20, another current record.  I guess those guys had something to prove to themselves and the world that day. 

Quads and knees a little achy and tired.  Went to the gym and did 50 minutes on the elliptical trainer.  I figured that is at least worth 6 miles.  Which would be close enough to my road running pace to make it accurate.

Just 1 mile to keep the legs loose.  Race tomorrow.  More or less a training run for me, maybe a little faster.  But it shold be fun.  I will just call today a taper.  But my legs are much better than yesterday.  No "beat up" feeling.  I can go down stairs without putting the majority of mey weight on the handrail.

1.12 - 7:53, 1:02 - 8:55 - 7:57 avg.

I had no idea what to expect out of myself today.  Even 20 minutes before the start I had not decided if I was going to run the 5K or 10K.  But I did want to log a few miles today to go over 40 for the week and running the 10K would do that for me.  So my best guess as what I could do was: 7:30 avg=ok, 7:20 avg=good, and 7:15 avg or better=great.  Ran a mile warmup.  The temp. at the start was just under 70ºf and went over that a bit by the finish.  My legs felt very good since I had not run on the roads the last 2 days. 

The 1st mile is a gradual climb.  The first year I ran this I did not realize this and it hurt me in the end.  So today I just kept it comfortable.  The 5K and 10K were run at the same time.  There was only 1 10K runner in front of me and he was still pulling away.  I managed to pick off a few 5K runners on the 2nd mile.  I ran the same pace as the 1st mile.  Somewhere along the 3rd mile I thought I heard some footsteps behind me.  It got me to pick it up a bit.  Made the turn-around at 3.1 in 22:34.  At this point I still felt pretty good and decided could increase the pace.  But I was in unchartered territory since I was already running much faster than any of my training runs the last month and a half.  On the 4th mile I was starting to feel more tired.  But I reminded myself I was in a race and just tried to maintain a good pace.  5th mile I still was holding on, especially knowing the last mile was downhill.  I let it all go on the 6th.  Nice to run downhill to the end.

Here are the splits from my Garmin:

7:20
7:19
7:10	22:34 @ 3.1 split
7:04
7:03
6:50
1:14	21:29 @ 6.2 split

Total - 44:03  - 7:06 avg.

Every mile was faster than the one before it.  Even if only by a few tenths of a second.  And a negative split of 1:05 for the 2nd half of the race was a surprise.  I only glanced at the watch when it chimed in at every mile.  But I was running by feel, and glad I did not let the faster splits scare me into slowing down.

Last year, with more training and no injuries, I ran a 42:51.  2 years ago my best 5K on this course was a 23:19. Better training has definitely made me faster over the last 2 years.  I was very happy with my time and how good I felt during the race all the way to the end, especially after only running for a month and a half. 

The winning time was 40:04.

Legs felt fine this morning from yesterday.  Right shin area had a little ache, but not bad.  As I ran, my left quad area felt sore.  I am wondering why my left quad always is more sore than my right.  It is also the same leg I had the stress fracture in.  I wonder if there is something in my form which causes more impact or stress on that leg.  I wonder how I would find out??

8.06 - 8:12, 8:01, 8:12, 8:06, 8:04, 8:05, 8:05, 7:59, :29 - 1:05:16 - 8:05 avg.

Another warm day.  Ran easy, but legs still tired in the end.

8.04 - 8:24, 8:23, 8:15, 8:15, 8:09, 8:16, 7:58, 7:55, :21 - 1:06:00 - 8:12 avg.

Legs felt suprisingly fresh after putting a few more miles than usual this early in a week.  Better than they felt the last 2 days at least.  Of course I was just as tired at the end of the run as I usually am.

8.03 - 8:12, 8:09, 8:15, 8:09, 8:12, 8:06, 8:01, 7:56, :13 - 1:05:16 - 8:07 avg.

am - Legs still feel fine after 4 days of higher mileage runs.  Finally have a couple of days off then begin dayshift.  Now I can do 2 runs a day instead of all the miles in 1 run.  I hope my legs appreciate it.

3.11 - 8:22, 8:06, 7:56, :51 - 25:16 - 8:07 avg.

pm - 1/2 mile into run the rains came a pouring, along with some thunder too.  Shoes and clothes got real heavy.  Could feel it on the last mile.  Ran 1.5 miles easy, next 2 pushed a little, then another easy 1.5 to finish.  Left quad sore.

5.17 - 8:34, 7:46, 7:13, 7:37, 8:04, 1:22 - 40:38 - 7:51 avg.

Rest Day

Rainy, rainy day.  But we need it real bad.  Other localities near us are under water restrictions.  But luckily our town draws water from a river that has not gone dry.  So I went to the gym for a run on the dread....I mean treadmill.  I wanted to go 8 today and was worried if I could go that far on it without becoming bored out of my mind.  I had never been over 6 on one before and that was only once.  But it was not that bad.  Never got bored.  The pace was easy enough where the cardio was fine.  About 5.5 into it though my legs ached a little.  But the same happens on the road.  So all in all it was a good run.  But I do not want to run on the darn thing too often.

8.05 - 1:03:48 - 7:55 avg.

Got home from work and knew I had to hurry and get out the door.  We were taking the kids to a Halloween Carnival this evening and were going to eat dinner a little earlier.  I wanted to get in 8, and get it done kind of quick...but not too quick.  So my splits were a little faster than I had been running.  Cardio wise this pace felt great.  Never any difficulty.  But after 5.5 miles my legs were getting sore.  Right calf, left quad, and bottoms of both feet were hurting.  Found on downward grades I was putting on the "brakes" and that made it hurt a little more.  I wish my legs would catch up with the rest of me.  Also I have been bad about tracking my miles on my shoes.  That may be the problem.  But I did just get some new ones so we shall see.  Wish I could afford to get two or three pair at a time to rotate them properly.

I realized I needed about 9.5 miles to get 50 for the week.  It would have happened but my work schedule and the weather cut out a couple of my 2 a days.  Still if I had more time today I would have done a relaxed 10.  But 50 is only a number and I was still pretty close.  This week's mileage should be good though.  Working dayshift and no heavy rains in the forecast this week.

8.03 - 7:59, 7:51, 7:43, 7:42, 7:36, 7:37, 7:31, 7:26, :15 - 1:01:44 - 7:41 avg.

Got up early and was going to get in a run before going to work.   Grabbed the Garmin from the charger and went outside.  I pushed the power button, and nothing happened.  I pushed it again, still nothing.  This time I pushed it real hard and stared at it angrily.  Still nothing. So went inside and got my "traditional watch."  I kept the pace very easy.  At first mile mark I forgot to get the split.  Just not used to doing things own my since having the Garmin I guess.  Got the next 3 splits though.   Right calf still hurt from yesterday, and never felt better during the run.  The left quad area still hurt as well.

The right calf hurt all day while at work.  Still hurt on my afternoon run as well.  This is very frustrating.  The quad pain has been here so long I forgot what it was like to not have it.  Now the calf.  For every step in a positive direction in my running, a negative keeps popping up.  Lately the cardio has felt so good, and the legs, I feel, are holding me back.  So no morning runs the next couple of days.  In the afternoons I will use the elliptical. 

Did some checking at garmin.com and found out the watch needed to be reset.  Thankfully it is now working like it should.

am - 4.06 - 17:42, 8:40, 8:21 - 8:44 avg.

pm - 6.05 - 7:54, 7:50, 7:37, 7:34, 7:29, 7:31, :22 - 46:20 - 7:39 avg.

Great weather for running today.  To bad my legs are hurting and I had to go to the gym to workout.  Was planning on 8 on the eliptical.  But from the ball of my right foot to the tip of my toes hurt like crazy.  I stopped at 4 miles.  Pedaled another 6 miles on the AirDyne.  Might try the roads again tomorrow.

4 miles - elliptical - 33:20

6 miles - AirDyne - 19:58