Isn't It Supposed To Get Easier?

Hellacious Blister

2010-06-06T14:49:00.000-04:00

Two runs to note here, since my last post....

Friday, lunch time. Decided to run in the heat of the day (mid 80's, hot, and humid). Since I haven't acclimated to the heat yet, what's the best way to run? Right in the middle of the day! No, not really. It sucked. Big time. I ran in my 5Fingers, thinking that I could increase my mileage in them by now. However, I knew I was in trouble because at 1.3 miles (while stopping at a light), I noticed that I already had hot spots on my feet where I usually get blisters on longer 5Finger runs. This didn't bode well for my 5-miler... At mile 4, I had to start walking... a lot, because my left foot was hurting really bad. When I got back, I confirmed that I had a *huge* blister that went across two toes (in width) *plus* major bruising underneath the blister. When I popped it (I had to... I could hardly walk on it), it streamed a bloody pus (sorry, were you eating?) like a hose for a few seconds. It didn't just dribble; it shot out! yuck. Anyway, it still hurts to walk on and I think I bruised my foot as well, because...

Yesterday, I ran around 6:30 pm. Again, it was hot and humid (around 84 at run time). Still sunny, still very humid (the weather guy said it was the most humid day of the year so far). I was supposed to do 6, but the time of day, the heat, plus the foot bruising (and probably another blister I can't seem to pop) beat me out of it, and I lumbered in with 4 miles. I was exhausted as well. However, I got 24 miles in this week, which is good, as I'm gearing up for some sort of race in the fall, and I need to actually follow some sort of training plan. Maybe a 1/2 marathon in October, maybe a trail long run (by myself), still dunno what, but either way, I need to start officially training for something.

This past week I also started watching what I eat. Not a diet, per se, but tracking how many calories I eat during the day. It has got me thinking just how much I snack, and I *am* trying to keep the calorie intake reasonable. I even add 110 calories of total calorie input I should have that day for every mile I run (this has an extra incentive to run more!). I could not keep a static calorie intake if I ran, say, 6 miles that day. I would be exhausted (and starving). Besides, after running 6+ miles at a time, I get ravenous about 3 hours later. Thanks to My Lovely Wife to helping me track my calories.

Extreme Hill Workouts

2010-05-31T17:19:00.000-04:00

After two hill workouts, my quads are toast This weekend, my family spent the weekend at Wintergreen Resort. It was a lot of fun. We hiked, the kids did the climbing wall, enjoyed a beer fest, and all and all, just had a good time. I ran twice in the mountains as well.

During the first run, I ascended 700 feet and descended 700 feet, with a total upper and lower altitude of 3900 and 3000 feet. I ran 5.5 miles total, but due to the extreme hills, I had to walk up the steepest parts. Even so, I managed a 10:50 pace, which, considering the hills, was pretty good. I definitely felt my quads on the downhill portions (which I ended up running, or more appropriately, shuffling, instead of walking). I felt great at the end though, and I was very glad I was able to run.

This morning, I ran *just* four miles, at a 9:48 pace. This was just an altitude change of 550 feet, but all at one go. I started out around 3,550 feet and ran down to 3,000 feet, then back again. Needless to say, my first two miles (running a net downhill) was significantly faster than my uphill back. However, I ran all the way up this time, although at times I definitely was shuffling, making a very slow progress. Ironically, I was listening to a walk/run podcast during my first run (where I walked and ran) and listened to a podcast where they described how to run hills during second run (where I..um.. ran up the hills). I kept my cadence up during the second run where I was shuffling along, so that was good. Plus, if my quads weren't trashed the first time, they were definitely trashed the second run. They hurt even now, a good 7 hours later.

Hopefully, this week will be better than my last week, where I ran exactly 1 time (the first mountain run described above). There are so many hilly areas around here, I should take advantage of them. Heading out 20-some miles out west, I can find some really good hills. I just need to go out and do it.

Long Run and Shirt Review

2010-05-22T16:44:00.000-04:00

Let's start with the shirt review and get that out of the way... A month or two ago, I received a free t-shirt in the mail after signing up here. It is an Agion shirt with one side treated with an odor reducer, and the other side treated with nothing. A while back I did a test where I wore the shirt out for three runs without washing. I overwhelmed the odor reducer, but on the other hand, I *did* wear the shirt three times in the hot sun sweating up a storm! Now, let me say one thing, when I run and sweat, I don't exactly smell like roses. I tend to smell like, well, a guy who ran outside and sweated a lot. So, now I wore the shirt two times in a row, again, without washing. The treated side smelled a little bit, but I really had to get up close -- *much* closer than I would expect someone to come up to sniff me. The untreated side? whew... I didn't need to get close to smell it.

How did the Agion shirt do? Very well. The odor treatment (or should that be the anti-odor treatment) worked very well. It's not supposed to totally eliminate the odor (or maybe it does), but it significantly reduces them... so much so that I *could* run a couple of times without washing the shirt (not that I would ever do that, no, never).

I not only got a free shirt, but I got a shirt that doesn't smell on one side.

Case Closed.

Now, today I ran 10 miles (this happened to be the second run in the second test in the Agion shirt). The mugginess in Washington DC is starting up this year and this morning, even at 6:00 am, a touch of the mugginess was there. I ran a sorta-new route, going on one route towards Wegman's, but then crossing Route 29 onto a neighborhood road. Now, I don't recommend crossing Route 29 during the day, but at 6:30 am (and then again at 6:50 am), the road was pretty clear. I was able to cross without the cross walk one way, but had to wait a minute or so crossing back. The run itself? The first 8 miles were great :) At half-way, I was very very strong. 2 miles later I still felt good. At 8 miles, pretty good. Miles 9 and 10? Not so good. The last mile was about 15 seconds slower than my average pace. My right plantar was acting up a bit as well. All in all, only three runs this week, but still, 22 miles. So that is not *too* bad... but I need to get my miles up (and I need to figure out what I want to run this fall so I choose a training program).

Oh, today I bought Brooks Ghost 2 shoes. I'll let you know how they do, but when I went to the running store (VA Runner, great store!) and told them that my 'other' running shoes were the Vibram 5 Fingers, and suggested that I wanted a neutral shoe, the Brooks Ghost 2 were one of the ones they brought out. Historically, I'm used to the Brooks Adrenaline, more of a stability shoes, so my experience with Brooks has been with a heavier shoe. These were as comfortable as my Saucony Guide shoes (my most comfortable shoes -- EVER). But, the proof of the pudding is in the eating (no, really, that's how the proper saying goes -- check it out), so maybe I'll have another review after a hundred or so miles in these shoes.

New Distance for 5Fingers

2010-05-21T18:37:00.000-04:00

Well, yesterday evening, I ran a new distance with my 5Fingers -- 6.29 miles. I ran from Reston Town Center onto the W&OD trail after work -- something I can thank My Lovely Wife for, as she took care of dinner for the kids, allowing me to do the run after work.

I ran at an 8:53 pace, which was faster than my previous run in my regular running shoes, so I was happy about that. However, at about mile 5 I started getting hot spots on the bottom of my feet. At the end, I had blisters on my forefeet (close to my toes). I'm sure that was totally due to the fact that I'm landing on my midfoot, and probably twisting the bottom of my foot on the ground before take-off. It's causing a rub on my feet. Now, I'm probably not doing to do anything about it, and my feet will get some callus' on them, so the blisters will stop. On the other hand, my feet were a bit tender at work, although shoes helped :)

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get a long run in to round the week at a whopping 3 runs :)

I Have Been Running, You Know

2010-05-18T21:27:00.000-04:00

... Not that you've known from my posts, or lack thereof. The past two weeks have sort of fizzled out.. Two weeks ago (or, the week of my most recent post), I ran nearly 14 miles. Last week, I ran 14.25 miles. Both weeks I didn't run Friday or Saturday. This week's start wasn't much better. I didn't run Sunday or Monday, but finally ran this evening... but only be bringing my running stuff to the office so that I could run before I went home and 'settled down' for the evening -- which is easy to do once you walk inside the front door.

Now, this past weekend, My Lovely Wife ran a half marathon! She ran in the Marine Corps Historic Half in Fredericksburg, VA. It was a good weekend, and good weather (although a bit warm my late morning on Sunday). The whole family had fun. She was very happy to get the race under her belt, and happy that it was a half marathon.

Now what.. I don't know. I've been in a 'base training' mode for months now, and need to change it up a bit. I need to figure out what sort of races there are this Fall, and also figure out what sort of distances I should consider. Should I go for speed, and concentrate on 5k's?, or go the total opposite and walk/run an ultra? What say you?

There's such as thing as a 'bad' run...

2010-05-05T19:45:00.000-04:00

Well, with 4 runs (okay, maybe three) this week, I realized that last Saturday's run can be termed 'bad'. Not just bad, but terrible....

I ran a few miles on Sunday, one mile with My Number One Son, and then another few miles by myself... then Tuesday evening (6 miles at 8:35 pace) and just now (another evening run -- 4.5 miles at 8:43 pace). I felt great for all the runs. Now, my right plantar still hurts, but it doesn't actually kill me the next day (unlike in the past), so I'll take that as a good sign. Today's run was in my 5Fingers! I was able to handle the distance without pain (always a good thing), although I stepped on a rock with my right heel, *exactly* where my right plantar hurts on my way back, which *really really* hurt. However, within a half-mile of the 'rock incident', I was fine (thanks for asking). But, I think I"m getting used to the 5Fingers. I'm still going to take it easy with them (not run too far), but over time, I still hope to increase the distance to 6 miles or so.

The rest of this week? Dunno. I'm going camping Friday afternoon through Sunday morning with Cub Scouts, so I won't have time to run. So I"m hoping to get 8-10 miles on Friday morning or noon (not sure which). Since I probably won't be able to run tomorrow morning, and tomorrow evening isn't looking good either, I'm not sure I could run tomorrow (Thursday) night, and then a long run Friday morning. Who knows. I didn't plan this week correctly :/

One Run Past a Good Week

2010-05-01T20:41:00.000-04:00

Up until this evening's run, this running week was very good. I had very good runs, including an 8-miler, well in the 8-something pace. My right plantar didn't hurt (too much), and 24 hours after a run, I hardly felt it. However, this evening changed all of that.

Suffice it to say, that if you have one or more of the following conditions, your run may not be considered 'a great run':

It's evening and you are used to running early in the morning
You just had a dinner-sized meal
It's 81 degrees, hot and sunny, when you are used to running in cooler temps when the sun is first rising
You didn't do pushups 'to exhaustion' earlier in the day

If you have done one or more of these items, or in my case, did all four, well, you may not have the best run.

This evening's run was kinda sucky. It started out fine. I ran 2 miles and I was tracking pretty well. 3 miles, and I was beginning to suffer a bit, 4 miles, and it was over. I had to begin the first of several walking breaks. Towards the last mile, I think I was walking at least half the time. Fortunately, My Lovely Wife was driving home just when I was three-quarters of a mile home, jokingly asked if I needed a ride, and was surprised when I said 'Yes'. Boy, it was a bad run.

However, I will have been glad to get some miles in today, because in the end, there are no 'bad' runs, because your worst run is better than not running at all (unless you are injured).

Total for the week 25.5, so that wasn't too bad.

Some Things Considered

2010-04-29T16:15:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder how your life would be changed if you left earlier or arrived later than your actual arrival or departure? I was thinking that when I was heading to the airport last Sunday. I was thinking back to after my senior year in high school. My friends and I had gone to the Ocean City, Maryland for beach week before (or maybe it was after) Graduation. On the last day, I caught a ride with a buddy to go back home to do something or other. It turns out that the other group of people I was hanging out with took their rental house security deposit and went water skiing. I missed out of that because I left early. I was bummed when I found out (apparently I still am because I was thinking about it 20+ years later). Anyway, something like that happened again this past Sunday. I got to the airport a little early as I wasn't sure about security lines, etc, when I saw my oldest sister in the security line ahead of me! Now, my sister lives in Kansas and doesn't often come out this-a-way. She was here for some event nearby and was only here for the weekend. I could not even calculate the odds of this happening and the events that needed to occur for this to happen (for starters, my business trip was delayed a week). We couldn't even have planned it better if we tried. Anyway, that was really nice that I got to see her.

Oh, I ran some this week too. I ran 6 miles on Monday, 4 miles on Wednesday, and 8 miles this morning. My pace was very good too. It seemed that the run last Wednesday really got my pace going. I ran well into the 8-something pace monday and Wednesday, and something like an 8:25 for the 8-miler this morning. I was really happy with that. Now, my right plantar hurts a little bit when I stand up and start walking (since I was flying today, I hobbled a bit funny when I got off the plane). I'll try to (re)start my effort to run on trails or other soft surfaces on weekends.

Speaking of trails, considering that although my speed is coming along, and that I seem to be able to keep the speed up on longer runs, I'm not sure I should sign up for a race (read: marathon) this fall. Mostly due to my plantar fasciitus. I fear the long runs required to train will prevent it from healing. However, that doesn't preclude me from taking on the distance this fall on the Bull Run Regional Trail. Since the trail goes on for 20+ miles, I could easily go out 13.1 (and then back) and end up running the full marathon distance. I'm not sure I'm going to do this, as I'm just mulling it over in my mind (also still thinking of an official fall marathon as well).

During my run today, I was also thinking of how many people run 20+ miles when they are *not* training for a marathon**. I know *I* haven't run 20*** unless I've been marathon training. If I were to do the marathon distance trail run this fall, it would be the first time I've run over 20**** miles without training for an official marathon. Hmm... should I do that?

Another part of me is wondering if I can qualify for the Marathon Maniacs. To qualify for the Bronze level, I need to either (1) Run 2 Marathons within a 16 day time frame, OR (2) Run 3 Marathons within a 90 day time frame. Of course, this is totally opposite the paragraph above (that is, *not* training for an official marathon to avoid further injury). Oh well....

Notes:
** The number 20 has now appeared 3 times in this post. You should use that number to play the lottery!
*** 4 times!
**** 5 times!
*****

Running with a Group, Part Two / Another Evening Run

2010-04-22T21:37:00.000-04:00

I do want to point out one thing about last night's run -- although I *think* I ran an 8:20-8:25 pace, it was no walk in the park. I was beat. I was *happy* I had to wait 2-3 minutes at the intersection going out, and happy I had to wait 1-2 minutes at the same intersection coming back. I was beat at the end. I wasn't going race pace, but I was close. *That* is the biggest thing to (re) learn about running with a group -- don't go too fast. I could handle it, but it was definitely a hard run.

Tonight? Another evening run. My Number One Son had another sports practice tonight, so I took the opportunity to get another run in. Where he practices is roughly 1.2 miles from a path going to Ellanor C. Lawrence park (according to my Garmin) so I headed there. Apparently, I keep forgetting that I can't do simple math while on a run, so although I chose a path where it ended 2.45 miles in, I couldn't remember that I had to add .55 X 2 -- or roughly a mile -- to my run to make it an even 6 miles. I got the .55 mile part, so I added another 1/2 mile to my run, or thereabouts, but at the end, I only had 5.44 miles. I had forgotten to add *another* .55 miles to my run to make it 6. Oh well, my legs were shot anyway (see above). In fact, my quads are a bit sore from running, and of course, my right heel hurts. Some say it's plantar fasciitis, and they are probably right. All I know is that I wake up in the morning and need to hobble around for a few minutes until my heel can stand walking normally on it.

Cheers.

Running with a Group

2010-04-22T15:52:00.000-04:00

Last night, I went on my very first Wednesday evening run with Reston Runners / Potomac River Running (PRR). At the PRR Reston store, at 6:30 pm on Wednesdays, the store and the club offer a 50 minute run on the W&OD trail. I haven't run with Reston Runners in years, although I do belong, and I've never started a run at PRR. I also realized that I don't run with a group very often, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The pre-run was good. Since I knew zero people there, I didn't talk much, but I noticed a lot of race shirts (rule #1: on a group run, flaunt the fact that you have done some races!). There was a representative from Mizuno there with a raffle, so I entered my name. I couldn't / wouldn't enter any other personal information about myself, that was good :)

Then we started. I immediately started running at my running pace, but apparently others started running at a warmup pace (I guess that's rule #2 about group running...). It didn't matter too much, as different groups started running their own paces. There were two people who really just took off, running what had to be a sub-8 minute mile. I hung out in the second group, but took the hills pretty hard, so I went ahead of them. A few of them caught up and passed me at an intersection (we lost about 2-3 minutes waiting there), and they never looked back. I kept my pace up pretty well though -- I think I was running a 8:20-8:25 average, with some 1/2 miles splits at around an 8:00 minute/mile. That's the big thing about group running, I tend to run faster than when I'm by myself. However, I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing.

At 25 minutes, I turned around, and started back. For some reason, I got it my head that I needed to be back at 45 minutes (instead of 50), so every time I looked at my watch, I thought I was behind, so I sped up a bit. With about a mile to go, I realized that I was not tracking correctly, but by then, I knew I was doing a negative split, so I kept it up. In the end, I did a negative split by about a minute, so 49 minutes overall. I'm guessing I did an 8:20 or 8:25 pace overall, so I"m guessing that I did 5.88 miles (since I knew I ran for 49 minutes). Since I didn't have the Garmin, it was guess work, but the W&OD trail is marked very half mile, so this was close.

At the end of the run, I stretched my calves and heel as much as I could while waiting for the raffle. I didn't win anything, but I did notice a cool marathon training shirt sold at the store, so I'll need to remember that.

Will I do it again? Yes. I enjoy it, but need to remember two things when running with a group: 1) wear a race shirt; and 2) wear clean clothes (see this post for more info on this). Note: I *did* follow #2 last night, but it's always a good thing to remember...

Non-morning runs

2010-04-17T14:55:00.000-04:00

Thursdays are a bit hectic, as my Number 1 Son has Flag Football practice at 5:30 pm. It does for 1 1/2 hours. This week, I decided to use my time a bit more wisely than last week, and try to get a run in. Now, I had never run in this particular neighborhood before, so it was an adventure in itself. Plus, it was a little on the warm side (when you normally run at O'Dark-Thirty, any time with the sun is 'a little on the warm side'). I ended up doing 6 miles at a 8:59 pace. The neighborhoods were great. I ended up running through some very different parts, and it was obvious they different parts were built in many time time periods, all the way from the late 60's/early 70's to some being built right now. The only bad part was that I was running during evening rush hour, so I had to wait several minutes at one light (today was one of the only times I stopped my watch during these long waits).

Friday? Lunch-time run. I ran to the local REI store (3 miles one-way) to pick up a shirt and a nalgene bottle. I then ran home. The pace was a little slower, as I still felt sluggish from the day before, but I had a negative split. I also took a 15 minute break between runs, so on buckeyeoutdoors, I tracked it as 2 3-mile runs, versus 1 6-mile run. My right plantar hurt after the run, and pretty much hurt all afternoon into the evening. Today, due to a hectic schedule, but also due to my plantar, I decided to take a rest day. Hopefully, I'll be able to run before church on Sunday, but only a short run to ease my way back to the week.

A few weeks ago, I received an Agion t-shirt in the mail by signing up here. I have been meaning to write my review of it, but wanted a few good runs in first to really test the anti-stink power of the shirt. Early reviews though.. it seems to work. I wore the shirt three times (without washing) to really begin to test it. I stank a little, but when compared to a shirt I wore two times** (again, without washing), whooooooeeeeoooo, there was a difference. The older shirt (worn twice) was noticeable from several feet away, while I had to get up close and personal (actually holding the shirt up to my nose) on the Agion shirt. Now, I normally won't walk up to somebody, grab a piece of their shirt, and hold it up to my nose -- well, normally, that is -- so, I guess the Agion shirt passed the first test. Now, to test it after washing to see if anything of the magic components washed out. I'll write more after more science experiments with the shirt.

** Note: I only wore the shirt two times without washing for science reasons. No, I would never do that outside of laboratory conditions.. Well, mostly never.. that is, sometimes.. well, okay, often... happy?

What's Going On?

2010-04-14T18:33:00.000-04:00

I don't know what is going on this week. Last week, I did my last real run on Friday (documented in this post). Saturday, I ran a mile with Number One Son (but didn't track it). I didn't run again until Tuesday, a 6 miler, but very sluggish. This morning, I ran 3 miles in my 5Fingers (btw, I figured instead of typing VFF like the VFF fanatics, I can type 5Fingers, with my reasoning being I'm less of a fanatic). This was *very* sluggish. I originally was going to do 4, but after running 1/4 mile in the 5Fingers, I figured I didn't want to injure myself, so I dropped it to 3.

Tomorrow? Who knows... Hopefully 6, but also expect it to be sluggish (how's that for positive thinking!).

The good part of the week (here's the positive thinking) is that I can finally wake up early again. However, I'm *very* beat by the end of the day. You know, if it were going into Winter, I'd understand, with the fewer hours of sunlight, etc., etc., but geesh... the days are getting *longer*! You think I'd be rarin' to go each and every day.

Oh well. :)

No Groove

2010-04-09T11:50:00.000-04:00

Didn't have any groove this morning. Was going to do 10 miles, but after started, realized that since I hadn't run 10 miles yet this week, and I didn't want my 'long run' to be > 50% of my weekly total (I actually shoot for my long run being no more than 30% of my weekly total), I cut my long run to 9 miles (which, in my book, doesn't actually make it a 'long run', more of a long-ish run, but I'm being picky now).

Anyway, I came up with every single excuse to prevent myself from heading out the door this morning, including running 2 houses away, and then turning around to get a long sleeve shirt on (although it has been quite warm this past week, a cold front came in, making the temps in the 50's, but there was a very stiff wind out this morning, on top of a rainy night, making it a little chilly this morning). I was actually lucky that I got up enough guff to go back outside after committing a cardinal sin of using excuses not to run -- going back inside the house to get something.

After a 1/2 mile, I still wasn't motivated. After 1 mile, I wasn't motivated, but was committed. After 3 miles, I was thinking about cutting the run short. After 4.5 miles (the turnaround), I was thinking that soon, very soon, I would get a groove going so that I wouldn't look like I was lurching down the road (I'm sure, well, pretty sure, I wasn't actually doing that, but it sure felt like it). At 8 miles, I thought a felt a groove coming on, but it quickly went away. At 9 miles, it was over, and thank God for that. It was a bad run. My time wasn't too bad (9:05 pace), but I felt terrible (or should it be 'turrible'). My right plantar made itself known, but my left knee kindly didn't. I just need to stretch (a lot) today.

Oh, not that I posted, but I ran two other times this, both of them to Cub Scout adult/leader events (i.e., no kids). The first night (yes, Night... for some reason, mornings weren't kind to me this week either, so no early morning runs) I ran 1.3 miles to the meeting, cleaned up, had a meeting, and then figured out a way to get 2.3 miles in on the way home, making a 3.6 mile run. The next night, I packed up with new clothes and a sandwich, ran 3.6 miles to the meeting, changed, cleaned up, ate the sandwich, had a meeting, and then 1.3 miles home, for a total of 5 miles.

All in all, a light week, certainly not what I am intending, but hoping to get a Saturday run in. The morning is out, but hopefully in the afternoon?

Slooooow Start

2010-04-07T05:43:00.000-04:00

It's been a slow start to the week, pretty much a downer from last week. Let's see, Sunday, Rest Day, Monday, Skipped Run, Tuesday AM, Skipped Run. Tuesday Night -- Finally got a (short) run in. I had a Cub Scout meeting Tuesday evening, so I decided to run there and back. Not too bad a run -- the total was less than 4 miles, and there was a 2 hour break in the middle, but at least I got something in.

There's another meeting tonight. Dare I risk running to that one too? Now, keep in mind, that I don't bring a change of clothes with me, so I do try to put a little distance between me and the rest of the folks. I also wouldn't consider running 5-6 miles TO a meeting, although I would love to run 5-6 coming home, but somehow don't have the fortitude to change my route enough to get the distance in coming home, plus it's late.

Now I Can Say It's Been a Good Week

2010-04-03T18:48:00.000-04:00

As you remember yesterday, I was hestitant to say that it was a good week, because I still had a run today. Well, 10.12 miles later, *now* I can say it was a good week. 38.57 miles. 6 days of running out of 7. Not bad. Of course, I had to go on vacation to do this. Wonder if I can make it a habit. Well, I could, but living out in the street would put a damper to my running....

Today I ran 10.12 miles at a 9:05 pace. It sounds better than it felt. For the first 5 (!) miles, I felt sluggish. I couldn't get a rhythm going. I started out pretty early, but since I was going to finish up in daylight, I didn't bring my night running gear (reflective vest, headlamp). The ironic thing was that I was listening to a podcast where they were interviewing the President of Go Motion Gear -- the maker of high-end lighting for runners. Go figure. I thought very highly of the interview, but after checking their website, felt that although the gear looks very good, I don't want to spent $80 on lighting. You should check it out though. I personally like the waist belt add-on, and they are supposed to work very well, but $80 is $80.

I hope to continue my streak next week by running at least 5 days. Tomorrow, however, I'm taking off.

Rollin' 'cross the Bridge

2010-04-02T19:06:00.000-04:00

This week we were on vacation at Sunset Beach, NC. It's a wonderful place, where you can relax, take it easy, and of course, get some good runs in! Let's get the run recap out of the way...

Monday: 4.71 at an 8:49 pace. It was windy and a bit rainy, but overall, a good run. My calves were tight, but even though I ran stopped and stretched at mile 2, I kept a good pace. I was sluggish for first couple miles, as it had been a while since a good run.
Tuesday: Ran a mile with my kids (yes, I'm counting that), and then ran 4 miles with My Lovely Wife. I wore my 5Fingers on this run, and yes, my calves were very tight again! Kept the pace easy though.
Wednesday: 8 miles with My Lovely Wife. Normal shoes this time. Kept pace easy and it was a very good run (mostly because I got to run with my wife!)
Thursday: A Fast 5.7 miles with my normal shoes (with mile 2 and mile 5 at an 8:04 pace), with an overall pace of 8:11. Then I ran 2 miles with my Number One Son. That was good too! (also did the 2 mile run in my 5Fingers).
Friday: Back at home, did an easy 3 miler in my 5Fingers (9:03 pace).

So far, 28.45 miles. Hopefully, I'll get a good long run in tomorrow to round out the week.

So, the Beach. Very nice, very pleasant. Got to stay with My Lovely Wife's parents, so that was very good. Also got to spend time with her Grandmother (Nana), so that was a double-bonus.

It also may be the last time we got to drive across the old swinging bridge. They are building a new bridge (non-swinging, non-draw) to replace the old one, and it may be done by the time we visit again later this Summer. Who knows. It's a one lane bridge, pretty bumpy (wooden planks on iron or steel -- I think) and you can't go more than 10 mph on it or else it rattles your car apart, but it's been there since 1961 and it has helped defined the beach since. It is pretty much a residential beach, with only a few commercial stores on the beach. I don't know if the new bridge will bring more commercial stores (probably), but I hope they keep the spirit of the beach intact. But enough about that :)

I did run across the bridge last year, and I don't really recommend it. I ran early in the morning, which was good, as there was less traffic on the bridge. They don't mention pedestrians explicitly, but they say that bicyclists must cross after the cars, so I ran pretty much sprinted across the bridge as fast as I could after the last car, but still didn't make it before the car traffic started coming back the other way. Fortunately, they were nice and drove extra slow when passing me. The new bridge is supposed to have a pedestrian walkway, but we'll see. It's a pretty steep incline (since it's a bridge) so it might be a tough climb. Ask me again later this summer about it!

I won't say that it has been a good week in running, as I still have my long run to go, but actually, it has :)

I Guess Last Week Was A 'Down' Week

2010-03-30T21:42:00.001-04:00

... Since I only ran 5.5 miles. I had two good runs though. The first
run was good last week. On Sunday, my Number 1 Son and I ran to his
Cub Scout meeting (and then we ran back home). On Tuesday, while on
business travel, I ran a bit with a co-worker. That was nice. But that
was it. The rest of then week? Nada.

This week, a little better. Already ran 9 miles, with a long run
coming tomorrow. More news then!

--
Sent from my mobile device

No Half Marathon....

2010-03-20T13:56:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I decided not to pick up my registration for the National (Half) Marathon. Things were pretty busy at work and at home, plus, last night was busy for Cub Scouts. Since there was so much going on, plus since this race wasn't one I was really training for, I decided to back out.. So, races this year: 0. :)

I did run at Burke Lake this morning. I had intended to run 13.5 miles, but ended up running only 9. However, I ran the first 'lap' in my Vibram shoes, and the second lap in my normal shoes. Boy, quite the contrast. First of all, I felt every rock on the path, and some are quite large. I also realized that I paid very close attention to where I was landing my feet in my Vibram shoes because a root or a large rock hurt my feet. Even the small gravel made an impact, so to speak. However, my average for the first lap was.. (get this): 8:48. My body seems to gravitate to this number, as I had two runs last week (6.8 and 12) with the exact same pace.

On the second lap, since I decided way early that it was going to be my last lap, I decided to fartlek, or tempo, or something on the course to shake things up (also helped justify losing a lap). As a result, my pace was an 8:12 for 4.5 miles (after running an initial 4.5 miles). So I was happy with that. I wasn't too tired at the end, so that's good as well :) Just to be complete, mile 3 (or mile 8.5) was a 7:43 mile.

Have a good run!

Grand Unveiling

2010-03-19T09:03:00.000-04:00

I know all of you have been as anxious as teenage girls before opening night of a Twilight movie while waiting to see what kind of shoes I purchased (well, as least *I* was). Well, the wait is over. Yesterday, in the mail, I received my Vibram Five Fingers KSOs:

I put them on as soon as I got home, tried them out on the treadmill, and think they will do just fine, thank you very much.

They fit pretty much like a sock (with toes). I originally tried some on at Hudson Trail Outfiitters, and it took me several minutes to get all five toes in the right holes in the shoes (at one point, I had toes in the wrong holes, two toes in the same hole, and every combination you can think of. At times, I have a very sad existence). Well, at home, trying on my Five Fingers on for the first time, I had the same issue.

How do they feel? great. They feel fine walking around, and I like the fact that I can *feel* the ground when I walk. How do they feel running? Well, good! Today I ran a total of two miles (I thought it would sound longer if I spelled it out, rather than typing '2') at a 9:43 pace. I didn't intend to run that slow, I just did. I'm getting used to landing on my forefoot and I'm taking noticeably shorter strides, so it'll take a while before I can run more than 3-4 miles in them, and I'm sure that I'll be slow in them as well. I remember that when I started running in my Nike Free's, I couldn't do more than 3 or so miles at first. And running in 3 in those Nike Free shoes felt like running 6 in normal running shoes, due to the extra support your actual legs and feet need to provide in your running (rather than your running shoes). I'm feeling the same here with the Five Fingers (fans call the Vibram Five Fingers the 'VFF' -- I don't think I'm there yet). I felt my feet engaging in my run, and landing on my forefoot adds stress to my tendons, but I think that's a good thing (once they build up strength). As long as I increase my miles very very gradually with these Vibram shoes, I should be okay. If I took off and ran a 10 miler in these shoes, well, my feet wouldn't feel so great.

The other think I was worried about (well, worried is a strong word, concerned? fretful?) was how to tell others who I am and who to contact after a car knocks me off the road without my handy-dandy Road Id. I use a Road Id on my normal running shoes, as they attach to my laces. Well, with the Vibram's, no laces. I then remembered that I embraced the concept of Road Id way before they got all the nifty devices (wrist bands, shoe bands, ankle bands, interactive bands, etc.) and I still have the original 'Fixx' necklace (it looks like a dog tag). The hardest part about the Fixx is remembering to put it on. That's why I got the shoe Id in the first place. (as you all know, the Fixx was named after Jim Fixx, a popular runner and author who helped start the 2nd running revolution in the 1970's).

All of you who run, get a Road Id. Seriously. Especially out in this area, there's lots of traffic, and if you run early morning, when drivers are mostly just focusing on getting to work, they may not see you. If you are unconscious lying on the side of the road, the Road Id will tell the first responders who you are, emergency contact info, as well as any drug allergies you may have. Oh, and your blood type. Get it.

Anyway, the great wait is over. Keep on running!

Comments and Runs

2010-03-18T09:09:00.000-04:00

So after my post yesterday saying that gosh, there's *no* way that pain on my bottom of my heel could be plantar fasciitis, one of my friends comment in facebook, that (and I'm paraphrasing here) 'hate to break the news, but *yes* the pain could certainly be plantar fasciitis, geesh' (maybe I added the 'geesh'). Huh.. she's right. I always thought it was 'old man' pain -- something I got when I woke up and hobbled around the house until it went away. Now that I think about it, it only happened when I increased my mileage, or increased by speed, or just trained in general :-)

So maybe I have it. On the other hand, I've had it for a long time (I think). It only happens after waking up, and after I've been sitting for awhile (mostly after I drive to work on days when I ran that morning). But it goes away, and in the afternoon or evening, don't even feel it (unless I run then). I'll have to keep an eye on it (plus, keep up with my stretching, which I'm not very habitual about).

I did run this morning. A nice, easy (9:13 pace), 3 miler wearing my Nike Free's. Plus, the duct tape helped. About a year ago, the heel fabric split along a seam. At first, it didn't really seem to do anything bad. However, this year, very noticeable now that there's a lot of dirt and sand on the roads due to the snow, every time I wore them I would get a pile of sand inside the shoe with the split seam in the heel. So, after applying some very sticky duct tape to seal the seam, and voila! no more sand in my shoes. I have a feeling that the duct tape is a fairly short term fix, but then again, I really don't feel like purchasing another pair of Nike Free's, nor anything made by Nike (click here for why).

Tomorrow, I should run. Saturday, the National (Half) Marathon. Metro opens at 5:00 am.. Working backwards to figure out what time I need to wake up to get ready and be at the metro at 5:00 am makes me think that I'll be getting up just as some late night party-goers will just be getting home... oy.

So Here are the Hills....

2010-03-17T18:52:00.000-04:00

I realized that my long runs and medium runs lately have been on relatively flat surfaces. Why do I say that? because today I ran a hilly course, and I could not, for the life of me, get any real speed. Plus, I was huffing and puffing all the way through.

Today I ran to Fairfax Corner (via Safeway). I figured I hadn't run that course in awhile and wanted to do 6. Well, I did it. But boy, were there some hills involved! I managed to get under a 9 minute mile, but just. I did an 8:57. With this amount of effort on a flat course, I would have hit 8:40 or below. (I'm actually wondering if my lofty goal of an 8:48 for the National (Half) Marathon is too lofty, as it is not a flat course...) Anyway, at the end of the run, I wasn't in pain, although the bottom of my heel as a little sore (I'm not sure that this is plantor fasciitis or not, as the pain is squarely on the bottom on my heel, rather than closer to the arch. Also, it doesn't seem like my Achilles because, again, it's squarely on the bottom on my heel. I wonder if it's just sore...) Once I walked around a bit, it was fine.

Plus, at work, I didn't get the sore feeling after sitting for a long time. So that's good.

Tomorrow? not sure. Hopefully an easy 3.

Rock On, Lenny! (now tell me where that line is from!)

Got it in under the wire

2010-03-15T20:54:00.000-04:00

Well, what should have been the first run in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) turned out to be.. well, not so much. I woke up overnight with a super stomach-ache, and didn't sleep ~~well~~ the rest of night. There was no way I was going to wake up at 4:30 am to run 6 miles. Nor at 5:00 am, nor at 6:00 am. When I finally got up, I was dragging a bit, so stayed home to work.

However, around noon, I started perking up...so.... around 5 pm, I went out to do my 6 miles. Now, with Daylight Savings Time, it gets darker later, so I was able to take advantage of that (so that I am a fan of DST, I'm not. It should go away. But this is another post...). Anyway, I ran 6.03 at an 8:40 pace; however, I was huffing and puffing it at 4 miles to do so. Around that time, I was trucking along pretty well, and sure enough, I was getting very tired. However, I wanted to keep a good pace, so I pushed on through. Now, tomorrow, I may feel it, but right now, it was a good run.

Now, I don't get ~~any~~ a lot of comments on my blog page (although I get a few in Facebook), but of the ones, I get, most are in Chinese. I haven't done much research on this, but I think there's some spammers out there who want you or me to click on their comments, because some of the link you can hit are.. well.. semi-adult in nature. They aren't too bad but are just... odd... This is a translation (through Babelfish) of my most recent comment:

Bustles about one day crossed finally, has a look at the article transformation mood, also helps you to add oil oh ~

Yeah, I don't get it either....

Well, the National (Half) Marathon is only days away now. Just gotta figure out logistics. I have to pick up my race packet on Friday waaaaay-a-ways in downtown Washington DC. Plus, I have a Cub Scout event Friday night, so I need to take time off of work... sigh....

And Another Thing...

2010-03-13T11:45:00.000-05:00

A couple of points I forgot to mention this morning...

1) I've been following some other blogs, and thought I'd share one post that I thought was hilarious. This is from the blog: I Am Boring, a.. you guessed it, running blog (among other things). In this post, Adam laments that he's doing some long runs on a treadmill, but at the gym, it auto-shuts-off at 60 minutes. So he lists things that should exempt you from the 60-minute time limit -- or, in other words (mine) -- what makes you a longer-distance runner versus a shorter-distance runner: http://www.theboringrunner.com/2010/03/operation-gyama.html. I can add to that list as well, as I'm sure all of you can.

2) Did I mention that it was raining this morning? Man, with the 30-mph wind, at times, the rain was pelting me in the face, and it stung. Reminded me of a Gatorade ad I saw in Runners World once. Anyway, ouch. I was soaking wet at the end, and I think I got a 'hot spot' -- where a blister was able to form, on the bottom on my foot, because there was a lot of slipping and sliding in my wet shoes... Poor me :)

Shoes and Running

2010-03-09T21:26:00.000-05:00

Tonight, I managed to squeeze a run in... When I got home, I put on my Nike Free's (more on this below) and tried to run properly (not landing on my heels) for 3.something miles. Now, I managed to hold about an 8:30 pace, which was totally unexpected, so I was happy about that. Running more 'barefoot-like' adds more stress to my calves, but less on my bones, so although I need to stretch tonight, my knees and ankles didn't hurt. Of course, running only 3 helped as well :)

Now, the shoes.... I mentioned before my going back and forth on getting more 'stability' shoes, or motion-control shoes, versus getting shoes that offer little stability. I will probably end up getting Asics 2100 series shoes, but part of me wants to get the Vibram Five Fingers. They look rather silly, but they seem to have a following. For what they do, are are probably really good. There's several styles available, from the 'classic' -- the first one they made, to others, which include the KSO (Keep Stuff Out) as well as a 'water' one, and one that works better in cold weather. Now, barefoot running, or at least minimalist running, has gotten a lot of press, by fans, books, and even major running magazines. I do believe that running shoes, by their very nature, shield the foot -- too well. I think I read in a book that running shoes are like neck braces. They work so well that the muscles become weak. Also, since running shoes weren't invented until 1920 or so, but we've been running (well, 'we' as in humans, not 'we' as in you and me, or at least not me) for much longer than that, our bodies must know something. Hence, running in shoes that don't offer much stability. There was even a Harvard study that showed that running barefoot-style (landing on forefoot or midfoot) showed several times less impact than landing on your heel.

So... I might get something less than stability shoes, but since my legs and feet have been in 'neck braces' for years (figuratively, not literally), I shouldn't just jump with both feet (get it?), but need to work my way to it. Therefore, getting the Asics 2100 series shoes (as one pair of my current shoes has 700 miles on them), and then, maybe something else.. Vibram Five Fingers???

New Route

2010-03-08T06:22:00.000-05:00

During my run with My Lovely Wife last week, we found a path that we (or at least I) hadn't seen before. So, today, I tried it. Wasn't too long, so ended up running along busy road to make my distance (there *was* a path, so I wasn't running on the road though). Today I ran 6. This is in my quest to get some mileage in before the National (Half) Marathon on March 20. If I get a couple runs of 6 miles in, plus a couple runs of 4, plus a long run of 10+ this week, that'll be good. My legs were pretty tired today though. I ran a pretty good pace (9:01), good considering that I had to stop a couple of times to get my bearings, as this was a new route, and it was quite dark outside. Will I do that course again? Not sure. Maybe when it's light out, as I do run along a path for much of the distance and it would be good to be able to see the scenery.

Tomorrow? Let's hope for 4.

Not a Bad Week

2010-03-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

29.32 miles. Not too bad. The last time I hit this mileage was way back at the last week of December, first week of January. I was trying to hit 900 miles (I think) for the year, so I poured it on at the last part of December. So, over 2 months since I hit this mileage...

Why? well, it seems that I'm signed up for the National (Half) Marathon in a few weeks (March 20 to be exact). I want to make sure that I can do the distance. Now, today, I ran 10 miles at a sub-9 pace, I know I can *finish* the race, so that's good. However, I want to make sure that the distance isn't too much. I think I'm in good shape, but I'll have next week to get a long run in as well (10? 12? dunno).

So... shoes... I currently run in two pairs of shoes (not at the same time). Adidas Adistars (700 miles), and New Balance 768 (300 miles). Now, I love the Adidas, but they are *way* past due for replacements. The New Balance, I don't love as much, however, they offer less support (which is what I'm looking for), so that's good. What am I going to replace the Adidas with? The doctor and physical therapoists all say to replace with motion control / stability shoes, and I understand why, but part of me believes that running in shoes that offer so much stability reduce the need for strong lower leg and foot muscles, which makes me more prone to injury. The opposite end of this is running barefoot (something I've considered) or running in shoes that offer pretty much zero stability. The Vibram Five Fingers are basically feet coverings that prevent rocks and glass from poking your feet, but that's all the protection they offer. What to do, what to do....

Stay tuned for more on this incredible saga!

Cruizin' Along....

2010-03-05T19:49:00.000-05:00

So it's Friday now.. Got 19 miles in the bank.. wow. Last week I had 9 miles total for the week, and the week before that, 4.55 miles. Previous week? 23 miles. So maybe this week will be good. Scratch that.. this week *is* good!

Ran 3.something last night. Decided to run to the Cub Scout Leader meeting (hope my apparel and odor wasn't too bad for them!). Was going to try to complete 4 or 5, but was too tired so just went back home. This morning (okay, late morning), I ran with My Lovely Wife. This week at work was pretty tough so I decided to work at home today. I took a long lunch and run 5 miles with her. The sun was out, the temps were in the upper 30's (or maybe even lower 40's!) but there was a pretty stiff wind. Even so, it was a great job.

So far this week, no pain (well, only a little pain in my foot, and maybe the beginnings of plantar fasciitis (had to look up that spelling). I read on WebMD that I should rest for treat plantar fasciitis. HA. Never. Of course, that attitude is what brought me to the physical therapist in the first place. On the other hand, I have 670 miles in one pair of shoes, and 300 in the other pair, so maybe a new pair of shoes are in order.

Two Whole Runs This Week!

2010-03-03T10:08:00.000-05:00

Wow, whatta post title! Two whole Runs! :) Well, I ran 6 today. I'm trying to ramp up a little, as apparently, I'm still signed up for the National (Half) Marathon on March 20. So I suppose I gotta ~~start~~ keep training. I've run 10 miles a couple weeks ago, so I think I can finish the race. However, it'd be good to get double-digits again a few times before the race (in 2.5 weeks) so that the length will be comfortable.

I ran in sub-9 again this morning -- 8:44 to be precise. The speed felt fine, and I was refreshed at the end of the run, so that's good. It is also helping that I'm not running every day (but should be running every other day). I still consider that I'm in 'winter training', so I'm not ramping it up (too much), but... with the 1/2 marathon a couple weeks away, I should consider ramping it up a little....

I need to stretch. After physical therapy, my runs felt great. Now my lower legs are a little tight and sore. There's no excuse on this week. I know that stretching really does help (and there's actual proof) but after the run, I'm busy getting ready for work. I should try to spend 10 or so minutes stretching, particularly my calves and ankles, so that I don't start with injuries.

I'm also debating on the kind of shoes I should get next -- more support, or less support? Anyone have any thoughts?

Exercise = Danger from Zombies

2010-03-01T08:48:00.000-05:00

Okay, a bit of an extrapolation, but you'll see where I'm headed here... I'm on my into work, I was listening a story on NPR's Morning Edition about how an aging bran is less quick, but more shrewd (story here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124118077). One of the subpoints was that exercise improves memory. In a study, with people working out three days a week, up to an hour at a time, for a 6-month to 1-year period, people who exercised improved both short term and long term memory.

Specifically, those who trained had a larger hippocampi (see picture!), the brain area key for memory.

I am further extrapolating this (and no, this isn't in the NPR article). If you have a larger hippocampi, then your brain size overall is larger, right? If you have a larger brain, that would mean that you would become more attractive to zombies, who, as we all know, want your brains.

So, if you are more fit, zombies want you more. However, you will also be able to run away from them faster, so it's a win-win situation (well, except for the zombies. But we want them to lose anyway).

Trying to Find my Pace

2010-03-01T06:33:00.000-05:00

Today I ran -- finally. The last run I did was last Wednesday, and I had to fly all the way to O'Fallon, IL to do it. I had hopes for last Friday, and then again on the weekend. But work and life just kept me from it. Anyway, that's really no excuse....

I ran 4.77 miles at a 9:06 pace. Most of my miles were sub 9, but there was one mile that still had a lot of ice and snow on it (I'm a so tired of getting snow in my shoes) and really kept me slow. I had to hop from snow hole to snow hole, and run gingerly on the recently frozen ice where the snow/ice had been melting the day before. The run felt fine, no pain, but I have this cold that just won't quit. Normally, 2-4 days is max for a cold. I"m on day 4 and my cough is still aggravating. I'm hoping that running will move things along a bit, or least help me clear my head (literally! -- good thing for the Farmer Blow!).

This week? I hope I run regularly :)

Good (But Cold) Day

2010-02-24T19:37:00.000-05:00

Well, today was a good day, although a bit chilly. If you read my last post, you know that my goal this week, or at least the past couple of days, was to run while on travel. Yesterday I ran 4.5 at an 8:39 pace, and this morning I ran 4.6 miles at an 8:42 (or something) pace. So, I'm very glad about that.

Now, it was 20 degrees this morning, with a wind chill of 6. That's s-i-x. 6. Now, normally, when I'm at home, when running in this temp, I wear more clothes than I ran in today. I would have worn a vest and mittens. Well, given that I'm packing my running clothes, I pack as light as possible (that's why I prefer summer running while on travel). So, no vest and no mittens.

On my run, I was *mostly* fine, except for my face. The last two miles I was running into the wind. In the last mile, my face got numb (that's one notch past just hurting). I was a little afraid of frostbite, but didn't need to worry. However, I didn't like the numb face :-)

Also, and this was weird, my arms got really creaky. I had to stretch them several times during the last mile. I wonder if I need to get a winter running jacket to replace my vest, although I really don't want to.

Anyway, hurray (sp?) for me.

John Yagerline
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Creaky Old Man

2010-02-23T08:03:00.000-05:00

Well, I *finally* ran again today. It had been 7 days since my last run and I made up my mind to run again this week while I am on travel (again). Last week, I had packed my running gear in my bag, which took up much of the space, by the way, carried it all the way to St. Louis, put it in my hotel dresser, and then, packed it back in my bag and carry all the way home. It wasn't really what I had in mind.

This week, packed my running gear in my bag, which took up much of the space, carried it all the way to St. Louis, put it in my hotel dresser... However, as a break from last week, I actually took it out this morning (and not just to admire it), put it on (did I tell you that it was 26 degrees, with a 14 degree wind chill outside this morning?) and ran for 4.58 miles (or so), at a 8:39 pace (very fast). My knees and left ankle were a little creaky (hence the post title...) but I ran (yay for me). I took a usual route from my hotel, through a neighborhood, into the historic section of town (of O'Fallon), and turned around. Sorta a boring run, but the really cool runs in this area are not close to the hotel...

What happened?

2010-02-18T21:48:00.001-05:00

Okay, I had such high hopes for this week. But I didn't run Sunday or
monday. I ran on Tuesday, but zilch for Wednesday and Thursday
(today).

I was on business travel Wednesday and Thursday and didn't run at all
(although I packed everything I needed). Last Fall I actually did my
best running while on travel. Lately (at least the past two trips),
nuthin'.

Signed,

Bummed out.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Unassuming Run

2010-02-16T15:13:00.001-05:00

This morning I ran 4.5 in an icy goodness. I wanted to run yesterday,
but obviously not enough to actually get up and out the door!

Today was pretty good. It was a bit icy out, but not too bad. I am
still running (mostly) in my neighborhood, but ventured to the next
this morning. Most of the connecting roads are still non-runnable, but
the one near the hospital was okay. The neighboring streets were in
terrible shape. I had to run on top of 3 inches of ice with just a
narrow gap that was mostly down to pavement where tire treads were.

I kept it slow (9:12 pace) and once I got a mile in, it felt alright.

Tomorrow I'll be in O'Fallon again, so we'll see if I can get up
enough gumption to get outside.

--
Sent from my mobile device

What's Another Title for Icy Run?

2010-02-13T12:54:00.000-05:00

I'm running out of snazzy ways of saying that it's snowy and icy outside, but I ran anyway. This morning I ran in a different neighborhood (finally got out of mine!) and thought just how lucky we are in my neighborhood that our roads were plowed (well, at least the main ones). In this neighborhood, there was a layer of icy about 4 inches deep, with deep ruts in it, making it hard, even with shoes with screws, to dig in and get traction. After the ruts went away, however, I was running on an uneven surface, but relatively flat, which was just fine. Once I got out of that neighborhood though, I was back on pavement with occasional ice.

I did 10 miles today, at a 9:12 pace. Overall, it was a good run, but I need to get my mileage up. I was 'done' at 4 miles, but after 6, it got better. I need to get my daily runs above 4 miles to see some sort of improvement in my endurance, I think. However, 23 miles was pretty good this week, and, with only 4 runs, that's not too bad. Hopefully, the ice will (eventually) melt and I'll be able to take to the paths again, so that I can begin my 6 mile runs.

Weather? You guessed it. Cold, snowy, and icy. It was 26 degrees this morning, with a wind chill of 15. However, knowing that I was going out for a while, I under-dressed (well, I *did* wear some clothes). But no warm hat, and no vest. My ears were freezing for a couple of miles, but eventually warmed up. Once I got back, I went back outside for (wait for it).. shoveling (again?) and realized that 26 degrees with a windc chill of 15 is actually kinda cold if you weren't warmed up from running for 3 miles.

Don't think I can run tomorrow, but I *may* go ice skating, so my legs will be exhausted anyway...

The Weather Outside is Frightful...

2010-02-11T08:53:00.000-05:00

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..... NOT. Let's hope it's over for awhile. Well, Washington DC broke the record for snowfall in a single season. 55.6 inches this season. *And* they measure in a place where they don't have a lot of snow. National (Reagan) Airport (the official measuring place) got 17.1 inches of snow last weekend, whereas I got 24 inches of snow in the same time period. Anyway, a record is a record... :)

Today, I fought through 4.5 miles in icy/slushy/snowy mix. In some parts, it felt like I was running in sand. I felt sluggish and slow. Plus it was blowing around 20 mph, so it felt a little cold as well (although it was a balmy 29 degrees). Still, I guess I overdressed, because I didn't feel that cold, even with the wind in my face. It felt refreshing, actually (except for the actual running part -- that felt terrible). So, not a good run, but better than not running at all, I guess. I am getting tired of running in my neighborhood, but it'll take a week or two for the snow to melt off the paths so that I can run elsewhere. With the reduced driving lanes, I'm also being extra cautious on the roads, because the drivers are having trouble just going down the road; they don't need some upstart pedestrian getting in their way :)

Still, no running record for sure, but 3 runs this week, with a possible 2 runs to go this week (although not likely).

Single Digits...

2010-02-09T07:23:00.000-05:00

Hoo... single digits this morning. 8 degrees. The good thing was that there was no wind. That would have been bad. Otherwise, except for the ice patches on the dry surface (it should be reverse that -- dry patches on the ice surface), the run was, in the end, good. Why in the end? Because halfway through the run, I was beat! I was huffing and puffing through the run, and it wasn't until the end when I realized that I held a pretty good pace -- for ice -- of 9:05, and indeed, as I ran in my own neighborhood, it was on one of the hilliest courses around. I guess I was so focused on a) not falling, and b) finding dry patches in the ice, that I forgot where I was running.

8 degrees.... it really wasn't so bad. In fact, I took off my mittons and unzipped my vest in the middle of my run as it was getting hot.

Hmmm... worried about running tomorrow though. The roads are still really bad from the previous storm, and there's another storm coming today. Somewhere between 5-20 inches, depending on where you live. Since we live just a touch south of the main part of the storm, we should (hope) to be in the 5 inch range. But, no school last Friday, no school this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and who knows about Thursday and Friday. Plus, the Federal Government was closed yesterday (Monday) AND today (Tuesday). Serious stuff.

Oh, you want to know the secret to running on icy streets? Get out before the sun does. If it's below freezing out, the ice will have frozen solid. The sun will start to melt the top layer (even if its below freezing), so if you get out before dawn, the run will be less slick. That's your running tip of the day! :)

(Another) Snow Day

2010-02-08T08:48:00.000-05:00

In my last post, I was almost challenging Mother Nature to snow on us. For that, I am sorry. What started out as a no-accumulation snow turned into the 4th heaviest snow in Washington DC's history. We got somewhere between 23-28 inches in my neighborhood (with the snow drifts, it was hard to tell). I spent a good 6 hours shoveling on Saturday and was going to go for a fun Saturday late afternoon when I saw my neighbor shoveling her driveway all by herself. I couldn't stand to run past her while she was shoveling, so I spent another 45 minutes helping her out. At the end of that, it was too late to run, so...

Sunday am, 8:00 am, 16 degrees, snow/icy. Great day for a run (no, seriously). Saturday night I replaced a couple of screws in my shoes (they were wearing down) and added some as well, and so by Sunday I was ready to go out for a 4.5 mile run in around my surrounding neighborhoods. Now, I guess I was lucky to get my street (mostly) plowed, 'cause there were lots that weren't! Wow. It's gonna take days to get it cleared out, but unfortunately, we don't have days before the next snow is supposed to hit our area.

Anyway, the run was great. More slippery than usual, and I slipped a few times, but never fell. I saw that major roads were still under snow, and many streets in my neighborhood never saw a plow. It was crisp and clean outside (and quite sunny!) and it was a pleasure to run. I felt great.

Oh, to end the story, another 4 hours of shoveling on Sunday and no run today (I am too achy).a

Pre-Snow Long Run

2010-02-05T14:51:00.000-05:00

Rumors of doom abound with the Great Blizzard of February 2010 here on the East Coast. In preparation, basically everything closed before the first snow flake fell. There were/are a lot of expectations of this snow, but about 5 hours after the first flake was seen, I'm umimpressed. However, ask me again tonight, or tomorrow morning, or tomorrow afternoon when the snow is still supposed to be falling....

However, in anticipation of record snowfalls (forecasting 18-24 inches), I did my long run today (Friday) instead of tomorrow (Saturday). I wore my shoes with screws (again) and went on the W&OD trail. I was getting tired of running on my local side streets, and the other paths were very choppy with ice. Of course, so was the W&OD, but it was fun nonetheless. I did an out and back for 10 miles at a 9:11 pace, which included a walk for 2-3 minutes at the half-way to eat a GU and walk up a steep part of the trail. I had no pain in my feet nor my knees, although I felt my hip flexors at about mile 8, but that was probably because I was at mile 8 (double my longest run in over a week).

There was a lot of ice in spots and clear sailing in others. I only slipped when I was on hard ice (with no snow around it) -- and my slipping, I mean a short slide of less than one inch on the ice (no falling involved). I think the screws are wearing down on my shoes, particularly on the heel. Upon post-run inspection, I noticed that the screws in my heels are pretty rounded, with no sharp corners. When I can make it back out to Home Depot, I'll buy some more screws. I do say, I'm putting a lot of new miles on my old shoes, and I expect to take another pair of old running shoes and modify them to run on snow/ice next winter (I do think that the excess pressure where the screws are are breaking down the rubber faster in those isolated areas).

Keep your run on!

Slogging in Snow

2010-02-03T11:08:00.000-05:00

Well, another snow in our area last night. 3-6 inches, schools closed. Once again a run in my shoes with screws (sorry, I haven't figured out a better way to reference these shows. 'screw shoes' sounds weird...) VDOT has really picked it up the past few snows. The first snow of the season, eh, not so good. But last night's snow, and the snow we had the past weekend, they really did a great job. My subdivision was pretty clear this morning (down to a nice 'ice' level). However, the sidewalks (not VDOT's jurisdiction), not at all (why don't the neighbors shovel their walk by 6:00 am?, oh wait, I didn't either!)

I really wanted to run in the snow again. I had a great time last Saturday, and since I didn't run Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday (oy!) I had to run today. The first 1.3 miles were on the side streets, which some ice (the screws helped here) plus a lot of slush. Then, I had to run on the side path. This had last night's snow on it, plus last weekend's snow on it, so I ended up running in fairly deep snow. My feet would sink in and they *almost* got out of the snow as I lifted up to take the next step. The end result was a lot of drag in my run. I went from a 9:10 pace to a 10:30 pace in no time flat. Plus, I was huffing and puffing within a 1/4 mile of running in the snow.

About a mile of this, I turned into the hospital parking lot (if anything is plowed, you can count on the hospital, streets *and* sidewalks!) to shake the snow off of my shoes and legs (and bare skin! -- see Note below). I ran there until I picked up my normal course, and then ran the one mile back home. So, of the 4.2 miles today, 3.2 was on a street of some sort, and 1 mile was in snow.

All in all, I would compare this to running on a trail (cushioning, uneven surface), except that there were no hills to speak of. Plus, with the snow in the trees, it was quite a sight.

Note: when I remember, I slip on some gaiters that I usually reserve for my trail shoes (to keep rocks and things out of my shoes). They aren't waterproof, but they do a good job keeping large pieces of snow from getting in my shoes. I forgot them today. However, they are very reasonably priced, and I highly recommend them. Check out this site (no, really!): http://www.dirtygirlgaiters.com/ I have the camo ones, but since they are shiny, they are a little girly....

Snow Run / Two-A-Day

2010-01-30T20:47:00.000-05:00

So, I managed to run two times today! That makes a total of.. uh... two times this week. Overall, 7 miles in a single week is not much, but at least I got two runs in today to round out the week.

This morning, I ran an easy/medium 4 miles. I caught the run early before the snow. I felt creaky and I felt both knees for the first two miles, but after that, I felt fine. I chalk up the creakiness to the fact that it was the first time I had run in 8 days.

Then, the snow started. It has pounded the East Coast, with a lot of snow down south, which is unusual. There was more snow in Richmond today than in Fairfax. Anyway, around 5:00 pm, I decided to run in the snow. I used my trusty ol' shoes with screws in them, and managed to get out while the flakes were still falling. I ran an easy 3 miles, mostly easy because the snow was still fresh on the roads. It wasn't well packed and every time I ran up a hill, I lost a lot of traction. My pace dropped to 10-11 min/miles up hills although my effort was in the 8:30-9:00 min/mile range. Down hills was pretty good. The screws kept me stable, and I wasn't worried about falling. This run felt wonderful. I loved running in the snow, and although my overall pace wasn't great (9:22, versus 9:06 this morning), I am really glad I got to run twice today.

Now tomorrow? Hmm... I would love to run again, but the snow shovel is calling. I saw a lot of people who had shoveled today, but since the snow fell pretty much all day, and since the snow wasn't a wet snow, I think I could plow it off the driveway (versus actual shoveling), so time is on my side. If I shovel tomorrow morning, no run.

Stress begets a run

2010-01-22T07:45:00.000-05:00

Okay, around 3:30 am I woke up. I tried to go back to sleep, but to no avail. So, at 4:00 am (ok, 4:06) I rose out of bed to see if the 'icy/wintery mix' had come through. Since it was still 34 degrees, and not glazed over outside, a run was in order (those of you who track my blog are now thinking 'but John... don't you have those snazzy shoes with the screws in them for just such an event? I mean, those screws weren't free you know, you need to get your money's worth!', well, yes, I thought that too, so even with an icy glaze, I think I would have gone running).

5 miles later, I felt less stressed (oh, why was I stressed? family member ill? something wrong at work? nooo... Cub Scout Pinewood Derby, of all things... sheesh!). Lately, I have been pushing the pace a bit, trying to keep all my runs under a 9:00 min/mile pace. Today was no exception. I believe it was an 8:44. Now, with all of 3 runs this week, it's nothing to write home about (but apparently, enough to write a blog entry about), but we'll see about tomorrow. Tonight we are setting up the aforementioned Pinewood Derby and yours truly is MC'ing tomorrow (and will be wondering if the glue is going to hold -- the wheels (that is, the piece of wood I accidentally broke off while adjusting a wheel) as well as the weights... I'm not too sure about it!).

Maybe if I get up again early tomorrow, I can squeeze in 8-10.. That's asking alot right now though....

Downward Trend....

2010-01-16T11:09:00.000-05:00

Well, this week wasn't that good. I ran on Monday... then again today. That's two whole runs this week, for 12 miles. Ehhhh... I just couldn't get motivated this week. I need to race to sign up for, I think. I've been eyeing the backyard burn runs, so maybe I just need to sign up for one.

Well, today, I ran 8 (easy, on trails). It felt great. I stayed off the pavement (well, mostly, as there were several stretches of paved surfaces on the trail), but overall, it was great. I ran along the Rocky Run trail (http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/trailmap-rockyrunsv.htm) into Ellanor C Lawrence Park (http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/ecl/facilities.htm). Getting to the main trail at Ellanor C Lawrence park was the most difficult part of the trail (not that it was all that difficult), as it was the hilliest. The Rocky Run trail was very flat except for a few gradual hills. I would like to find additional trail runs around here without driving too far away. I've done Burke Lake (again, not technical at all), Bull Run Regional Trail (semi-technical) and Rocky Run/Ellanor C Lawrence (again, not technical). Once I get some mileage up, I can try to tackle Difficult Run (named after a creek, not the difficulty level), but, actually, it is a little difficult. I can also go back onto the Fairfax County Cross County Trail (that's a mouthful), but I need to drive 20-30 minutes to get to a starting point. blah blah blah, complain complain complain... :)

Well, at least I'm on track for running on trails on Saturdays!

Good End to a So-So Week

2010-01-09T10:22:00.000-05:00

Today, I ran 9.2 miles at Burke Lake Park (http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/burkelake/). I kept a good pace throughout (8:43) but snuck in a 4 minute break half-way through to eat a GU energy gel. It was also a great place for my 'snow shoes' -- the running shoes with the screws in them (see this post for more detail: http://yagerrunner.blogspot.com/2009/12/icy-run.html). It was light, puffy snow, on top of packed snow as well as several places of ice. I didn't grip great on the ice (it was very hard ice), but I didn't slip too much either. Plus, I was able to pound it up the hills (really they were gentle slopes) without fear of falling.

My first lap (4.6 miles around the lake) was run in almost total solitude. I saw only two other runners on that lap, and it was quite peaceful (I also saw one deer). Right at the end of the first lap, I was thinking that 4.6 miles was enough, but then I saw a whole bunch of other runners. That kept me going, so I had a GU and took off on another lap. The cool thing was that I saw the two other runners on their second (maybe third?) lap, as well as lots of other runners and walkers. Not nearly as many as during the summer, but it was good to see so many on a cold winter day (24 degrees, 14 wind chill).

For fun, I left myself a note (of sorts). At 3.5 miles, about 1 mile from the end of the loop, I purposefully ran on fresh snow at an identifiable location. Then, on my way back the other way (I took a reverse loop the second time), I saw my foot steps. In other words, the 5.5 mile John saw the 3.5 mile John (well, sorta). Hey, you gotta so something on your long runs....

This week? eh... I only ran twice before today, so only three times total for the week, for only 17.5 miles total. A far cry from the 31.99 miles the week before, so I need to get myself in gear. Hopefully, next week will be better.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T18:09:00.000-05:00

Happy 2010! Is it 'twenty-ten', or 'two-thousand-ten'? Dunno, but I'm sure we'll figure it out soon enough.

To start the year off right, I ran 6 miles today at a 9:00 min/mile pace. About 1.5 of it was on a trail (rocky run trail). I thoroughly enjoyed the run, although it was a little icy (not much on the road, but a little slippery on the trail). I'm still trying to figure out what sort of training I'm going to do for the National (Half) Marathon in March, assuming that I'll sign up for the North Face Endurance Challenge in June (this is still in the thinking stages, and not signed up yet).

Happy New Year!

You've Got To Be Kidding....

2009-12-31T19:50:00.000-05:00

I don't mean to knock La Sportiva, but $45 for their hobnails? As you may recall, dear reader, I used hex screws I bought at the local hardware box store for significantly less money, and they worked just fine. Here is my post about it.

Just thought I'd pass along my (apparent) wisdom on this... :)

Year End Review

2009-12-30T17:52:00.000-05:00

First things first... as a bookend to my first run of the year, I did a trail run. At the beginning of the year, it was sorta by accident, but with a very happy ending. Today, it was intentional. I ran on the Bull Run Regional Trail. I ran 6 miles, at a slow pace (11:58) but I had to walk a lot of steep hills (when they put in steps in the trail, you know it's steep, plus there was actually a switch-back to go up one hill!). In the past, I know I have gone faster, but since I'm still in an off-season, I figure I'm doing pretty well on trails.

Now, 2009: In 2009, I ran 902 miles, so I met my goal that I set one week ago, but through a little investigation (on my own blog), I seemed to have missed my original goal of 1,100 miles (whoops!). Even so, I feel good about my year, particularly the past several months, as I've been able to keep running after my fall marathon. In 2008, I slacked off a lot in the fall into the winter, but this year, I kept my running up (now, the distances dropped off significantly after the race, but I still ran on average every other day). Now, the downside of my training this year was the Spring. I got injured while training for the Shamrock marathon this spring, so I pretty much stopped running, with a low of 4 runs in May. Over the summer, I signed up for the Richmond Marathon, so that gave me the spark I needed to start running again (plus, I had some time to heal my injuries).

Here's graph of my running in 2009:

How have I done over the years? Good question! Here's the answer:

Trending over the past couple of years:

2007 Goal: 1,300 miles. Actual: 1,400 miles, 2 marathons (great year!)

2008 Goal: 1,300 miles, 4 Races. Actual: 1,066 miles, 4 races

2009 Goal: 1,100 miles. Actual: 900 miles, 2 races

Now, 2010: Hmmm, good question. Maybe 1,000 miles and 3 races? I think that sounds safe :)

Errata: In the fall, I discovered Wordle, which collects words you have (in this case, a blog) and prints them out by size in a graphic file: Here's mine for 2009:

I thought it was interesting. Here's the link so that you can create your own: www.wordle.net, with, of course, the link to mine: John's wordle.

Let's hope for a great 2010, not only in running, but in all aspects of life!

Keep your run on.

Almost There!

2009-12-28T15:57:00.000-05:00

892.24 miles as of this morning, 7-something to go. I think I'm going to make it. Now, I ended up running 6, 6.5, and 5 miles since I announced to the (zero) people reading my blog that I wanted to run 900 miles this year, with 8 days to go... Now, with 3 days to go, I'm in good shape. Since the snow has (mostly) melted, it's been pretty good on the paths. Plus, I've been running pretty fast (for me) -- sub 9:00's for the past week. I'm going to try to keep with with this pace to see how it goes....

What do I need to do in January in order to sign up for the North Face Endurance Challenge? Not sure yet, but at the very least, I need to keep 100+ % of my training for the National (Half) Marathon I wonder when the race will fill up?
in March. Training doesn't officially start until mid-January, so I need to find something else to do in order to prove to myself that I can run 50k in June.

Normal(?) Run

2009-12-26T21:27:00.000-05:00

Well, not a snowy run, not an icy run, but a normal run. I'm on my quest for 900 miles in 2009, and I was/am about 26 miles away from that, so I ran 6 miles today. I was able to run on the asphalt (albeit very wet asphalt), but was able to get 6 in. Today I ran Penderbrook / Fairfax Farms. I last ran this course in the Spring in a hard rain, so I guess I didn't realize just how hilly it was. It was a light rain, so it didn't take my mind off the hills. I felt every uphill.

However, I ran a good pace. My doctor and my physical therapist both say I need to get new shoes, so I'm trying to get my miles in my current shoes while I save up. However, it'll be very interesting to see how a more stable shoe feels after running in neutral shoes for the past two years (this while all the press plus podcasts are touting the benefits of running in very light shoes or even barefoot!).

900 in 2009?

2009-12-23T07:11:00.000-05:00

Just noticed that I have run 874 miles this year. This is well off my goal of 1,000 miles (probably due to the 2-3 month hiatus I took in the Spring). However, it is possible to get 25 more miles in in 2009? I have 8 more days (well, probably closer to 7 as it's not likely I'm running on Christmas Day). My running has been off-peak as of late. I'm not running more than 4 or so miles at a stretch during the week, but no more than 6 on my 'long run'.

It's doable, but I'd need to push it to make it.

Trail running.... Well, the North Face is putting on the Endurance Challenge (again) in the Washington DC area. They moved the race to early June (instead of September the past couple years). Doable? Yes. do I want to? I dunno. I had trouble with the 50k training 2 years ago (they actually cancelled the race due to heavy rain from hurricane remnants coming up the coast). I need to think about it some more.... Injury-free? Not yet. The physical therapy is helping my right foot, but we'll see about my left knee. They can only do one part at a time.

Icy Run

2009-12-22T12:58:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm stoked. I read about using metal screws (the hex ones) in an old pair of running shoes last year (after I had trouble running in snow and ice), and decided to give it a shot this year. Well, it works! I used about 11 screws in each shoe (ranging from 3/8" to 1/2") and was able to get a very good run today in my neighborhood. I didn't slip on the street (I was worried about that) nor did I slip on the ice/snow/slush. In fact, I had very good grip considering.

I ran 4.01 miles at an 8:50 pace, which is very good, considering I had to share the single road lane with other cars (meaning I had to stop several times). I actually preferred running on the softer surfaces, as I felt pressure on the sole of my feet where the screws where (I didn't feel the screws themselves, but felt the uneven surface). On the ice/snow/slush, I didn't feel the screws, and since I had such good traction, I sought those surfaces out. In addition, I stayed in my neighborhood, as, alas, VDOT hasn't plowed too much. I kept off the main road as I would have run on the asphalt surface.

All in all, a very successful run in the snow!

My shoe:

Snow Run

2009-12-20T13:05:00.000-05:00

Today, so to make sure that I could say it, did a snow run. It was 25 degrees, the sun had just come out, and I ran 3 miles (I forget my pace, but it was slow). I ran in 8 inches of soft powder, ice, packed snow, and everything in-between. While they hadn't plowed my street yet, the main roads were very runnable (and drivable). I kept the pace easy, and ran in my trail running shoes. If I manage to get out of the house today, I'll try to get some 1/2 inch metal screws so that I can try the home-made yak-traks so that I can run outside tomorrow. Given some melting, tomorrow's run will be much more treacherous, as the roads will be very icy in the morning.

At least the second day wasn't windy

2009-12-17T05:29:00.001-05:00

The past two runs were in O'Fallon, Illinois. The first run was done
in a windy, 27 degree morning (wind chill 16). Once my face got numb,
it was better. Fortunately, I brought clothes for 20+ degrees;
unfortunately, I neglected to account for wind chill. The run wasn't
too bad though. I averaged an 8:45 pace for 4.5 miles.

The second run was done in 16 degree weather, but it wasn't windy. I'm
not sure how I would have handled that much cold *plus* wind, but I
didn't have to. My face hurt for a mile or so, I think because of my
eyeglasses (they got very cold very quickly). That run was done
slightly faster (8:42 pace) for 4.1 miles.

I'm traveling today, so not much chance for a run.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Starting Again

2009-12-12T16:07:00.001-05:00

This week I ran 14 miles across 3 runs. Not too bad for an 'offseason'
week, but I hope to increase the mileage over the next couple of weeks
to the 20-ish range.

This week I also began physical therapy. This was as a response to a
doctor visit to check on my left knee, left ankle and right foot. No
broken bones and highly unlikely of any stress fractures, but most
likely a neuroma (nerve damage) at least on my foot. Nothing obvious
found on my other issues. Both the doctor and the physical therapist
recommended more stabilizing shoes though (ascis to be precise). So,
since my adidas are done (600+ miles on them), I guess my next shoes
are the ascis 2100 series shoe. I used to run in them a while back and
they are good shoes. It is weird though that both people recommended
them.

Next week? A business trip to the Midwest (expect cold!) but hopefully
will be able to run 4 days, but its tough on 'travel' days. I want to
keep my runs easy and not too long, but will need to go back-to-back
days to accommodate flights.

We'll see!

--
Sent from my mobile device

Runnin' at the Beach

2009-11-28T21:26:00.000-05:00

So last week I took off as I ran a long race the previous Sunday. So this week I began a 'reverse taper' -- basically running 3 or 4 miles every other day or so. I did about 16 miles this week, ending with a very nice 3.3 mile run on the beach at Sunset Beach, NC.

However, this past Thursday was the 1st Annual Sunset Beach Turkey Trot (5K). My Lovely Wife's parents set the whole thing up, and it was a resounding success. They didn't know how many people would show up, but invited around 50. There were two articles in the (very) local newspaper, but there were (by various accounts) 150+ people at the race, ranging in all speeds and all ages. The winner was a cross-country runner from UNCW (UNC Wilmington) and My Lovely Wife ran with Number 1 Daughter and I ran with Number 1 Son. My son got an unoffiical PR of 35:19 - unofficial as it was not an official USATF certified race :-)

Overall, it was a great time. My Lovely Wife's parents put on a great race and the runners were great. Her parents mapped out a very nice 5K course on Sunset Beach as well as 1 mile loop. The weather worked out wonderfully and a great time was had by all.

Whoo Hoo!

2009-11-15T18:27:00.001-05:00

Whoo Hoo! Done, completed, in the books. Yesterday, I completed the 32nd running of the Richmond Marathon, in 4:09:04, or a 9:29 pace. I'm glad I ran it, but I'm glad it's over :)

I'll try to compile a 'race review', but I'm still gathering my thoughts -- the weather beging beautiful, the race course very wonderul, the Lee bridge.. well, it's still the Lee bridge (uphill and facing a stiff wind). Inspired by other runners (including a legally blind runner!), having my family (as well as my Lovely Wife's parents!) there at the finish line, learning that they were there at the 16 mile marker as well (but silly me not seeing them!), feeling only a bit of pain (this time in my left ankle, and not by left knee or right foot as expected), making it past the 18 mile mark without hitting the wall (but hitting it at 22), rounding the last corner to sprint at the end, and then realizing that I still have .2 miles to go (ouch). Anyway, it's too much for right now, but all things considered, although it's not my best time, I felt great overall, and am very pleased with my overall effort.

Just a Couple Days to Go

2009-11-11T18:05:00.000-05:00

Okay, ran late afternoon (worked from home today). Thought I was supposed to do 3, but I was actually supposed to do 5. Whoops. It was rainy and cool (48 degrees). Ran nice and easy, but probably felt like a marathon-pace. Took off yesterday, taking off tomorrow. Friday is a 3-miler (just checked).

This is taper week. Monday I ran 5 at a marathon pace, but legs were a bit tired. Today, legs weren't tired at all, but it was probably good I ran only 3. Friday? Hmmm.. I want to run (need to run to get legs from getting achy), but don't want to run far. Is 3 miles too far? Should I run for X minutes instead? Hmm...

7 Days to Go

2009-11-07T09:53:00.000-05:00

Whew, got my last *sorta* long run in this morning. Since there was so much to do today, I had to get up at a mighty early 4:32 am -- on a Saturday no less! Anyway, I ran 12 miles, at a 8:59 pace, which is pretty fast for me right now. I started out at a regular 9:30 pace for 7 miles, and then got tired of my normal podcasts and began listening to my Lovely Wife's playlist of songs. I immediately got my pace up and ran the last 5 miles at around a 8:25 pace. At first, I was just trying to tempo a mile or so, but it still felt good, and there was no pain, so I kept the pace up. I'm happy with my run, and it'll be hard not to overdo my runs next week. There's only 3 runs scheduled prior to race day, with the first one being 5 miles. I'm going to do a MP on that one, and I don't know after that. I definitely want my Friday run to be easy...

How Much Longer?

2009-11-05T16:55:00.000-05:00

boy.... another 9 days to go. I did *not* want to wake up at 4:30 am this morning, so I got up at 4:39 instead (I know I know... what a slacker!). However, I did manage to run 6 miles with 4 of those miles at marathon pace (actually faster than marathon pace). I managed those miles at the following: 9:07, 8:53, 9:01, 8:53. Not too bad. Overall pace at a 9:02, so I'm happy with that. Tomorrow, an *easy* 5 miler. Just need to finish a fresh route. I am soooo tired of my existing routes.

Prediction....

2009-11-04T17:00:00.000-05:00

As much as I hate to do this, I really should publish a finish-time prediction for the Richmond Marathon for all to see. I have thought a lot about this (99% of the thinking has actually been on my runs; I don't spend too many brain cycles on running when I'm not actually running) (plus you gotta think about *something* when you are running in the dark) (and cold). At the beginning of my training, my goal was sub-4:00. Now, it's not. I'm *hoping* for a 4:10, and 4:16 would be good as well. Given the fact that I still feel my left knee when I run (and it makes an audible 'click' when I walk), my left ankle injury has re-surfaced now that I've done a few long runs, and there's a weird pain in my right foot, that feels like bones scraping when I push off hard to the right or left, I'm hoping that I can hold out for a 9:30 pace (4:10 total). A 9:45 pace would be good (4:16). A 10:00 pace (4:22)? Hmmm... ask me at mile 20.

Oh, by the way, my predictions in the past have been totally wrong. At Richmond two years ago, I felt I had a sub-4:00 in the bag... until mile 22. At Frederick 1.5 years ago, I felt I had a 4:00... until mile 18 (at mile 22 I was wondering if I was going to finish). However, as bad as I felt on my 22-miler, at least I have done one, and that means that I should be okay until mile 20 (famous last words). Then, just like the shirt says... a marathon is just a 10K, with a 20-mile warmup. At 20 miles, it's *just* a 10K.

Oy...

Began my taper... last week

2009-11-03T08:24:00.000-05:00

This week is officially begins my taper period of two weeks. Unfortunately, I began my taper last week :)

I ran first couple days of last week (okay one day) fine, by doing mile repeats. Unfortunately, that was the only good workout of the week. I suffered through a 2-miler the next day, but then didn't run again until my "long" run on Saturday. It was supposed to be 15 miles, but due to the fact that I had only run a total 10 miles earlier in the week, and that I didn't like to run more than 50% of my total weekly mileage in a single run, I opted for a 10-miler long run. That actually felt pretty good.

Today, I ran 5 miles, which was supposed to be 'easy', but I turned up the effort to run at my marathon-pace. I read someplace (most likely runner's world) that during the taper period, you should keep the intensity up, but reduce total mileage. So, I'm following my plan (well, sorta) with the mileage, but keeping my pace up. We'll see how it goes. Since I ran at MP today, maybe I'll ease up tomorrow, and then alternate through the week, with my last long run of 12 miles on Saturday.

Downward direction

2009-10-27T10:33:00.000-04:00

Today I did my last 'Mile Repeats' workout. It was only a 3x1, but I suffered through it. Due to a late flight on Sunday, I didn't go to bed until 2am on Monday, so that caused me to skip my Monday am workout (I figured I needed more than 2.5 hours of sleep that day). The Monday workout would have worked out the rest of my lactic acid from Saturday's long run, as well as warmed up my legs for today's workout. However, I used the 2 mile warmup to do that (to a limited effect). My mile repeats were: 8:26, 8:45, and 8:35). This is a far cry from my 8:20's that I did the last time I did this workout (this was a while ago though...).

I ran in 50 degree weather, a little misty outside, and in O'Fallon, IL. The weather was quite good for running, but it gets light a little later out here, so I ran in total darkness. I also began my run at 4:30 am CDT (which is 5:30 am EDT, so that wasn't that bad).

Peaked!

2009-10-25T20:21:00.000-04:00

Longest week of the training ended yesterday with a 22-miler. I'm glad that's over :) Overall, it was a good week, topping out at 50 miles (and making #14 on the buckeyeoutdoors leaderboard!) Up until around mile 44 or so (of the entire week), I was pain free. The last four miles though... that's another story. The good thing is that I made it to mile 18 of my long run before any serious stuff happened -- the serious stuff being totally bonked, left ankle hurting, having to take walk breaks, and doing the death shuffle when running (you know, normal stuff like that). My pace until then was pretty good, after that, not so much. Anyway, it's over, and now my taper begins. Next Saturday's run is only (only?) 15 miles.

Pretty soon I need to become philosophical, but not today :)

Wow, 4 runs this week! (so far)

2009-10-23T12:14:00.000-04:00

Can't believe it. For the first time in awhile, I've actually kept up with my training this week (this is 'famous last words'!). I didn't have too much trouble getting up this morning, and took a new route (and not one I'm recommending either). It was too crowded with cars (running along a busy road would do that). However, I did see two other runners (running as a pair), who didn't say 'hello' back to me (this'll be a blog post one day, I think). Kept pace easy, but a little sad that my 'easy' pace isn't faster. It's too early to predict my marathon time, but I definitely don't see a PR in my future.

How much longer?

2009-10-22T12:34:00.000-04:00

Whew, ran another 6 today. Got up at ~~4:30am~~ 4:45am, was glad that it was 51 degrees outside, and went running before my brain figured out what was going on. I used to think that once I was dressed, I was good to go, but after a bad day, then thought that getting out the door was the point of no return, but then, after another bad day, after running a quarter-mile, I was definitely in good shape to continue running, but then, after *another* bad day (not all of these bad days were in a row...), after running a half-mile, I'd be good to go (you can see a pattern here).

Today, never thought about it, which was good, because if I did, I would have gone back to bed. I went 6, felt okay with the pace (9:17), also felt my left knee (which wasn't so good), got the kids up, and went to work. Tomorrow should be a duplicate of today (although I gotta find new places to run). Saturday will be the last (yay!) long run in my training.

Found a new Gear!

2009-10-20T10:01:00.000-04:00

Wow, I found a new gear today -- well, actually found a gear that I had put away a couple of years ago. I was dreading the Yasso 800 workout today, and by the 3rd rep, was really feeling it. However, on the 4th rep, I changed my running form and found my effort decrease while my speed increased (or, at least stayed the same). I clocked in anywhere from a 7:43 to a 8:03 for each 1/2 mile rep, for all 8 reps, with the last one about a 7:58. So I'm happy with that!

I'm not sure I mentioned this the last time I talked about Yasso-800's, but one of the things I read about them was that it's more of a negative test on the marathon, rather than a positive test. That is, if you can do them in your time-goal, that doesn't mean you can do the marathon in your time-goal. However, if you cannot do them in your time-goal, there's a good chance that you cannot do the marathon in your time-goal. However, there's a lot of controversy around the whole thing. Simply put, it's a good interval workout where you get extended time on your lengths at speed, plus with enough reps so that you are running at speed with depleted energy. That's fine by me.

I shouldn't have looked at the old post though -- I just read that I can the previous set *much* faster than today's set. Should I be worried?

Okay, I heard this in a podcast

2009-10-19T19:43:00.002-04:00

...and need to work it into a shirt of some sort. Basically, the guy was saying that the finish time doesn't matter, but the time you spend training to get to the finish -- that's what matters. I understood this to be that the finish time is just a time, but the true measure of you, as a runner (or any athlete) is the time you dedicate beforehand to make to the finish, or even to the start.

Quite a long shirt logo though....

Oh Yeah, I ran today

2009-10-19T16:26:00.003-04:00

Brrr, it was cold today. 39 degrees -- at least it wasn't raining. I ran an easy 6, in a 9:11 pace. It was a slower pace than my perceived pace -- basically, I thought I was running faster than what I was actually running. Oh well :) I'm only training for a marathon.

It was cold though. I used my 'throwaway' gloves, the ones I get from racing expos. The problem in, when they get wet (from sweat), they get pretty cold. I have some others that I bought (more than the $2/pair I get at the expo for the throwaways) that seem to not lose heat as much. Maybe I'll try them again. If they work well, I'll purchase more of them in Richmond (but I can't lose them!)

Tomorrow is what I *think* is my last Yasso 800 workout. Oy. I don't look forward to it.

TeamSweat

2009-10-17T16:23:00.002-04:00

I heard about this on Phedippidations podcast, fdip 204: TeamSweat, and was very intrigued, so I hopped over to www.teamsweat.org and watched a very disturbing video -- basically, a guy who was a soccer coach at St. John's University was researching labor practices that Nike promotes in their factory in Indonesia. He learned that those factory workers make the equivalent of $1.25 / day, just enough for two small meals a day, a glass of iced tea, and small amount of detergent. No money for anything else. God forbid if you get sick, or can't work. He fought against St. Johns' endorsement deal with Nike as was let go because of it. This guy, Jim Keady, as part of his research, lived on those wages in Indonesia for a month. One day, he purchased a razor just so that he could shave, and then couldn't eat for a whole day -- there just wasn't enough money.

Basically, Nike is treating these workers like slaves. Jim Keady is working to raise awareness of this, and I, for one, support him. Based on what I read and heard, I'm no longer purchasing Nike products. Now, I like Nike clothes (the shoes, not so much). I own their clothes. They work great. I also like their commercials. They also sponsor some great runners. However, I'm not going to support them by purchasing any more of their products. I'm going to continue to use the clothes that I have, as it will waste resources to replace them with something else.

Anyway, click on the links and learn more about it.

I also ran today (I only ran 2 times this week, due to colds, busy-ness, etc.). I ran 10 miles at a 9:35 pace. It was cold and rainy, but while I was running, I felt fine (my knee hurt afterward though). When I stopped at mid-way to eat a GU energy gel, I immediately got cold (by this time, I was as wet as could be). Today was also the first day this season I wore long pants (Nike's, actually). So, 17 miles for the week. Oh well.

7 easy

2009-10-12T07:28:00.002-04:00

Today I did 7 miles 'easy'... Easy is supposed to mean not to push it out. I ran a 9:25 pace but it felt faster, as my legs were still beat from Saturday's long run. Hopefully, the workout pushed the last of the lactic acid out of my legs so that I can do my mile repeats tomorrow. It's starting to get cool again. Today I had to pull my gloves out for the first few miles as it was 49 degrees. Still wearing shorts though.

My knee starting bothering me again. It sorta started last week, but today I felt it when I was going up or down a steep hill, or when I straightened out my leg. Hopefully, it's something I can work through, as there's only 5 weeks left before the marathon!

World Wide Festival of Race Half Marathon and 20 Miler! Hoo-Yah!

2009-10-10T11:21:00.003-04:00

Today was the World Wide Festival of Races 1/2 Marathon. This was a virtual race across 45 countries, with over 1000 entrants. It was a lot of fun listening to cheers (via podcast) of various runners and fans who submitted their input before the race, and compiled by the Phedippidations podcast. I ran 13.1 miles, as part of my 20 miler long run, on the W&OD trail. The 13.1 felt really good. I ran from Reston eastbound into Falls Church. Note to self, this is a downhill run, so running back is uphill (ugh). Anyway, the run felt very good (I said that already). I ran in the dark for about an hour, and then into a sunrise. I actually saw people on the trail (well, couldn't actually see them too well) before it got light, including a couple of cyclists. The cyclists had lights (as did I), but the runners didn't. I guess that they felt (again, as did I) that running on the trail meant that less safety equipment was needed (only cars seen at intersections, didn't need to run along side them).

After the World Wide Festival of Races 1/2 marathon, I immediately began rounding out my 20 miler by running 7 miles. For the first 3 miles, I felt great. The fourth mile I actually got a little competitive with runners on the trail, and for that, I paid for it in the last two miles. Also, the last two miles were uphill (the entire way! I swear!). It took everything out of me and I did the 'death shuffle' for the last couple miles.

For this 20 miler, although I bonked at the last couple miles, I felt loads better than last week. Last week, I was done at 15 (although there were still 5 miles to go). This week, I was trying to race someone at mile 17, and didn't really bonk until I hit the hills at mile 18. So overall, I'm happy with my run.

Another 10

2009-10-08T13:33:00.002-04:00

Today I ran 10 miles... 1 mile warmup, 8 miles at marathon pace (actually, faster than marathon pace), and 1 mile cooldown. My GPS ran out of battery at 1.82 miles, so I was guessing at my pace for most of it, but I did have my regular watch on, and it was a regular route, so I knew where most of the mile markers were. I don't have an exact count for mile 2, but at the time, I was running an 8:50. For miles 3-9, I ran on average an 8:35 pace (wow!), and mile 10 was a little faster than the cooldown, as when I entered my neighborhood, I saw the trash truck, remembered that I didn't put the trash out, so booked it home to beat the truck (time was on my side, as it went down a couple of side streets on its route, whereas I didn't).

Tomorrow, an easy 4, and Saturday (groan), another 20.

So, when I was wrapped up in my head about the dead battery in my GPS, and not knowing exactly what my pace was, blah blah blah, I was shaken back to reality when I saw a homeless person sleepy along the Fairfax County Parkway on the bike trail. It put things WAAAAYYY back into perspective. In the end, I have it very lucky. I have a job, a house, a family, I get to enjoy time to myself (such as running). I have friends, a car (well, 2 cars), and I'm fairly well adjusted. Then I see someone who doesn't have many of these things right there in front of me. Now, I don't live in the city, and I don't see this very often. The sight of this was very jarring to me. I should carry a couple bucks with me when I run, but in this case, I'd be afraid to a) wake this person up; or b) place the money in their shopping cart, as I would not want to upset him/her. But carrying some money would be good anyway, just in case.

Welcome to

2009-10-06T07:37:00.003-04:00

Well, I ran in Collinsville, IL today. Never been here, never run here. Didn't see much, as I was running in the dark. I found my way over to a road called Horseshoe Lake Road, which, oddly enough, will find its way to Horseshoe Lake, an Illinois State Park. I didn't make it that far, as I turned around at 4.2 miles (I would have had to run another 1-2 miles to make it to the park). I mapped my run here.

Weather, 59-60 degrees, VERY windy. There is/was a storm coming, but it never hit. However, due to the storm, I did run much faster on the way back than intended (nearly 2 minutes faster).

Overall, nice run, but didn't do it 'easy'. Tomorrow's a rest and we'll pick it up again on Thursday, with a Marathon-pace run

My Quads Hate Me

2009-10-05T12:27:00.005-04:00

Okay, this morning, woke up at 4:15 am (quite early!) to knock out an easy four before my morning flight. Ouch, my quads are still sore from Saturday. They revolted for about 3 of those miles. The last mile was pretty good, but now, 6 hours afterwards, I definitely know my quads exist.

The run? pretty good. Went down Misty Creek road for a flat 4.4 miler. Was cool out this morning (49 degrees), but don't need the gloves yet. My legs hurt going down hills, but overall, no pain in knees or feet (yay!). Tomorrow I'm running 7 or something, at some sort of pace, and running in a new town (I'm back in St. Louis, but could not find a hotel in trusty ol' O'Fallon, so staying in nearby Collinsville). It's promising out here, as although I'm not staying in Collinsville proper (where most of the MapMyRun running routes are), but in the 'hotel district' -- probably the industrial park :) there's a state park within 6-7 miles. I'm not running 6-7 miles just to run in a state park, but I'm hoping the road going there will be somewhat scenic. Scenic at 5:00 am?, well, hopefully not a main road full of traffic.

long SLOW distance

2009-10-03T20:36:00.002-04:00

Well, I went 20 today. Took me a long time, but I did it :) I couldn't run it last night due to the fact that there was a school event (at one point, I *did* remember that there was one, but somewhere along the way, I had forgotten). Cub scout training this morning, but My Lovely Wife allowed me the afternoon (3 hours 52 minutes of it) to do my long run. Since I had skipped last week's run (and I felt that today), there was no way I could skip another.

20. Oddly enough, I wasn't afraid of the distance. For the first 5 miles, I was thinking that I could do it well. At mile 10, I was slowing down, but I still felt good. At 15, my wheels fell off. My pace slowed WAY down and I slogged it in. I had to walk a few times the last 5 miles, but I ultimately finished. 20.06 at a 10:49. Eh... hopefully, next week I'll not break down. Hopefully, my running 20 today, I'll be able to do 18 well next time. I am a little afraid to see what my distance is next week though.

Regardless of the distance, I want 13.1 miles of it to be the World Wife Half, one of the race of the World Wide Festival of Races. This is a really cool event run my 'new media', a whole bunch of podcasters who have (oddly enough) running podcasts. Nike has admitted to 'borrowing' this idea of having a virtual world-wide race for their 'human race' event, but this is really cool. There's 5k, 10k, and a 1/2 marathon. Everyone should do it. Just sign up at http://www.worldwidefestivalofraces.com/cgi-bin/home.

10 miles

2009-10-01T09:26:00.002-04:00

Whew, wasn't sure if I would be able to get up at 4:30 this morning, but I did, so I ran... 10 miles. Not bad actually. I actually enjoy the mid-week middle distance lengths. One my way out, encountered very little traffic, but on the way back, needed to announce myself to pedestrians walking to the bus stops along the way (to not scare the bejezzus out of them), plus I had to wait for some cars at intersections. Oh, I ran a different route than what I would normally run -- this one has pedestrians and car traffic, oh, and hills....

I was supposed to run a mile warmup, then 8 miles at marathon pace, and then a mile cooldown. Well, I messed up my Garmin (didn't reset from last run), so I spent a while trying to figure out what lap (mile) I was on, versus what was displaying on the GPS, as well as what distance I was at. At a desk, with proper lighting, I could probably do this, but while running, and not thinking clearly anyway, this was apparently a very hard task. Anyway, I figured out that I was running 10 miles, and that I was doing the proper pace. At the end, I figured that I ran an 8:59 for the run, which wasn't too shabby.

Did I mention that was a brisk this morning? 44 degrees. I was cold at the start, and it took over a mile for my hands to get warm.

Tomorrow night (Yes, another sleepy night-time run), 20 miles. yikes.

Yasoo 800s.. Bring it ON!

2009-09-29T21:54:00.002-04:00

Okay, that's a bit of a strong title, but I guess I'm still on a runner's high here... To start with, I overslept this morning (I woke up at the ungodly hour of 5:06 am -- to late to get my run in before work) so I delayed my run until tonight. Around 8:00 pm, I went out, did a 2 mile warmup, did 6 Yasso-800's, and then a 2 mile cooldown. What's a Yasso-800? Well, named after Bart Yasso, it's a type of run that will 1) help get your extended distance speed up; and 2) help determine if you are ready to do a marathon. It's basically a 800 meter (1/2 mile) fast run, at a speed that whose number is equivalent to your target marathon time. That is, if you want to run a 4:10 marathon, you need to run your 800 meter in 4 minutes, 10 seconds (or a 8:20 pace). 6 Yasso-800s means do this 6 times (with a 1/4 mile recovery between each run). Well tonight, I ran my Yasso-800's not a 8:00 pace (which would mean running them in 4:00 minutes), but at a 7:30 pace -- for all 6! Wow, I was impressed with myself, if I do say so myself :) I was very worried about this workout, as it is indeed a tough workout (and I get to to it again in a couple weeks, but this time, do 8 of them).

Now, I did manage to *not* run my 18 mile this past weekend, due to Cub Scout training, in-laws in town, and basic oversleeping, so my legs were fresh. We'll see if I can do my 20 miler this weekend (again, due to Cub Scout training, and other stuff, I get to do my 20-miler on Friday night! yay.....)

Two in a Row

2009-09-24T18:46:00.001-04:00

Today was the second of two hard workouts in a row. I don't recommend
it. Since I skipped Tuesday's workout day, I shifted that workout to
Wednesday. Unfortunately, that workout was the Mile Repeats. Today, I
did 9 miles, with 7 of those miles at goal marathon pace. I managed a
9:01 pace for those 7, but I was beat at the end. Tomorrow, I'm
supposed to do 3, with Saturday doing 18. I'd like to skip tomorrow,
but if I do, my Saturday run will suffer. Hmmmm.

Actually, I'm not sure how I'm going to do 18, as I'm in an all day
cub scout training class on Saturday, starting at 8 am. That would
mean, for a 3.5 hour run, I'd have to wake up around 3 am to get the
run in before class. That ain't going to happen. Friday night won't
work either. Maybe Saturday night?

--
Sent from my mobile device

Mile Repeats

2009-09-23T06:34:00.002-04:00

Today I did Mile Repeats. Today I also learned how to use the advanced training functionality in my Garmin. I did a 2 mile warmup, 3x1 Mile repeats, with a 1/4 mile recovery in between, and then a 2 mile cooldown. Since the total mileage of that workout was 7.75 miles, I also ran the rest of the way home, making my total 8 miles.

The repeats were good. I could have gone faster (I averaged an 8:18 pace on those miles), but I was worried about my knee. However, at the end of the entire run, I felt refreshed. Taken as a whole, my average pace for the 8 miles was around a 9:22, that the pace was considered 'easy'. Again, taken as a whole.

The buckeyeoutddoors site is very slow this morning (it's slow most mornings), so I don't know what's next. However, since I overslept yesterday, I took that as my 'rest day', so I pick up again tomorrow. My long run on Saturday is 18! (yikes). I also need to be at (another) Cub Scout training class at 8:00 am on Saturday, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do....

Short run today

2009-09-21T08:12:00.003-04:00

Keeping this short today. I ran 3.3 miles (I think) this morning at an easy pace. Tomorrow's run is a series of mile-repeats. I'm going to keep my speed a little slow for the benefit of my knee. Regarding my knee, I totally forgot about it until around 2 miles -- and even then, my thought wasn't on pain, but on the fact that it didn't hurt and that I wasn't altering my form. All this is good.

I was focused on the temperature. I was a little cold at the start (it was 61 degrees this morning). Pretty soon I'll be forced to wear something other than a t-shirt and shorts. Yikes, cold weather is coming....

Early Run

2009-09-19T11:48:00.002-04:00

Got my long run in today. at 5:40 am. on a saturday. I'm tired now. I got 14 miles in (2 down from last week), but felt good the entire way. had a pb&j at 7 miles, and got to run into my neighborhood with the remains of night run still on my head (head lamp). All told, I was very happy with my run. I knew my knee was there, but it didn't cause any pain. I took it easy though, running up the hills at a slower pace, and down the hills at a slower pace, but was able to get a 9:32 average for the whole thing. Next long run: 18 miles (ouch)

Tentatively Cautious

2009-09-18T08:28:00.002-04:00

First of all, those of you reading from Facebook can see my whole blog on this site. Last we met, young readers, I was worried about my knee. I took yesterday off, and had a tentative and cautious run today (5 miles, slow pace: 9:29), and although when I asked my knee if it felt anything and it said 'yes', it never interrupted my thoughts by impolitely making itself known. In other words, I knew it was there, but if I hadn't had pain there on Wednesday, I wouldn't have known there was a potential issue.

Anyway, I ran 5 today, and due to run 14 tomorrow. Since my long runs are supposed to be 60-120 seconds slower per mile than my goal pace (which I took advantage of on my last long run), I should be okay. Plus, it's 2 miles shorter than last week, so that's good.

Hill Repeats

2009-09-16T09:25:00.002-04:00

Yes, they are as bad as the title sounds. I tried to find a hill that was steady (no downhills in middle) that I could run for 2 minutes without reaching the end. The hills around my house couldn't cut it, so.. drove to the Safeway parking lot this morning to run on Monument road. Took a leisurely 2 mile warmup, and then proceeded to run uphill for 1 minute for 4 times (jogging back down each time), then running uphill for 2 minutes for 4 times (jogging then then running hard back), and then... sprinting uphill for 1 minute for 4 times. I think my legs finally remembered how to sprint the last two repetitions. Until then, I was just running fast. The last two repetitions -- I got to the '1 minute marker' about 10 seconds ahead of time, so kept running. I was supposed to run 2 miles as a cooldown, but I was beat, so I ran .5 miles, got back into my car, and went home.

Later, walking the two blocks from the parking garage to my office, my left knee hurt really bad every time I took a step. Ouch. Hopefully, that will go away today. I'm supposed to run 5 tomorrow, but if my knee hurts, I don't know what I'm going to do....

One run after another

2009-09-15T10:15:00.002-04:00

I didn't have a chance to post after my long run last week. Due to scheduling conflicts, I had to do my long run on Friday night. If you are *not* a night owl, I do not recommend doing a long run beginning at 8:00 pm on a Friday night. I do a lot of night runs, but most of my runs are nighttime -- morning, not nighttime -- late night. By 10:00 pm, I was sleepy tired. I could have just closed my eyes and fallen asleep, without breaking a step. Thinking that this was a little unwise, I decided to stay awake and finish my run.

My long run? 16 miles (actually, 15.8, but was too tired to get the last .2 miles in). I did it in a 9:57 pace, but for the first 9 miles, it was much faster. Miles 14-17 were hard (sleepy tired, and just dog-gone tired at that point). Saturday at 5:00 am I woke up (a little achy) and went to a Cub Scout leader training event -- until 2:00 pm Sunday.

Monday, I just couldn't get up to run, so I ran my easy 5 this morning (Tuesday). It was a very good run, a nice and easy run at a 9:04 pace. Tomorrow, hill repeats. I'm dreading this one....

Ouch, my legs

2009-09-08T19:34:00.003-04:00

So today I ran a hill workout -- 7 miles at a hard pace (okay, an 8:51 pace -- which is hard for me), that included some longer hills. Ouch, I'm beat. My legs are very tired. I'm happy I was able to run the pace that I did, and today's pace was much faster than previous runs on this same course, so I *am* getting better (which is good, because I am training!). Anyway, tomorrow is a rest day, which I'm grateful for. I'm trying very hard to keep to this schedule, as it seems to be working. I'm a little afraid of next week's 'hill repeat' workout though. I have a feeling that someone will find me on the side of the road, unable to walk anymore. Anyway, a rest day tomorrow, 2 'easy' days of 5 miles each, then a 16 (!) miler on Saturday -- before my Boy Scout training campout (whew, what a weekend!)

Lets see if I can get through the week

2009-09-07T10:29:00.002-04:00

This'll be a short post. I'm interested if I can get through the week, not only in getting my runs in, but also posting a little bit.

I ran an 'easy 4' today. I started off a little stiff, as we (the family) went to DC yesterday and walked through the American History Museum. My first mile was a little slow, but I quickly got up to speed. I did a little research on the 'easy' runs on this program. At first, I thought I was to keep a slow pace, and as it turns out, I just need to keep an easy pace. If I can run faster, I should do so. So today I ran a sub 9 (barely, an 8:59 pace). We'll see how my 'hill' run goes tomorrow. It's supposed to be an 7 mile hill run. Historically, the 6 mile hill run has really wiped me out -- so we'll see.

Very Irregular

2009-09-05T17:49:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I'm posting on a very irregular basis (read: very seldomly). I have been running, but just not posting.

Today I bought new shoes to replace my Saucony shoes. I have thought about getting new shoes for some time now, but noticed that both of my shoes have around 500 miles on them. My Adidas have 520 miles and my Saucony has 470. However, my Saucony shoes have broken down faster than my Adidas. My Adidas are still going strong, but I need to make a mental note that at around 200 miles of my new shoes (New Balance 758), I should replace my Adidas.

Overall, my running has been pretty good. In August, I ran 104 miles. I'm running fairly consistently, as I have been following a modified Yasso Marathon training plan for the upcoming Richmond Marathon on November 14 (yikes). Actually, my running has been pretty good. Today, instead of long mileage, my plan had me to a 5k. Not able to find a local 5k, I ran a 2 mile warmup along the W&OD trail, a hard 3 miles (8:07 pace), and then a 2 mile cooldown. I was surprised I was able to keep that pace for 3 miles. Beforehand, I was thinking that I was going to try for a 8:30 pace for the 5k portion, but as I was warming up, I was noticing that I was running a sub 9 in spots, without much fatigue. Anyway, I felt good with my run.

I'm trying to keep to the training plan, although this week I ran only 3 times versus 5 times as per the plan. Previous weeks have been pretty good though. Anyway, we'll see.

I'll try to post more often as I get closer to the Richmond Marathon. It should be fun as my family will be joining me to the race, and we are staying an extra night in Richmond (after the race) to enjoy the town.

I forgot how to tie my shoelaces!

2009-07-13T08:08:00.002-04:00

Last week was a good week. I ran 25.99 miles (had I known I was 1/100th of a mile short of 26...), including a long run at Burke Lake (9.2 miles) with my Montrail trail shoes. These shoes are huge. I got these shoes just before they totally remodeled their line. Montrail's trail running shoes now look a lot like regular running shoes. Mines, uh.. don't. Mine almost look like low cut hiking boots. They are pretty heavy to boot (get it?). Anyway, like all of my running shoes, the first thing I did was to replace the shoelaces with the Yankz shoelace replacement system (long words for replacing the shoelaces with elastic, to avoid tying your shoes). I like the Yankz because you can adjust the tension (tightness) very easily. In the past, my shoes would always be too loose or too tight, and of course, they would untie occasionally.

However, given the sheer bulk of the Montrail shoe, plus the uneven terrain, the Yankz didn't work too well. So, Friday night, I replaced the Yankz with the original shoe laces.

Wow, just re-reading this blog, and I noticed that I have spent a long time explaining shoe laces. What an exciting post!

This week? Hopefully, a good week. I just started the Yasso Intermediate Marathon training program for the Richmond Marathon. The official training time isn't until the week of July 26, but I'll be on a Cub Scout camping trip that entire week, so I figured I would start early. I'm adjusting the training plan a bit as I would like to do 10 miles on my long run this week. We'll see!

Is this thing on?

2009-07-02T09:40:00.002-04:00

Okay, this is a short post -- just to let you know I'm alive. My running over the past several months has been spotty at best. While on business travel, I was able to run consistently (weird), but at home, not so much. I've run a couple of times this week, but only in the evening. For some reason, I can't wake up early anymore. We'll see what happens... as I just signed up for the Richmond Marathon (yikes!).

Stay tuned.

Running is fun sometimes!

2009-03-08T13:14:00.003-04:00

I ran yesterday, a good end to the week, and a great end to a slump over the past several weeks.

I ran 7.5 miles (9:20-ish? pace). It was quite enjoyable. I took a short detour to go down this path next to a creek and ended up at a pumping station. I don't know what a pumping station is though but it was surrounded by a tall fence. Anyway, it was a good run.

I think my knee problem is actually a hamstring problem (which is better I guess). If I strained my hamstring, I think the healing would be faster than a knee problem. I'm going to try to stretch it more before my runs though. However, after 6 miles, my knee/hamstring didn't hurt -- until I stopped :) It's still stiff when I sit for any longer than a few minutes.

Slogging Along

2009-03-06T12:44:00.002-05:00

I managed to get up at 4:30 am again today (okay, 4:39...) and was out the door around 5:15 am for a nice 4.4 mile run. It was nice because it was above freezing! It was around 40 degrees, which felt very nice -- compared to some of the cold weather runs over the winter!

My knee continues to bother me, but oddly enough, it didn't hurt the same way it did yesterday. It hurt going downhill (probably due to extra stress on legs), but didn't feel it at all on flats. I felt it a little going uphill though. 5 hours later, it doesn't hurt too much, only when I stand up from a sitting position.

Just a short blog today...

Long Road Ahead

2009-03-05T06:09:00.002-05:00

Okay, I ran two times this week, which is the most I've run since the week of Feb 8. Oy.

I continue to feel my left knee, but at this point, it's the chicken and the egg thing. Is my knee preventing me from running well, or does my lack of consistent running making my knee feel worse when I do run? I did take a couple weeks off (mostly). From Feb 15 - 28, I ran exactly one time. And that was an easy 4-miler. I'm hoping that my knee thing is not serious. Maybe I should see a doctor, but on the other hand, I'm worried that they'll have the ol' 'if it hurts, don't do it' attitude. My knee works as it is supposed to; I can walk on it, although I'm a little slow getting out of a chair, and it hurts to bend it 90 degrees. We'll see.

I ran 4 miles at a nice and easy 10:06 pace. Easy pace due to ice on the road (not much now, but a little) and the fact that I've run so little lately, I don't want to re-injure myself. Plus, I'm out of shape :)

Easy transition

2009-02-18T17:54:00.002-05:00

In O'Fallon, IL again this week. Didn't run on Monday or Tuesday, as knee still hurt. Yesterday afternoon though, I actually forgot about it, so I figured today I should run a little bit.

It was rather mild this morning (45 degrees at 5:15 am) and I didn't quite have the clothes for such mild weather, so I got a little hot. I didn't get a time, because I wanted to focus just on running 4 miles, and not running 4 miles in X minutes. Coming back with about a mile to go, I turned my head hard to the left, and then noticed that my hamstring was a little tight on my left side. At that point, I began wondering if having tight or weak hamstrings contributed to my knee problem. It makes sense. My knee doesn't actually hurt when I press on it; it only feels weird when I open and close it. It's also a bit swollen. I don't think that my hamstring is the sole reason for my knee injury, but I have a feeling that it is related. I think I need to stretch and strengthen my hamstrings. This has been a weak point in my long runs since my first marathon. My hamstrings have traditionally cramped up on very long runs (and marathons).

Anyway, it's an interesting thought. I'll need to be mindful on that. Anyway, I had a good run this morning, and hope to have another good run tomorrow morning - and it's due to be much colder, lower 20's, so I'll be dressed properly :)

Didn't run today

2009-02-15T08:50:00.002-05:00

I woke up with my knee hurting more. I didn't feel that it was worth the risk of running 10 miles this morning with that condition. Hmmmm....

One down, One to go

2009-02-14T18:28:00.002-05:00

I ran 14 late this morning. I elected to not run 20, but run shorter runs two days in a row. My knee has been bothering me lately, and I didn't want to injure it more (as is running 14 miles doesn't affect it at all....) I was under a 10 minute mile (something like a 9:40) but I wasn't really watching my pace (too much). I took 3 walking breaks on purpose, including one half-way through. We'll see if I can do 10 tomorrow morning (whew).

I actually felt very good at 7 miles (half-way), and pretty good at 10. In the last mile, I actually ran as fast as I could up a steep hill near my house (but only got down to an 8:40 pace, so I wasn't running all that fast). I could have handle another couple miles easily, but I'm not sure I would have felt just as fresh after 6 more miles....

Oh well, wish me luck for tomorrow morning.

One Word - Treadmill

2009-02-12T08:34:00.002-05:00

Well, I did manage to get a run in last night -- on the treadmill. I didn't / couldn't run in the morning, so I decided to do a run every 36 hours or so this week (Tuesday am, Wednesday, pm, Friday am) as my knee still feels funny. Doesn't actually hurt (unless I bend it all the way), but I do notice it, which probably isn't a good thing.

So, during the new episode of Lost last night, I got on treadmill, turned closed captioning on the TV, and started running. I actually got engaged with the storyline and all of the sudden I was at 2 miles. However, I was feeling twinges in my left foot during my run. I think I was changing my running gait, or doing something to compensate for my left knee, and it was causing issues with my foot, so I stopped at 4 miles. Now, if I were running outside, I wouldn't have had that luxury. However, on the other hand, given the high winds and rain, I probably wouldn't have noticed the twinges and continued running (plus, I would have been 2 miles away from home still). All reasons aside, I stopped at 4 miles (9:30-ish pace).

That brings me to a whopping 10 miles this week. Not sure if I should do 20 (!) this weekend, especially with my knee. I wonder if I did 12/12 (Sat/Sun) if that would work. Hmmm...

Day After

2009-02-10T08:01:00.002-05:00

I was thinking after my run today that I don' t have a race scheduled for after this next race. They say that you should have a race already scheduled so that you don't hit the post-race malaise (too much). Particularly for a marathon. You prepare so much for it, and all of the sudden, it's done, and you are left in a funk. I know -- I've have it before. After my first marathon, I stopped running for nearly 3 months (!). After other big races, I fought to stay motivated as well.

This past year, my motivation has flagged somewhat (just recent posts from last fall, and you'll see). The question is... what race should I run? It'll be mid-Spring by then (well, early Spring). Maybe some 10Ks. I haven't done them in a while.

Oh, I ran 6.00 miles today at a 9:30-ish pace. My left knee continues to make itself known.

Long, Slow Run

2009-02-07T11:17:00.003-05:00

Today I set out to run. Didn't really know how far I was going to go when I woke up this morning. In fact, until I "settled" on running 14, I wasn't really motivated *to* run. However, I finally got out the door around 8:30 am (as opposed to the plan of 7:00 am). I ended up running 13.35 miles. I felt my knee during planned walking breaks (at 6 miles and 11 miles) while I ate my peanut butter sandwiches. I figured I shouldn't push to run too much today. I cut it short a bit but felt okay about the run.

Since I was running a slower pace, I felt fine at 10 miles. I felt my legs after mile 12, but that might have been because I was back in my (hilly) neighborhood. But, I ran (whew).

Late Night Run

2009-02-06T14:06:00.002-05:00

Yesterday morning, it was all I could do to get up in time to go to work. There was no chance in heck to get up earlier to run 8 miles (I think I'm coming down with something, various members of my family are/were sick, plus several friends -- especially those with children). So.... last night, I told My Lovely Wife to force me to run after dinner, etc.

Last night I did.

8.02 miles at a 9:22 pace. It was rather like an early morning run, but with less traffic. I started out around 8:55 pm and was back around 10:05-10:10 pm, so it wasn't too late, although it was much later than I usually run :-)

It was kinda cold -- 24 degrees, but not too windy. I'm starting to think that running wearing cotton gloves may not be the best idea. My hands got hot, then sweaty, so I took them off, but then after my hands cooled off, I had to put on cold and wet gloves. I also have some issues other apparel items made of cotton, but that's certainly not a topic for a public blog post :-)

I'm taking off today, and trying to figure out if 18 miles for tomorrow is in my future....

Isn't It Supposed To Get Easier?

Hellacious Blister

Extreme Hill Workouts

Long Run and Shirt Review

New Distance for 5Fingers

I Have Been Running, You Know

There's such as thing as a 'bad' run...

One Run Past a Good Week

Some Things Considered

Running with a Group, Part Two / Another Evening Run

Running with a Group

Non-morning runs

What's Going On?

No Groove

Slooooow Start

*Now* I Can Say It's Been a Good Week

Rollin' 'cross the Bridge

I Guess Last Week Was A 'Down' Week

No Half Marathon....

Grand Unveiling

Comments and Runs

So Here are the Hills....

Got it in under the wire

And Another Thing...

More and More Running Posts Here

Shoes and Running

New Route

Not a Bad Week

Cruizin' Along....

Two Whole Runs This Week!

Exercise = Danger from Zombies

Trying to Find my Pace

Good (But Cold) Day

Creaky Old Man

What happened?

Unassuming Run

What's Another Title for Icy Run?

The Weather Outside is Frightful...

Single Digits...

(Another) Snow Day

Pre-Snow Long Run

Slogging in Snow

Snow Run / Two-A-Day

Stress begets a run

Downward Trend....

Good End to a So-So Week

Happy New Year!

You've Got To Be Kidding....

Year End Review

Almost There!

Normal(?) Run

900 in 2009?

Icy Run

Snow Run

At least the second day wasn't windy

Starting Again

Runnin' at the Beach

Whoo Hoo!

Just a Couple Days to Go

7 Days to Go

How Much Longer?

Prediction....

Began my taper... last week

Downward direction

Peaked!

Wow, 4 runs this week! (so far)

How much longer?

Found a new Gear!

Okay, I heard this in a podcast

Oh Yeah, I ran today

TeamSweat

7 easy

World Wide Festival of Race Half Marathon and 20 Miler! Hoo-Yah!

Another 10

Welcome to

My Quads Hate Me

long SLOW distance

10 miles

Yasoo 800s.. Bring it ON!

Two in a Row

Now I Can Say It's Been a Good Week