Thursday, July 31, 2014
repeats
Lamar/ Pleasant Valley loop with Shan this morning. We got a couple of easy miles in and I suggested to Shan that we take a short walk break to the next 1/4 mile marker and do some 1/2 mile repeats. We ended up doing 2x 1/2 mile with 1/2 mile recovery in between and then 1 last hard 1/4 mile. They all hurt like hell but were very good. It was good to do some fast running. After the last couple of days the faster running almost seemed like primal scream therapy. It was great release that I really needed. I'm sure freaking slow. As we were running the repeats it occurred to me that I ran an entire marathon about 30 seconds per mile slower than the 1/2 mile that was kicking my arse this morning. That was 15yrs ago though. Probably need to be sort of, but not completely satisfied I'm still out there getting after it. I'm gonna keep plugging away till I can't move anymore!!
Thursday, July 24, 2014
gas (out of)
I was out of gas this morning on our 7.5 mile run due to my change in diet yesterday. I had nothing. It took Shan and I 1:26 to do the Lamar/ Pleasant Valley loop mostly due to my walk breaks. I'm very glad Shan was understanding.
Monday, July 21, 2014
hip
Another successful Rick Run is in the books. Besides myself there were 9 people that participated in Rick's memorial run this past Saturday.
Mark L, Cris S, John N, my cousin Justin and his bro in law Marc G were at the start at 515. We all did the 10 mile loop together in exactly 2hrs (a bit faster than I planned on). Shan was arriving a little later than planned so Cris and John and I made a quick call to do the 3 mile Lamar loop. It ended up being perfect timing because right when were done and walking up to our cars Shan was walking down the road looking for us.
After replenishing and regrouping Shan and John and I took off on the 7 mile I-35 loop (all loops I'm referring to are based on the Mopac footbridge). We ran together for approximately half of the loop and at that point I was slowing down significantly so Shan and John continued on. With less than 100yds to go I came upon Shan and Linda R coming my way and we stopped to catch up for a minute. They were headed out on two 7 mile loops and they reported Misty and Jennifer had just arrived!
Upon seeing Misty she kicked into crew mode and asked me what I needed and how I was feeling. I got my lawn chair out and sat down to munch on one of the bean, guacamole and potato tacos and regroup a little. At this point I was feeling pretty good but was discovering the hard way that my new shoes that I've been very happy with are a half size to small. My 3rd toe on both my feet are as long, possibly a little longer than my 2nd toe and big toe. This usually isn't a problem but these new shoes are cut in a pretty drastic angle from the big toe to the little toe. What's crazy about that is that as I'm discovering the shoes are too small I'm going over the 100 mile mark in them. I've done several 10 mile runs in them too. You'd think this problem would have surfaced before now. And, I suspect the outside/ plantar issue I'm having is due to these new shoes too. I've got some miles yet to put on my newer pair of Torin so I'm gonna switch back to those this week and see how they feel.
The 3 of us took off walking together heading west to the Mopac footbridge and walked approximately a mile together before I got happy feet and took off on the rest of the 10 mile loop. Although the temps were very moderate for a mid July day the humidity was trying to make up for it, I was starting to feel some fatigue. My left foot was hurting some, my left hip was a bit achy and tired feeling but I was really feeling good about getting in 40 miles. When I got back to the car I called M and told her I was going out on another 10 mile loop. Right before I got back to my car Shan had texted that she got in 21 and was done. I told her about my foot and hip and that I was going to get in another 10 miles. When I got off the phone with M I saw that Shan had sent another text saying what a good day 30 miles was and that maybe it would be a good idea to stop and not risk injuring myself. I called M back and told her I was bailing and she immediately said,"I knew it"!!! I told her what Shan said about not injuring myself and she agreed. So, I was done at 30 miles, a bit disappointed but okay with the 30.
Another issue I'm having is my left hip area. I think it's mostly my piriformis. Marc G and I were texting Saturday and he told me to look into a youtube video called the Limber 11. I took the time to watch the 20 minute video this morning. There were some stretches and exercises that I already knew about but also some new very interesting ones that I'm looking forward to doing.
Now that I think they worst of my knee issue is behind me I really need to focus on fixing my hip so I've decided I'm not going to do the 40 miler in Glenrose this Sep. I'm off to my best running start in 5ys and I've got one 50 miler and a 30 miler in so far this year so I'm going to focus on maintaining my minimum 20 mile weeks and fixing my hip and be ready for some winter races.
Mark L, Cris S, John N, my cousin Justin and his bro in law Marc G were at the start at 515. We all did the 10 mile loop together in exactly 2hrs (a bit faster than I planned on). Shan was arriving a little later than planned so Cris and John and I made a quick call to do the 3 mile Lamar loop. It ended up being perfect timing because right when were done and walking up to our cars Shan was walking down the road looking for us.
After replenishing and regrouping Shan and John and I took off on the 7 mile I-35 loop (all loops I'm referring to are based on the Mopac footbridge). We ran together for approximately half of the loop and at that point I was slowing down significantly so Shan and John continued on. With less than 100yds to go I came upon Shan and Linda R coming my way and we stopped to catch up for a minute. They were headed out on two 7 mile loops and they reported Misty and Jennifer had just arrived!
Upon seeing Misty she kicked into crew mode and asked me what I needed and how I was feeling. I got my lawn chair out and sat down to munch on one of the bean, guacamole and potato tacos and regroup a little. At this point I was feeling pretty good but was discovering the hard way that my new shoes that I've been very happy with are a half size to small. My 3rd toe on both my feet are as long, possibly a little longer than my 2nd toe and big toe. This usually isn't a problem but these new shoes are cut in a pretty drastic angle from the big toe to the little toe. What's crazy about that is that as I'm discovering the shoes are too small I'm going over the 100 mile mark in them. I've done several 10 mile runs in them too. You'd think this problem would have surfaced before now. And, I suspect the outside/ plantar issue I'm having is due to these new shoes too. I've got some miles yet to put on my newer pair of Torin so I'm gonna switch back to those this week and see how they feel.
The 3 of us took off walking together heading west to the Mopac footbridge and walked approximately a mile together before I got happy feet and took off on the rest of the 10 mile loop. Although the temps were very moderate for a mid July day the humidity was trying to make up for it, I was starting to feel some fatigue. My left foot was hurting some, my left hip was a bit achy and tired feeling but I was really feeling good about getting in 40 miles. When I got back to the car I called M and told her I was going out on another 10 mile loop. Right before I got back to my car Shan had texted that she got in 21 and was done. I told her about my foot and hip and that I was going to get in another 10 miles. When I got off the phone with M I saw that Shan had sent another text saying what a good day 30 miles was and that maybe it would be a good idea to stop and not risk injuring myself. I called M back and told her I was bailing and she immediately said,"I knew it"!!! I told her what Shan said about not injuring myself and she agreed. So, I was done at 30 miles, a bit disappointed but okay with the 30.
Another issue I'm having is my left hip area. I think it's mostly my piriformis. Marc G and I were texting Saturday and he told me to look into a youtube video called the Limber 11. I took the time to watch the 20 minute video this morning. There were some stretches and exercises that I already knew about but also some new very interesting ones that I'm looking forward to doing.
Now that I think they worst of my knee issue is behind me I really need to focus on fixing my hip so I've decided I'm not going to do the 40 miler in Glenrose this Sep. I'm off to my best running start in 5ys and I've got one 50 miler and a 30 miler in so far this year so I'm going to focus on maintaining my minimum 20 mile weeks and fixing my hip and be ready for some winter races.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
heat
10 miles at Townlake in peak heat yesterday afternoon. When I started at 3:15 the temp was 95. At the halfway mark an hour later the temp had gone up to 96. So my plan to get in a long run in the peak heat worked great. Now if I can get my left foot fixed by next Saturday I'll be in good shape.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
looking up
My old fat ass is SLOW!! I started with a slow, easy mile and then did 3x880yds with an easy 880 in between. The 3rd I timed in 3:54.37. My first thought when I looked at my watch was that my time was a few seconds shy of Roger Bannister's time when he became THE FIRST PERSON TO RUN THE MILE IN UNDER 4 MINUTES!!!! How freaking pathetic am I? I'll qualify it by saying it was my 3rd repeat and I was not giving it 100% but I was working pretty darn hard. Oh well, I got it done and now I have a benchmark to go with. I REALLY have to start making some speed part of a regular routine.
On another note. For the last 3 weeks or so I've reverted to "walking like a caveman" and my knee pain is virtually gone and my hip is doing much better. It's nothing short of amazing to me how making such a subtle change has made such a big difference with what seemed to a be a major issue that seemed as if it needed some serious intervention. I've simply started walking slower and walking everywhere as if I'm barefooted, basically walking very gingerly. I originally started doing this 9yrs ago when my piriformis was flared up badly. I found the caveman walk online and tried it and it helped. On top of that I've had what was a minor knee issue for a couple of years that has gotten much worse the last 5 months or so. Also, a couple of months ago my left hip/ piriformis went south again for the 1st time in years. Things were looking pretty bleak until I was taking a walk break on the boardwalk 3 weeks ago I suddenly remembered the caveman walk. I immediately started doing it and actually got some instant relief. The huge unexpected bonus 3 weeks later is how much improved my left knee is. I've also carried the caveman walk over to the Pose Run method which seems to have helped my knee too.
Anyhow, things are definitely looking up with my running and that makes Jeffie a happy happy boie!!
On another note. For the last 3 weeks or so I've reverted to "walking like a caveman" and my knee pain is virtually gone and my hip is doing much better. It's nothing short of amazing to me how making such a subtle change has made such a big difference with what seemed to a be a major issue that seemed as if it needed some serious intervention. I've simply started walking slower and walking everywhere as if I'm barefooted, basically walking very gingerly. I originally started doing this 9yrs ago when my piriformis was flared up badly. I found the caveman walk online and tried it and it helped. On top of that I've had what was a minor knee issue for a couple of years that has gotten much worse the last 5 months or so. Also, a couple of months ago my left hip/ piriformis went south again for the 1st time in years. Things were looking pretty bleak until I was taking a walk break on the boardwalk 3 weeks ago I suddenly remembered the caveman walk. I immediately started doing it and actually got some instant relief. The huge unexpected bonus 3 weeks later is how much improved my left knee is. I've also carried the caveman walk over to the Pose Run method which seems to have helped my knee too.
Anyhow, things are definitely looking up with my running and that makes Jeffie a happy happy boie!!
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
myself
1:55 10 mile at Townlake this morning. I didn't feel great but I got it done. Some good junk miles for the log. Almost had the Boardwalk all to myself. I counted 11 people from one end to the other this morning.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
drink less beer
Easy 7 miles at Townlake this morning to hopefully get a good (higher mileage) month of July kicked off. I really need to buckle down (drink less beer) if I'm going to have a successful Rough Creek 40 miler in 11 weeks. Physically I'm doing pretty good besides a strange plantar/ foot issue. I just need to be more diligent with everything, stretching, maintenance etc....
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