Saturday 6 Miler

Would have liked to head out to Williamsburg for the 10k they were having, but Tommy has an all-day match and I didn't think it was fair to the dogs to leave them alone that long. So after dog walk (a little later start than we should have gotten but at least it was mostly overcast and a bit cooler after yesterday's rain), went out for a six mile run as per the schedule.

I had done the Observatory walk with the dogs and didn't want to retrace my steps, but ended up doing that a bit anyway. I did my loop of the park plus the Kilgour race route, then added on the Observatory loop. It was just a little short of six miles so i had to add a loop around the block at the end. Being a runner and being obsessive go together so well.

Even though I did not start out until 10:45, it wasn't too miserable. It almost started raining in the last two miles but the rain is still holding off, even now. Glad I didn't chicken out and try to do it on the treadmill.

The top of my right foot has been irritating me, since, I think, the other night in obedience class. I was wearing the tan Addictions and I think I had them tied too tight or had the tongue in the wrong place or something. I'm pretty sure that was when it started. Bothered me some yesterday but I still got the dog walk and run in. Then I wore my new Ghosts around th house for a few hours and it was really bothering me then.

Was going to give the Ghosts a try for a couple of miles today but not with that foot pain. Was also afraid to go with the Newtons because I'm not 100% sure that they didn't cause the problem. So i ran in the Vomeros. Surprise, surprise, they felt pretty good. Guess I won't give up on them quite yet.

Not sure if I am keeping the Ghosts or not. They feel a tad bit big in the toe box, maybe a little too sloppy. I know that I have been complaining about the Newtons being too snug but there is a happy medium somewhere. Oh the other thing bothering me about the Ghosts, and this is trivial, is that I thought I was ordering the white ones with pink trim, and instead they sent me those (I think) kind of ugly denim-ish ones with the teal trim. Not worth sending them back over that. I guess I just went back and forth to the page so m much that I lost track of which pair I was ordering.

Also wore my new running shorts and bra for this run. All was well. Thinking about ordering another couple pairs of those shorts, because I need them.

Tomorrow I am just going to do a little unsheduled three miler, I think. Still waiting to hear back from Cheryl about the fundraiser. Still can't think of a better cause than the Foundation.

Longish Trail Run

Today I was supposed to do five miles. It's even hotter than yesterday, and I'm getting a little worried about how much time I am sending out in the sun during the peak times, so I opted for a trail run.

Hasn't rained for a few days so I figured the trails should be pretty dry. My shoes are dry now, too, but they were pretty mud-caked from the last trail race. I managed to get them on without having to clean them off. I'm so lazy.

I have a trail route that I figured would work out to about 2.5 miles, so i decided to just do that twice. While I was out there, I decided a good way to do it would be to run it in reverse for the second half. i don't know why I never thought of that before for the trail runs. It's what I always do when I am out running multiple laps of Lunken.

The first lap worked out to be 2.44 miles, which was not bad. I did not see a soul in the park. The trails were very dry. Just a tiny bit of mud in a couple of spots. Not like you'd even notice. Even the creek was bone dry.

I'm sitting out on the porch now icing my knee and hip, and I forgot to turn my stopwatch on. Oh well. 

I liked going in reverse for the second lap. I don't know if I would prefer that way over my normal route. it did mean downhill on the gravel trail, which is nice, and also uphill on the switchbacks, which is also preferable. I should like it better but I am such a creature of habit.

I saw a couple of old guys with a couple of fairly mellow Viszlas near the end of the second lap. The total distance worked out to be 4.88 miles. Trail running is so hard for me and it takes so much time that I am satisfied with that number.

There's a pic of my trail shoes on the floor of the side porch, where I guess they are just going to have to live from now on most of the time. Today's run did manage to shake most of the mud off them. I should have taken a before picture. These are great shoes, by the way. I wish I could get another pair when they wear out but this model is from two years ago.

That reminds me, I was maybe going to do some shoe shopping today..

 

Trail Run in the Woods

Did one this afternoon. Found a way to get i over 4 miles without repeating too much of it. Go down the Burr Oak Trail, up the Valley Trail, up the Cliff Trail to the Overlook, up and around behind the playground to the Kid's Trail, across the street through the Friendship Park and across the soccer field to the hole in the woods and the trail that leads back down to Valley Trail, up the switchbacks to the small trail that connects to the Ridge Trail, down the Ridge Trail, and back up the Burr Oak Trail to home.

Had kind of an unpleasant morning and a not especially productive early afternoon, so I really needed this to clear out my head.

Just gonna run

I've officially given up on the schedule. Not that there is much more of it to follow. Yesterday was the last change to get a decent long workout in and I blew it again. Was supposed to do 10-12 with the last 4-6 at marathon pace. Should have gone back to Lunken. Instead, struggled through six in the neighborhood and quit. It was a hot afternoon and I was tired from lack of sleep and dog training class.

Today I just went for a run around the Park-Kilgour route, 4.23 miles in about 45 minutes. It was later in the afternoon and a little cooler and I actually enjoyed myself.

I had been thinking the last few days a bit that it might be a waste of time to go to Indy. And then yesterday I started thinking that what the heck, I might as well go and just run and forget about trying to BQ. Just at least  run the race I have been training for, enjoy the expo and the pasta dinner and the speakers and the day.

And then, this evening, I realized something else. I only have to run 9:30s to qualify for Boston. I can do that, can't I? I ran sub 9s for a half on a hillier course a month ago. I just have to start out slow. I have to run that first mile in 10 minute pace, then do the gradual cutdown to a 9:30 by mile 4. Keep 'em all under 9:30 and throw a couple faster ones in where I can. And I'll have it.

The Struggle to Fit Running in Around the Wedding

It has been a challenge to fit the running in the past week. I'll just go through it day by day and compare what I was supposed to do with what I actually did.

Week 12, Day 1
This was a scheduled off day after the half-marathon. I didn't run, but I did do 15 minutes of core work and 15 minutes of upper body work with the Nike Training Club on my iPhone. Plus I cleaned the bathrooms!

Week 12, Day 2
I managed to complete the scheduled 30-45 minute "easy run," completing 3.15 miles around the park in 36:43 or 11:30 pace. Okay, it was very slow but the park is hard. The weather was drizzly and the roads were slippery. I felt a little knee twinge, which might have been from the conditions, or maybe a result of the cross-training yesterday. Cross-training = bad for you.

Week 12, Day 3
The schedule said 45-60 easy. I did the EBSE route for 4.85 miles in 51:54 or 10:41 pace. Better than the day before but did get the knee twinge at the start of mile 4. I backed off and it went away, but iced it when I got home. I think it really was from the damn cross training.

Week 12, Day 4
I was supposed to do a 16-20 mile long run. Instead, I drove around completing various wedding-related errands with Susan. Also, I had to take the dogs to the kennel and that was a two hours of driving. This is the first major workout that I have missed and I hope it won't turn out to be a key one.

Week 12, Day 5
The schedule calls for a 40-50 minute recovery run. I do the Madison route for 4.9 miles in 52:56 or 10:47 pace. I had to hustle to get a run in before we had to head out for the mani-pedi party.

Week 12, Day 6
The schedule said off or 30-45 easy. But this was the day of the wedding. So hahaha, it wasn't happening.

Week 12, Day 7
Again, the schedule said off or 30-45 easy. I did 3.15 miles on the treadmill in 45 minutes, using Program 2 mostly on Level 5 which has a top speed of 5.2 mph. Felt really tired but like I needed to do something.

Week 13, Day 1
Was supposed to do a 18-22 mile long run. I went to Lunken in the middle of the day, after the dog walk, with every intention of getting at least 18 in. The first five went well, but when I went back to the car to refill my water bottle, I made the mistake of switching to a shortsleeve shirt. It was pretty windy and not that warm, and I think this apparel switch played some role in my srtuggles the rest of the way. For the second loop, I went down the Otto Armleder trail and connector, then continued the rest of the Lunken loop. This gives you a nice 9 miler. I was hoping then that I could go back to the car and just head out for another 5 and I'd have over 19. But my hips were really sore and my pace was slowing and I felt like crap. So I just went a little way down and back towards the playfield and ended up with just 16.38 for the day. I guess we could consider this a makeup for the 16-20 I missed last Thursday, but maybe the point was to do 16 last Thursday and another 18 on Monday. If so, I have failed.

Week 13, Day 2
Schedule said off or 30-45 recovery. I am bored with my regular 3 mile routes. It was late in the afternoon and I had already walked the dogs around the park. Had agility class in the morning, then some driving around with post-wedding errands. So, went down Erie, then across and jogged a little around the dogwalking area, then did the Victoria-Portsmouth loop and came home, for a total of 3 miles in 31:35 or 10:31 pace.

Week 13, Day 3
Today the schedule called for 45-60 easy. I didn't make it out until late afternoon again, following a morning rally class with Zen, returning vases to the florist, and a dog walk around the Observatory route (scary when the out of control dogs lunged for a pile of dog poop on Erie and Zen pulled her leash out of my hand and I got a knee twinge as i tried to brace myself, hold on to the dogs, and not fall down). I did the Park + Kilgour route, for a total of 4.23 miles in 45:35.

I am bothered that I missed the long run last week and had to shorten the one this week. Otherwise, I guess I am not in such bad shape. But I know the long runs are really key and the area I've been lacking before. And here I am again. Well, if I can run a decent half-marathon this weekend, I'll feel a little better about things. I have one more really long run next Friday, then a fast finish long run the following Wednesday, and that's it.

Week 11, Days 3 & 4

Been busy so skipped posting the last few days. So this is for the runs I did on Wednesday and Thursday. After the Yassos on Monday, I did not feel bad about taking Tuesday off.

Wednesday I just did an easy three around the park. Time was 33:38 or 11:08 pace, once again a pretty good pace for that difficult route. Can't remember now what time of day I did this. Oh, that's right. It was in mid-morning after walking the dogs and before I went out to get my hair and nails done.

Thursday I did an easy five miler on my "Madison" route. This one was in the early evening, after 5 pm, after I got back from setting my crates up for the agility trial on Friday. The roads felt kind of slippery after the rain. My knee didn't feel great, and I don't know if that was because of the rain/humidity, or because I had run the dogs in agility class in the middle of the day (and maybe the knee brace I wear for agility was bothering me?), or because I had been schlepping the wire crates around and setting them up. And of course, I think I probably alter my stride when I am worried about slipping.

Come to think of it, the left foot is feeling a little weird also. That might be because now that it is fall, I've been changing my regular dog-walking shoes. Had been walking in the Keens all summer with no problem, but the last few days I've worn my old Merrills a bunch and maybe they are causing a problem. Note to self, get some Keens for the fall/winter.

Anyway, felt a little knee twinge early in the second mile, and maybe I should have cut the run short. But I kept going. the knee became bothersome again near the end of the run, when I had just about a half-mile to go. I even stopped and walked a little bit at that point, then jogged slowly the rest of the way. Time was 54:07 for 4.9 miles or 11:02 pace, which is not bad considering the walking.

Anyway, I took yesterday off because of the agility trial, and then I'm also taking today off because of the race tomorrow, and also because, damn it, I feel like I am getting a cold. Just in time for State-to-State tomorrow morning.

Now the dilemma. Do I skip the race and then it turns out it's not really a cold anyway? And then I have broken my streak of doing this race every time since the first year. Or do I run anyway, and turn the cold into pneumonia/bronchitis, just in time for the wedding next weekend and when I am really not going to have time to get to the doctor this week and have a gazillion things to do?

In the meantime, I am sucking down the vitamin C. I really have to get back on the vitamin kick. I actually did take them this morning before I went off to stand around in the cold outside at the agility trial. Was colder than I expected when I got there and I was wearing shorts. Stupid.

It looks like it is going to be in the upper 40s in Oxford tomorrow morning for the start of the race, and only climb to about 55 degrees by the time I finish. Gonna be one of those years where I have to layer and debate ditching my old garments, I guess.

Last year the weather was pretty perfect, and I made my goal of breaking 2:00 and even placed second in the age group. This year I wanted to go even a little faster, and the workouts of the last few weeks were telling me that I was in shape to do that, but now I don't know. If I really feel sick even taking it easy is going to be stupid. Well, at least it won't be raining tomorrow. Last year I think I also felt like I was getting a cold before the race but it was a false alarm. I was a little thinner this time last year. Let's not dwell on that.

Week 10, Days 5 and 6

Didn't run on Thursday because just too busy. Got in a short one yesterday after I came home from the agility trial, and then did the stride interval workout that was scheduled for yesterday, today.

Okay, first up, let's talk about yesterday. Not too much to say about it. I wore my new Nike Pegasus 29s. Felt just like the 27s and the 28s, except maybe a little smaller and snugger and that is probably good. Did the EBE route, finishing up by going around the neighborhood, which put it at 3.1 miles on the GPS in 34:02 or 10:40 pace. Felt a little tired from the agility trial but not bad.

Today I needed to do the stride workout. This is described as 55-70 minutes of easy running with 10-15 strides of 25 seconds or so and recoveries of 1 minute, with the strides done either at the end of the workout or somewhere in the middle.

Hmmm. Oh, and the strides are supposed to start out around 5k race pace and build up to like mile race pace by the end of each interval, if I understand this correctly.

For a run that long outside I was going to need water, and if past experience is any guide, probably a bit of fuel half way through. The intervals were best done somewhere that I wouldn't have to cross streets or encounter a lot of traffic, either pedestrian or motorized.

So after thinking about it a bit, I decided to start out with my regular Park loop, then return home for water and a GU, then go back up into the park and do the strides around the pavillion. And when I finished that up, I could just jog back home the shortest way.

This worked out pretty well. I ran the park loop, including jogging down the trail right to the front door, in 35:02, which the GPS said was 11:04 pace for 3.1 miles. That's actually not a bad time for that route. I made it to Custer, my traditional checkpoint, in 26:49, which is a good pace for that run.

Then I had a glass of water and a GU pack, as planned, and headed back out. Instead of running up the street as I normally would at the start of a run, I went up the trail to Observatory Ave. I felt good. Better than I do at the start of a run. I guess that is the effect of the warmup!

I jogged up the hill for 9 minutes, which put me up near the left side of the pavillion. Then I walked for a minute and started the intervals, running clockwise around the pavillion and gardens. I forget what I had the GPS set to display but it worked out well for keeping track. I know I had one of the displays set up for manual laps, and I knew that I was going to need 21 manual laps to finish the workout (1 lap to jog up the hill, then 10 laps of fast running and 10 laps of recovery). Maybe the other display was total distance or something like that. Yeah, I think that was it. The main display was the manual lap time.

For the recoveries, I walked for 30 seconds and jogged for 30 seconds.

The time of each lap varied a little bit depending on how accurate I was at looking down at the watch and hitting it to stop the lap, but the important data point is probably average speed for each of the intervals:

1) 8:09 (just figuring it out)
2) 7:48 (slight downhill)
3) 6:41 (more downhill)
4) 8:34 (slight uphill)
5) 7:00 (more flat?)

I was feeling better than I remembered feeling the last time I ran short, fast intervals. I think when I tried a similar workout during my last training cycle, I was running the intervals too fast. I think I had been doing them just about all out for 30 seconds, instead of starting at 5k pace and gradually accelerating. I tried to concentrate more on my form---because that is part of the point of the exercise---and then really speeding up the last ten seconds.

After the fifth interval, which put me on the right side of the pavillion (if you are coming uphill from Observatory), I switched direction and did the other five going counterclockwise.

6) 7:17
7) 6:28 (downhill)
8) 7:44 (uphill?)
9) 7:11 (flat?)
10) 7:35 (not sure why it was slow because I think it was downhill)

Anyway, I probably could have done 5 more but this was enough.

Then I just jogged back home on Observatory and stopped my watch just before I hit the trail. This second half of the workout was another 3.1 miles, in 32:15 or an average pace of 10:37.

I'm pleased with how this workout went. Overall, I should take confidence from having done all of the important workouts so far. I don't think I've missed a single speed session or long run. Have I? And when has that ever happened before.

No matter how the race turns out, I will have done the work.

Now the only two things I'm worried about are getting sick, and the struggle to get these last few key weeks of training in. The wedding really figures into these concerns, because it is a big stressor, and also I will be exposed to a lot of germs!

I've started trying to remember to take my vitamins again, and I'm going to have to work on getting plenty of sleep.

Week 10 (Already?) Days 1 & 2

Just a couple of easy runs on the schedule at the start of this week. Yesterday I went for the 45-60 minute easy run. After the dog walk, I headed out around 11 am around the park/Kilgour route plus a little bit up Observatory and back on Pape. The GPS watch said it was 4.83 miles in 54 minutes, 11:09 pace but it is hard to run around the park.

Today I didn't go out until later in the afternoon because it was raining this morning. Decided to do my trail loop because it was a bit windy and cooler than I'm used to, and I was looking forward to the shelter from the wind that you get in the woods. Also, I wanted the freedom to just go nice and slow in a pretty place without having to worry about crossing any streets.

Trail route was 2.97 miles in 45:45, which is the ridiculously slow pace of 15:23, but it's on the trails. That is actually not any slower than usual for the trail route.

Tomorrow I am supposed to do the long run of 16-18 miles. Not sure if I will do it outside or on the treadmill.

Week 9, Day 5

Yesterday the schedule called for another easy run, this time just 30-40 minutes. After walking around the neighborhood with Tommy & the dogs, I headed out for my regular old loop of the park.

Did not get out until 11 am but no worries, because it was another pleasant day. Hit my "checkpoint" at Custer in 27:03---historically, anything under 27 is pretty fast on this course, so to be right at 27 on an "easy" day is pretty cool.

Finished the run of 3.01 miles in 33:16 or an 11:02 pace. While that sounds slow, for this course that is relatively fast. So, I am getting faster. It is happening!

Tonight is the Glenwood Gardens night trail run. Last year I finished in just a smidge over 30 minutes, so this year I hope to at least break 30.

Week 8, Day 7

I got a short one in today after I got home from the dog show. According to the schedule, I was supposed to do a couple of easy runs Friday and Saturday, then very easy today or take an off day. Well, I didn't run Friday (mostly out shopping and driving around) or Saturday (at the dog show), but at least I got one in today.

Wanted to do 5 miles but ended up with just 4.2. Did a combo of the park & Kilgour race routes. Was slower than the supposed "easy" run pace, but this was around the park and it is hard. Actually, my pace was probably a little faster than I would usually cover this route in, I'm just recording it slower because of the stupid GPS.

Ran 4.2 miles in 46 something, or a 10:55 pace. The second and fourth miles (downhill from the pavillion & Principio, and some downhill on Ault View and Observatory Place) were the fastest.

Week 6, Day 5

Today the schedule called for another easy run. I'm still a little sore from yesterday's mishap, but since I am planning to race tomorrow I figured I'd better get out there and see how I felt.

I decided to go for a real slow one on my trail route, since tomorrow is a trail race. Wore the GPS watch, and finally figured out how to get it to sync with the shoe pod as well. The idea is that if you lose the GPS signal, the shoe pod fills in the gaps.

The dogs and I slept in until 7 am this morning. I decided to separate their walks because my arms are a little too sore to handle all three of them together. Plus by the time we got out it was lizard time. I walked Eddy & Maggie around the Observatory route, then took Zen around the park.

So it was around 10:45 or later by the time I hit the trails. It was nice and cool in there. The trails were very dry and dusty, which isn't the best for traction, but I managed. It was a good test to see if I am really injured, and also if my bandage will stay on my arm. Seems like I didn't do any real biomechanical damage to myself yesterday. My right hip is a little sore where I bruised it, but it doesn't affect the running. And the bandage stayed on my arm. So it's good.

The bad news, and not entirely unexpected, is that my trail run which I had been logging as 3.6 or so (based on the shoe pod) is not quite three miles according to the GPS. I figured it was about three, really, so this is not a big surprise. I have to find a way to make it just a tiny bit longer so it can be over three miles.

So, per the GPS, it was 2.94 miles in 47:12 or 16:02 pace. A little slower than usual on the trails but that was deliberate.

Tomorrow is the Powder Keg trail run up in Kings Mills. Two years ago I ran it in 37 something and won the age group. Last year Cyndi K. ran it in 33 something (I wasn't there) and she won the age group. So, my goal this year is try to get under 33 and beat Cyndi K. is she is there. I did not stick around for the awards last time but I will this time if I beat Cyndi or if I am otherwise suspecting that I might have won, since they did not mail the awards after.

Week 4, Day 7

Another easy run was on the schedule for today, just 30-45 minutes. I decided to go for a trail run, which might end up longer than 45 minutes, but I would be using some different muscles and not going very fast. I also thought that it might help alleviate the threatening achilles tendonitis.

I went out around 10:45 am, after a long dog walk around the neighborhood. It was another beautiful day. The trails are in great shape and the woods are lush despite the lack of rain. I thought again about how lucky I am to have these trails right next to my house. I thought about Libby and all the hours we spent together hiking in there. I thought about how trail running is good for you because you use more different muscles than you do when you're road running, without the repetitive pounding; but at the same time it is dangerous, because you are never more than a step away from disaster and injury.

I covered 3.7 miles in 44:51, which is 12:07 pace, but this is trail running, y'know, so it is supposed to be ridiculously slow. Some people say it's 1 1/2 times slower. So that would mean I actually would have gone 1.5 times farther out on the road. That would be 1.85 miles farther, or 5.55 miles. 8:05 pace? Not exactly an easy day. So...I think that is kind of an exaggeration about how much harder trail running really is. Anyway, I wasn't pushing that hard.

Iced the knee afterwards, but not the achilles because it felt okay.

The online coach at McMillan said that I can do the 10k next weekend and just do an easy run next Monday instead of the speed session. So I went ahead and signed up.

I read an article in Marathon & Beyond yesterday about the importance of sleep to our health and performance as runners. I decided I'm going to do as the article suggests and start keeping track of how much sleep I get each night and how I feel each day after various amounts of sleep. I'm going to start paying more attention to how much I need and whether or not I am getting what I need.

So, last night I went to bed at 11:30 pm and woke up around 6:45 am, for a total of 7 hours and 15 minutes. Didn't have any trouble falling asleep last night. Felt pretty rested today.

Week 4, Day 5

Today it was supposed to be an "easy run" for 45-60 minutes at 9:39 to 10:33 pace. I ran 5.06 miles in 52:49 or 10:26 pace, but it did not feel as easy as I had expected considering I took yesterday off and felt so great yesterday.

In retrospect, I'm a little congested and didn't sleep well last night.  I said hello to the neighbors last evening and Jackie commented that it sounded like I had a cold, and I really think it is just allergies but Jackie is a doctor so this got in my head and is still bothering me. Am I getting a cold? Oh no!

So, there's that.

It's a relatively cool day, mostly overcast (although of course the sun came out for my run) and still only 71 degrees right now at 12:30 pm. It was about 11:15 when I went out, kind of late, but it was so cool.

I ran around the park and the Kilgour race route, then finished up by running down Herschel View and out to Pape-Erie and around the corner to the trail.

It's not that it was sooooo bad. There were a lot of moments of pleasure. Just not as "fun" and "easy" as last week.

I iced both my left knee and my left achilles afterwards. They didn't bother me during the run, but the knee felt tight when I got home and when I sat down to ice the knee, I realized the achilles felt a bit tender, so I got out another ice bag. Had a glass of chocolate milk.

Another little niggling problem is that my weight is steadily keeping up. I need to get a handle on that and get it back down where it needs to be. I'm sure my knees would appreciate it, and the extra weight is not going to help my performance.

Tomorrow is another easy run day for 40-50 minutes. I wanted to get 5 miles in today. I'll probably shoot for around four tomorrow, and three on Sunday if I run then.