I'm impressed with the engineering, but am having a difficult time philosophically with this contraption's mere existance in this world. Perhaps that's what I enjoy about running. It's raw, basic and natural. Just you and the path ahead.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Exercise Machines
I'm impressed with the engineering, but am having a difficult time philosophically with this contraption's mere existance in this world. Perhaps that's what I enjoy about running. It's raw, basic and natural. Just you and the path ahead.
Achilles Tendon is my Achilles Heal
Wearing RockTape right now, and it seems like it actually may be helping a little, but it's hard to tell.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Running Test Today
Today's long run wasn't long. The training plan said 10 miles. 2 mile warmup, 6 mile Tempo, 2 mile cooldown. When was it that 10 miles was no longer a 'long' run? Total perception shift.
Anyway, did the 2 mile warmup. Short pause for drinks, then took off on a subthreshold Tempo like pace that I thought I could sustain for 6 miles. Turns out, it was a 7:39 min/mi pace. Not bad. Added a couple extra miles to the run to make it 12, then took the dogs for another 2 for a total of 14. It was a good test to see how well I could continue to run with heavy legs after 6 miles at tempo.
Good workout today. Tired. A bit sore. Happy. Spent rest of the day playing with Talia, making cookies and lasagna. Talia's a terrific cook. She totally managed the new Kitchen Aide Mixmaster, and was a precision veggie cutter.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The road to 26.2
It's been about 20 years since I read that quote on someone else's t-shirt in a gym in Los Angeles. "There is no staying the same. You are either striving to get better or allowing yourself to get worse".
There I was at age 43, still the same weight as in college and in reasonable shape. But, age takes its toll. I just wasn't feeling as strong or agile, and I remember that t-shirt. I was allowing myself to get worse. It was time to see if I could turn some of my lazy days in the gym on the lifecycle into a more focussed routine and build some mileage.
Fast forward to mid-January 2010, age 45. It's been two years since I bought the little nike ipod plus thingy that gave me the kick-start into running again. Something about being able to track your mileage on a web site really provided some motivation to me. The last two years have been a long road to run. I'm not sure I can remember all the injuries that I've run through. The trips to the chiropractor for lower back pain, the physical therapist for hips, the orthopedic surgeon- who saw me walk in and knew that as long as I was walking, there was no business for him. He's one of the many people who told me to just stop running, "buy a bicycle." Well, I wasn't ready to give in. Yeah, there was a full 6 months in there with hip bursitis and very little running- But, if I stopped every time I was injured, I'd be where I was a few years ago- running 3 or 4 miles, 1 or 2 times a week. Walls in front of me at every corner, each requiring a new trick, exercise, stretch or ignoring to get through it.
This past summer I started in again. 3 miles, 4 miles, 5 miles. 3 times a week. Then there was this cool morning in July when I got up early and decided on a long run. 6 miles. I felt like I was king of the world that morning. It was a beautiful run- scenery, hills, cool temps. Wow! This was the key, really enjoying the runs.
In a few weeks, the annual Labor Day run around the hilly 8mi Saguaro National Park East. I signed up for it. Did a training run around the 8mi loop the week before, happy just to make it. When the day came, all went well. I started off perhaps a little fast, but then eased it back and saved enough for a good strong kick the last mile. Passed enough people towards the end to come in just over an 8min/mi pace. Damn that was fun! Holy shit? Am I really a runner? Can I call myself a 'runner' yet?
There it was, November 1st, 2 months away and right around the corner from my house. An organized Half Marathon. I looked at some HM training plans. I could jump right into them. I can do it! I logged a few 10 and 12 mile runs with friends and it felt pretty good. I couldn't believe I was running that far. 3 weeks prior to the HM, I signed up for a 10mi race, just as practice. 10 miles, no big deal. I've run that distance a few times by now. Well, the line for the bathroom was long, and I got up to the start with no time to warm up or stretch out. I hit the first few miles at a strong 7:30 pace, which is really about my 5K pace. Way too fast for 10mi. At mile 4, my soleus tore. Sharp pain in the right calf- had to stop. Rubbed it out, hobbled along and then finished the remaining 6 miles in pain. 1:21. Not a bad time for me, actually, but I really should have gone out slower and finished under 1:20 (an 8min/mi). After the race, I couldn't walk. Uh-oh. Limped for 3 days. Talked to a few ExPhys. They all said the same thing. Rest, easy stretching, massage it, keep it moving, and don't run the HM. I wasn't really ready to throw in the towel yet. Saw a physical therapist, who saw the look in my eye. "Promise me that you won't run the HM" he said. A week before the HM I started in on the treadmill. A couple easy runs until it hurt. 1.5mi, 1.5 mi, 3mi. Hey, I'm almost there? No, not quite. I went out to the race that day, and changed my chip from the HM to the 5km fun run. I was nearly crying as I watched the HM runners leave the gate. Damn that was hard. Missing my first half marathon. I trotted on out on the 5k in the middle of the pack, with The Who's "Who Are You" playing on my ipod. Easy pace. felt OK. I kinda' missed the turnaround point at 2.5Km, but eventually figured it out. Picked up my stride a bit and started just waltzing past people on the way back. I had no idea, but I eventually came in 9th place overall (out of 209 runners) and 1st in my age group, with a pace of 7:35. Yeah, yeah. All the good runners were running the HM.
I was still kinda' depressed at missing the race I had been training for for 2 months when I talked to my brother-in-law Dave, a veteran 26er and ultra runner. "I'm doing the LA Marathon , why don't you do it with me". Mind you, at this point I hadn't even considered a marathon. I checked a training plan. 19 weeks away. Could I? Maybe. Yes! Well, setting this goal changed my whole outlook towards running again. I went from a little depressed at missing the half, to charged up and ready to train for the big one.
There was 600 miles of training between me and that starting line. I watched "spirit of the marathon" on Hulu. Just the goal that I needed.
So here I am in the middle of the battle. 9-1/2 weeks left until the starting line. 300miles of running down, another 300 to go. The last few weeks I've been plagued with my latest injury problem. Achilles tendon. They are insidious! Dave gave some good advice. I've been training hard. Doing hills, fast runs, intervals. "You need to back off somewhere or you won't make the starting line. Your pace is good, slow down, get rid of the hills, and give your achilles a chance to recover". Last week, after a 14 mile hilly run on Sunday through Saguaro Park and it really hurt afterwards. I took 3 solid days off. (cross trained). That helped a lot. Ran on Thursday- it hurt a little. Rested again Friday, feeling better, then did an easy 5mi on Saturday. My achilles was feeling kind of OK for the first time in 2 weeks. Sunday I was nervous. 20 miles was on the training plan. Even though I had done 2, 18 mile runs in the past month, 20 seemed nearly unreachable. I picked a flat route, that stopped at my house after 10mi to reload on energy drinks, blocks, beans and balls. The flatness really helped, but it wasn't a pretty route. Down the main drag- filled with cars constantly whizzing by. My mouth tasted like diesel exhaust. "good training for LA" I thought. 10miles, hey, achilles is holding up, I'm feeling pretty good. Really started downing the running foods after mile 13 or so and I never ran out of gas. Picked up the pace with 3 miles to go and finished strong. Under 3 hrs, under a 9min/mi pace.
Took monday off- definitely sore/fatigued. Ran 4 easy miles today and my Achilles was hurtin'. Damn, I thought I got over this problem. Just when I thought I was gonna' make the starting line! I've got 7 miles of intervals to put in tomorrow, but not on a bad achilles. Will ice tonight. Every day, another problem to overcome. Many mixed emotions: Excited, determined, worried. I'm not thinking about the finish right now, just the start. I know if I can complete the training and make it to March 21st without injury, I'll be OK.
I don't know why, but every time I think about running this marathon, it makes me want to cry- in a happy way. I want this goal. I want this accomplishment as part of my life. I can do it.
There I was at age 43, still the same weight as in college and in reasonable shape. But, age takes its toll. I just wasn't feeling as strong or agile, and I remember that t-shirt. I was allowing myself to get worse. It was time to see if I could turn some of my lazy days in the gym on the lifecycle into a more focussed routine and build some mileage.
Fast forward to mid-January 2010, age 45. It's been two years since I bought the little nike ipod plus thingy that gave me the kick-start into running again. Something about being able to track your mileage on a web site really provided some motivation to me. The last two years have been a long road to run. I'm not sure I can remember all the injuries that I've run through. The trips to the chiropractor for lower back pain, the physical therapist for hips, the orthopedic surgeon- who saw me walk in and knew that as long as I was walking, there was no business for him. He's one of the many people who told me to just stop running, "buy a bicycle." Well, I wasn't ready to give in. Yeah, there was a full 6 months in there with hip bursitis and very little running- But, if I stopped every time I was injured, I'd be where I was a few years ago- running 3 or 4 miles, 1 or 2 times a week. Walls in front of me at every corner, each requiring a new trick, exercise, stretch or ignoring to get through it.
This past summer I started in again. 3 miles, 4 miles, 5 miles. 3 times a week. Then there was this cool morning in July when I got up early and decided on a long run. 6 miles. I felt like I was king of the world that morning. It was a beautiful run- scenery, hills, cool temps. Wow! This was the key, really enjoying the runs.
In a few weeks, the annual Labor Day run around the hilly 8mi Saguaro National Park East. I signed up for it. Did a training run around the 8mi loop the week before, happy just to make it. When the day came, all went well. I started off perhaps a little fast, but then eased it back and saved enough for a good strong kick the last mile. Passed enough people towards the end to come in just over an 8min/mi pace. Damn that was fun! Holy shit? Am I really a runner? Can I call myself a 'runner' yet?
There it was, November 1st, 2 months away and right around the corner from my house. An organized Half Marathon. I looked at some HM training plans. I could jump right into them. I can do it! I logged a few 10 and 12 mile runs with friends and it felt pretty good. I couldn't believe I was running that far. 3 weeks prior to the HM, I signed up for a 10mi race, just as practice. 10 miles, no big deal. I've run that distance a few times by now. Well, the line for the bathroom was long, and I got up to the start with no time to warm up or stretch out. I hit the first few miles at a strong 7:30 pace, which is really about my 5K pace. Way too fast for 10mi. At mile 4, my soleus tore. Sharp pain in the right calf- had to stop. Rubbed it out, hobbled along and then finished the remaining 6 miles in pain. 1:21. Not a bad time for me, actually, but I really should have gone out slower and finished under 1:20 (an 8min/mi). After the race, I couldn't walk. Uh-oh. Limped for 3 days. Talked to a few ExPhys. They all said the same thing. Rest, easy stretching, massage it, keep it moving, and don't run the HM. I wasn't really ready to throw in the towel yet. Saw a physical therapist, who saw the look in my eye. "Promise me that you won't run the HM" he said. A week before the HM I started in on the treadmill. A couple easy runs until it hurt. 1.5mi, 1.5 mi, 3mi. Hey, I'm almost there? No, not quite. I went out to the race that day, and changed my chip from the HM to the 5km fun run. I was nearly crying as I watched the HM runners leave the gate. Damn that was hard. Missing my first half marathon. I trotted on out on the 5k in the middle of the pack, with The Who's "Who Are You" playing on my ipod. Easy pace. felt OK. I kinda' missed the turnaround point at 2.5Km, but eventually figured it out. Picked up my stride a bit and started just waltzing past people on the way back. I had no idea, but I eventually came in 9th place overall (out of 209 runners) and 1st in my age group, with a pace of 7:35. Yeah, yeah. All the good runners were running the HM.
I was still kinda' depressed at missing the race I had been training for for 2 months when I talked to my brother-in-law Dave, a veteran 26er and ultra runner. "I'm doing the LA Marathon , why don't you do it with me". Mind you, at this point I hadn't even considered a marathon. I checked a training plan. 19 weeks away. Could I? Maybe. Yes! Well, setting this goal changed my whole outlook towards running again. I went from a little depressed at missing the half, to charged up and ready to train for the big one.
There was 600 miles of training between me and that starting line. I watched "spirit of the marathon" on Hulu. Just the goal that I needed.
So here I am in the middle of the battle. 9-1/2 weeks left until the starting line. 300miles of running down, another 300 to go. The last few weeks I've been plagued with my latest injury problem. Achilles tendon. They are insidious! Dave gave some good advice. I've been training hard. Doing hills, fast runs, intervals. "You need to back off somewhere or you won't make the starting line. Your pace is good, slow down, get rid of the hills, and give your achilles a chance to recover". Last week, after a 14 mile hilly run on Sunday through Saguaro Park and it really hurt afterwards. I took 3 solid days off. (cross trained). That helped a lot. Ran on Thursday- it hurt a little. Rested again Friday, feeling better, then did an easy 5mi on Saturday. My achilles was feeling kind of OK for the first time in 2 weeks. Sunday I was nervous. 20 miles was on the training plan. Even though I had done 2, 18 mile runs in the past month, 20 seemed nearly unreachable. I picked a flat route, that stopped at my house after 10mi to reload on energy drinks, blocks, beans and balls. The flatness really helped, but it wasn't a pretty route. Down the main drag- filled with cars constantly whizzing by. My mouth tasted like diesel exhaust. "good training for LA" I thought. 10miles, hey, achilles is holding up, I'm feeling pretty good. Really started downing the running foods after mile 13 or so and I never ran out of gas. Picked up the pace with 3 miles to go and finished strong. Under 3 hrs, under a 9min/mi pace.
Took monday off- definitely sore/fatigued. Ran 4 easy miles today and my Achilles was hurtin'. Damn, I thought I got over this problem. Just when I thought I was gonna' make the starting line! I've got 7 miles of intervals to put in tomorrow, but not on a bad achilles. Will ice tonight. Every day, another problem to overcome. Many mixed emotions: Excited, determined, worried. I'm not thinking about the finish right now, just the start. I know if I can complete the training and make it to March 21st without injury, I'll be OK.
I don't know why, but every time I think about running this marathon, it makes me want to cry- in a happy way. I want this goal. I want this accomplishment as part of my life. I can do it.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Holy Shit- I ran 20 miles yesterday
This time I did a flat run- so it didn't stress my achilles too much. Ran from CR to home, restocked liquids and beans and back to CR where post run recovery drinks a cold dip and hot tub were waiting. Only bad part was most of the run was straight down Tanque Verde with a lot of traffic. Was sucking car exhaust most of the run- which perhaps is perfect training for the Los Angeles marathon.
All went well, felt strong throught the whole run, with enought left for a little kick the last few miles. Sub 9min/mi pace (excluding stops). Feeling good about LA in 68 days.
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