July 2008 Archives

Run: 5.01 miles - Pace: 10:34/mi - Week: 5.01 miles - Total: 531.81 miles

Well, I'm back to running. I basically took the vacation off from running due to the strain of walking for hours each day. That one day of walking in London after a run was enough to convince me if I wanted to enjoy the vacation, I couldn't run.

Today wasn't great, but I did get through 5 miles without too much strain. It wasn't easy, at any point in fact, but it wasn't awful. I do have a 5K this Sat, so we'll see how that goes. It won't be about a PR (though I should probably get one), but more about remembering my nephew.

These next two weeks will be a big factor in determining if I can still do a marathon. I will just have enough time, assuming my next long run is August 16, to get up to 20 miles. I wanted to get in a couple of these runs, but that's much less likely now.

Run: 6.23 miles - Pace: 10:40/mi - Week: 16.23 miles - Total: 526.81 miles

Fun run today. I took some public footpaths and roads and am frankly glad that I made it back. I'll post more details on the regular blog. As far as the running is concerned, I managed to do the cross-country thing without twisting an ankle, so that's good. I did notice some pain in my right Achilles tendon, so I'll have to keep a close watch on that.

The pacing is odd because I stopped every now and then to take some picture but didn't stop the Nike+, so I actually ran at a faster pace than that. The weather was perfect, and I was probably a bit too enthusiastic in the first few miles, because miles 4-5 were a little bit harder. :)

Uncle Greg says he has a map of these footpaths somewhere, which would be great as I'd love to do my 8-mile run in a more rural setting.

Run: 4.01 miles - Pace: 10:36/mi - Week: 10.01 miles - Total: 520.58 miles

Last run in the states for a while. My calves were still kind of sore from yesterday, so it wasn't a particularly easy run.

It'll be interesting to see if I can be recovered enough from traveling to run tomorrow morning, especially with 6 fewer hours of recovery time. I did find some cool "public walking paths" that should make for great runs. I won't have to worry about traffic and I'll get to see the English countryside a bit.

Run: 6.0 miles - Pace: 10:35/mi - Week: 6.0 miles - Total: 516.57 miles

Nice run this morning, though the tennis over the weekend didn't help things much. It was nice to get out and actually run outside. There is a much bigger feeling of accomplishment that way, though the hills did get to me somewhat. Both calves felt pretty tired after about mile 2 or so. We'll see how they are tomorrow. Also, I have pain in hip on both sides (or is that pain in both hips?), a by-product of tennis I think, so hopefully that will ease in the coming week.

Saw quite a number of runners out this morning, probably due to the cooler-than-average weather. I got burned by an older woman in my third mile, but didn't increase my pace at all, and it didn't really bother me either. I must be getting better at this training thing.

Run: 7.84 miles - Pace: 10:31/mi - Week: 15.56 miles - Total: 510.57 miles

Had to run up at UMKC, which was not fun. I had finally decided to get back on the road and woke up to rain this morning. What's worse, I had to wait 2 hrs until the rec center opened, so I got up early for nothing.

The run itself went well. I was planning on 7 miles but pushed to 8. This was somewhat of a mistake as that last mile was really difficult and that left calf pain returned somewhat. I do think, though, that I'm basically ready to get back to full training. Unfortunately, I won't be doing any really long runs for the next two weeks. Instead, I think I'll do something like 6,4,6,8 and 6,4,6,10 to keep me close enough to the next run of 14 miles to be sufficient.

Run: 3.89 miles - Pace: 10:14/mi - Week: 7.72 miles - Total: 502.73 miles

I've made it over 500 miles now! Ran up at UMKC again in case I had to stop (and also because the lows are in the 70's with really high humidity). My right achilles gave me a little trouble in the second mile, but mostly it was both calves that were getting to me in the last two laps. Otherwise a good run. I think I might try for seven miles on Saturday. I may have to go up to UMKC again, but in the coming weeks I will definitely be doing some great outdoor runs.

Run: 2.96 miles - Pace: 10:19/mi - Week: 3.83 miles - Total: 498.84 miles

Well, I'm still trying to recover from Friday's 10K. On Monday, I ran about 0.87 miles, all in pain, before I decided that I couldn't possibly go on further.

Today I was hoping to get to about 5 miles, but I also didn't want to push my body as I must have hurt myself in the race. Pain I noticed, though it wasn't bad, was in the arch of my left foot and around the ankle of my right foot. For the record, those two places put me out of commission for a while last year, so I'll have to be careful. I also noticed some pain in my left knee, but it wasn't consistent.

I think I'll try again tomorrow, again up at UMKC. I have to be able to stop whenever necessary. I won't be doing the 14 mile run as planned this weekend, obviously, which puts me in a bit of a quandary. Normally I'd just push it to next week, but I'll be in London then and really don't want to injure myself as I'll have lots of walking to do. :) I think maybe I'll push up these mid-week runs so that I might shoot for a 16-miler sometime after I get back, but as with everything else, I'll take it easy and see how it goes.

Two bike rides today and yesterday - 5 and 3 miles respectively

Just thought I'd post about two quick rides I did. Yesterday I went out with Carrie for a bit, and today with Joey. Neither was taxing on my otherwise really sore legs, which is good. Today's heat was a bit much, but it was good to get some exercise in on these legs.

Time: 50:56 - Pace: 8:12/mile - Overall Place: 149/321 - Male Division: 111/212 - Men 25-29: 11/14

Well, I have to say that I am very pleased with this morning's race. This was my second time running this 10K (and for that matter, the second time running a 10K), and I was hoping to at least beat last years time of 53:27. My goal was 52:00, which would put me right around an 8:20/mi pace.

To achieve this, I knew that I need to run smarter than I had before. Last year I ended up taking two 30-second walk breaks at miles 3 and 4, and I hoped that I wouldn't feel the need to again this year. Instead, I thought I'd try to have two 1-minute jogging breaks, where I just slowed my pace to 9:30-10:00/mi, at miles 2 and 4. That would give me a bit of a break but wouldn't cost me as much time. Moreover, I knew that I had to start slow. I figured I'd run those first two miles around an 8:40 pace, or even slower if necessary. I wanted them to feel pretty easy, and then hopefully I could save myself for a push in the last two miles.

The weather was much better this year, staying in the mid-60's for the race. It was even chilly when we left the house at 6:00 am. Unfortunately, we did not have the cloud cover of last year, but on the whole I'd say conditions were favorable.

The course itself consists of 2 loops, with an extra out-and-back on the 2nd one for us 10K folks. It's pretty flat, save on the back leg of the loop which has two gradual inclines. These weren't too bad the first time around, but were pretty brutal in that last full mile.

Ok, onto race comments...

I started closer to the start this time, but still found myself passing quite a few people at the beginning. The advantage to this, though, is that I was forced to ease into the pace for that first mile (I jogged for about 10 minutes for a warm-up with a couple of accelerations to race pace). I kind of allowed my early pace to be dictated by the crowd, and didn't want to waste too much energy going back and forth to pass people.

The first two miles went great. If I remember correctly, the splits were about 8:45 and 8:25. At this point I took my minute jogging break and then continued on the hilly part of the loop. After a while, all those 5K folks split off and we were on our own. At this point I paced myself against another runner for the next two miles, with each of us pushing the other at times (thanks runner #553!). The splits on these miles were in the low 8's, and maybe upper 7's. All I know is that at the mile 4 marker I was starting to get below where I needed to be for 52:00. That was a good thing, as I was not looking forward to pushing myself really hard in the last mile as it was the only hilly stretch.

At this point, I did not take my jogging break. I was still pacing myself with runner #553 and was feeling pretty good, so I pushed on. Around mile 4.5 I started to get some distance from my pacer and began to pass a fair number of people. (Practicing negative splits every day pays off!!) At the mile 5 marker, I was right around 41:00, which gave me a full 11 minutes to run the last 1.2 miles and make my goal. Of course, that meant I could beat that goal solidly, so I pushed harder.

Sadly, that last 1.2 miles was by far the hardest of the course, and that I was able to maintain about an 8:15/mi pace is pretty good. Moreover, I was able to really push over that last hill and toward the finish. My left calf was bothering me, but I just kept on a-truckin'. I even managed to pass up two more runners in the last 100m or so. I couldn't believe I had enough in me for a final sprint, especially since last year I couldn't hold my position in the last few hundred meters. My official time was 51:21, and my Nike+ (which I started when I crossed the starting line), put me at 50:56. I couldn't be happier with the result.

The only problem that I can see, is that now I've got to shoot for a sub-50 10K!

Oh, and how I'm gonna walk the rest of the day... that too.

Run: 2.97 miles - Pace: 9:30/mi - Week: 7.64 miles - Total: 489.12 miles

Went up to UMKC again. This is getting to be a bit addictive. I get to sleep in, it's air-conditioned, the surface is soft, and there are no hills.

Mainly, though, my excuse is the 10K on Friday. Run went well. I didn't take any walk breaks, but instead backed off the pace for a minute. I think I may try that in the race. Each mile was also progressively faster than the previous, as the first was about 10:15, so that last had to have been sub-9:00. My right hamstring felt fine, save when I tried pushing a bit toward the end of the run. Mostly it was my right groin area that was giving me a little trouble.

Rest day tomorrow and then the 10K. Wish me luck!