It was a whirlwind weekend, but I was able to get in my run yesterday.
I took off two days (Friday and Saturday) in order to let my body recover some from my almost 200 mile month. It did seem to help as I was able to complete my 10 mile run yesterday. I am a bit sore today, but overall am feeling better today.
I don’t have much to write about today. Just trying to get back to work after a long weekend.
Have a great week.
I took yesterday off running as I said in my post yesterday. It was a busy day anyway and I honestly would not have had time to run until evening, so it worked out.
I am actually considering taking today off also. I woke up this morning and was still sore all over. This week is way off from my running plan anyway and so I may as well take advantage of my time and rest today and begin fresh tomorrow.
I am trying not to over analyze the situation in which I find myself.
Slowly but surely I am recovering and I hope and pray that this time off will be just what I need. I must admit the difficulty of taking a few days off while training for a marathon in 2.5 months. However my long runs have gotten shorter and more difficult and even my daily runs aren’t easy, so I figure my body needs this time to heal and get whole again.
Thank you for the emails and comments.
Encouragement is always a good thing and appreciated!!!
It was a good run yesterday with my friend Neill (@BigBigGeek). I do enjoy running with other people rather than the lonely road by myself in my neighborhood. It can really get monotonous running by yourself all the time, so when TJ and I can run together or I meet Neill to run, it is usually a much easier and more fun run for me.
Neill and I met at the mountain lake to run the trail, which is always fun. Not only is is different running trail runs, but we also have a lot in common to talk about.
I got to the parking lot about 15 minutes early and it was pouring. I wanted to warm up a bit so that my achilles and hip wouldn’t bug my on the trail, so I ran about half a mile around the area before Neill pulled up. After we got ready to head out for our run, we decided that the trail may be a bit too muddy and slick to run and so we ran the road instead.
We did about 3.2 miles together and I did about a half a mile, so I was close to 3.75 miles for the day.
All that to say, I am still hurting a bit. My left hip is still giving me problems from when I tripped over a sidewalk crack last week. I am hoping that my reduced mileage this week will help calm it down and I am stretching it a bit. I guess I should be putting ice on it also.
I admit that I am concerned that with my marathon being less than 10 weeks away I feel this banged up. There isn’t much I can do, but take it easy and stay off the sidewalks!!!
Anyway, thanks Neill for the great run. Always a pleasure.
I may take today off and hope that tomorrow things feel better.
Sigh.
Off work today for the 4th of July holiday. I’m going to meet @BigBigGeek to go trail running around the mountain lake.
Just “hanging with the dog” before I head out.
Have a great day!!!
Running has gotten a bit difficult lately.
It is mainly because I’ve been doing so much training in the heat and humidity.
Talking things over with TJ, I’ve decided to cut my training back drastically this week. Rather than the planned 45 – 55 miles, I am going to run 25 – 30 miles. This is hard to do as I am only 10 weeks out from our marathon, but I really think I need it. Running and training should not be something I dread and that is where I have gotten. I want to work hard for my first marathon, but not to the point of either hurting myself or dreading my runs.
Another change I am contemplating is not holding my phone anymore. I may run with it in a waistband or I’m even thinking of getting a Nike+ watch. Yesterday TJ suggested leaving my phone at home so as to just have a good run. I did that and noticed that I felt freer in my run being able to have my hands free. It wasn’t that big of a deal a year ago as I ran 2 miles a day, but at 8 miles a day… much bigger deal.
It was a good run yesterday though. TJ ran with me as he was off and did his run in the morning. I only ran 3 miles which was really a nice change.
I am looking forward to my recovery week. Hopefully by next week I’ll be all rested and ready to go!!!
I have run over 1,600 miles since I began in March 2012… I just found new muscles in my legs.
Explanation:
Last weekend I ran a new course as I mentioned in my post yesterday. We were visiting Chattanooga for the weekend and I had to find somewhere to run. I decided it would be fun to run in a place called “Riverwalk”. The biggest difference between Riverwalk and my neighborhood was its flatness. It had some hills, but for the most part it was so flat that I couldn’t tell if I was going up or down hill except for the feeling in my legs. This is opposite from my neighborhood which is all hills.
I ran on Saturday and had a really good time. I pushed myself. I thought that this path might be a good comparison to what our marathon will be like in September. The Lehigh Valley Marathon is a relatively flat course with a net 240′ drop. Saturday, as I said, I pushed myself. Sunday I had a much harder time. I felt tired and lethargic. I didn’t want to go out running in the morning. When I finally got out and ran, it was okay, but I finished it feeling discouraged as I completed only 8 of 15 miles (partly due to time restraints and partly due to feeling poorly). My thought as I drove back to the hotel was, “How am I going to run 26 miles in 10 weeks if I can barely make 8 today”.
Now for the new muscle part. I worked yesterday and it was a normal day. I sit at work since I do a lot of programming. However my job makes me get up a lot to go help others with IT needs. Yesterday afternoon as I got up from my desk, I felt something I hadn’t felt since last year. My legs were really sore. This wasn’t just my normal running aches and pains, this was soreness.
I now realize that my runs this weekend were using different muscles that what I use in my neighborhood. Since I was running on a flat surface I had to use muscles that I don’t normally use. This was an “aha” moment for me. I need to run in a flat area to get ready for the marathon rather than the hills in my neighborhood. If I am this sore after 16 miles in 2 days, what would 26 miles feel like?
I am fortunate to have a track nearby that is made from asphalt. Though it isn’t perfect, it will at least be a level area to run some miles to get my body used to that type of running.
Go figure. I run hills for 16 months and now I am sore from a flat surface. I guess I should have realized that would happen, but better figuring this out now than in 9 or 10 weeks. 🙂
What was I thinking?
Marathon training in the South and in the summer.
I had a great run with TJ yesterday and actually ran my 8 miles 5 minutes faster than Monday. But my pace is still down and the heat is really difficult.
There are ways to enjoy running in the summer. Okay, maybe not enjoy, but to make it more tolerable. I have been trying to tweet articles as I have come upon them, but they mainly seem to “boil” down to the same things:
STAY HYDRATED: Personally I try to drink at least 96 ounces of water a day before I go running and preferably 128 oz. I can feel the difference, even in the winter, when I haven’t had enough to drink. I began drinking half my body weight in ounces of water back when I was dieting and have been able to keep it up. The way I do this is to drink 32oz (1000 ml) of water as soon as I get to work. I just down it quickly and get it out of the way. Then I drink another 32 oz before lunch and a final 32 oz after lunch. I try to finish my last 32 oz about 2 hours before I go running, if at all possible.
STAY COOL: That may seem like a stupid thing to write about running in 100 degree heat, but it is true. Anyway to keep yourself cooler during your run is very helpful. I have gotten a hat and shirt that cool as they get wet (or sweaty). I also have heard that just running your hands under cold water before you head out of the house goes a long way in helping you stay cooler. Some people will run early in the morning or in the evening to make sure that they don’t run in the heat of the day. Unfortunately I can’t do that with my schedule, so I have to come up with other ways to cool off. I have even gotten to the point of going inside after the first half my run to drink some water and cool off a bit before continuing.
RUN SLOWER: This is a hard one on me. I worked all Fall and Winter to move my pace up and was pretty successful. Now as we begin with the heat of the summer, I am happy with 45 to 60 seconds a mile slower pace than during the winter. The psychological effect of this is the most difficult to get beyond. But now I have resigned myself that slowing down now will keep me alive for another run tomorrow, so that is good. 🙂 Basically as you run your blood goes to your skin to help cool your body. This is blood that used to be available to your muscles. So you will run slower in the heat because your body has to cool itself. Just slow down and enjoy the run!
BE SMART: Pay attention to your body as you run. Don’t push beyond what you can handle, even if it is less than normal. Heat isn’t something to play games with. Drink a sport drink or something equivalent right after exercising and rest. If you feel at all nauseous or have weakness or other unusual symptoms during a run, call someone to pick you up. TJ, RS and I have begun texting my Lovely Wife when we leave and when we expect to get back. That way if we are out too long, someone knows to come look for us.
This isn’t an exhaustive list – obviously. Just a couple of things I have picked up throughout the past several months. I am not a doctor, but I like to learn from experience. I hope this helps.
Enjoy the summer. Enjoy your runs. Enjoy life.
Yesterday was a bit difficult the whole way around.
I did run in the morning and got in my 10 miles. That put me at 37 for the week and 145 so far for the month. That is exciting to me as I was working toward my marathon in September.
Then I was told news that might change my plans of running the Lehigh Valley Marathon…
I messed up. When I looked at the location of the marathon, somehow I thought it was in Altoona, PA. An old friend who was reading through my blog noticed that I had said Altoona and it is actually in Allentown, PA. Ugh…
Altoona is 1 hour from my mom’s home. My plan was to visit her which I do each Fall and then run the marathon with TJ (RS is too young) and then head back to her home afterwards. Allentown is 3 hours away! My plan no longer works. The race starts at 7:00 AM.
I have been thinking over my options all day yesterday. I just can’t make this work, at least at the moment.
So, Boston may have to wait for another year. We may go to Jacksonville in December and run that marathon, but then if TJ and I qualify we will need to wait until 2015.
I like to set goals for myself and work hard to achieve them. This throws my goals into chaos. I know people will say, “you probably need another year anyway”, and that may be true. But I had a goal and this just makes it hard. It is one thing to try and not make it, but to not be able to try… Oh well.
Life goes on. There may still be a way to qualify for Boston before September registration.
Never say never.
Off to do my long run, which fortunately is only 10 miles this week since I am almost through with my recovery week.
Why fortunately?
Well, I had a horrible night sleep. I don’t know why, just one of “those” nights. I woke up at 12:30 AM and drifted in and out of sleep from then on.
Anyway, not wanting that to stop me, I am heading out. Tomorrow is supposed to be my off day, but since I probably won’t have time to run Friday, I’ll try to run tomorrow and take Friday off.
Also I wanted to mention that my friend and trail running partner Neill adding running posts to his blog. Here is the address bigbiggeek.wordpress.com, go visit and see his progress toward a half marathon.
Happy Sunday.
This is a great video. It is short, so watch it if you can before you continue. It gives life perspective in just a few minutes. I like things that make me think and ponder. This video does just that.
TODAY!
What are you going to do today. One day. Not tomorrow, not yesterday, but today. You have choices to make, either good or bad.
When I began running, it was hard. Actually, for me everyday is hard. My body isn’t made for running. I was born with hips and feet that turned inward quite a bit. I had to have corrective shoes and a bar between my feet holding my hips and feet in the correct position. Today you cannot tell that I had a problem, but that problem makes running harder. When my body gets tired, my hips hurt and my feet turn inward. That happens by the end of almost every run.
DOESN”T MATTER!
I don’t run because it makes me feel better. I like the consequences of running. I like that I have lost a lot of weight. I like that I look fit. I like that people who know me, notice even now, changes in my physical condition. I like the fact I am off my CPAP. I like the fact I am almost off all medications (I’m getting off my last one right now). I like running for what it does for me, but running hurts me physically a lot of times. Not major pain, just 50 year old aches and pains that I have to deal with.
CHOICES!
What choices are you going to make today. If you want to do something and do it well, make it a habit by doing it at the same time everyday. Eventually that choice will become a habit and then the choice is no longer a choice.
TODAY?
The end of the video asks, “What are you going to do today?” The answer may not be running. DO SOMETHING TODAY. Make today a day you would want to write about in a blog!
What are you going to do today?
THE CHOICE IS YOURS!
I had an awesome run with Neill ( @BigBigGeek ) yesterday around the same lake as a couple of weeks ago.
I don’t generally trail run because there aren’t any trails near me to run, but I really enjoyed getting on a surface that wasn’t asphalt. Up and down hills, around roots, over rocks, it was great. It is also fun to be able to run with Neill. He and I have a lot in common as he works for Dell and I buy from Dell. 🙂
One thing that bothered me though was the way my iPhone 5 measured the distance. By the time we finished Neill’s Nike watch said we had run 5 miles under a 12 minute pace. My iPhone said we ran 4.58 miles at 13:11 pace. This really made me think. Last weekend on my long run I was running with my iPhone in a belt and though I should have been able to keep up with the goal pace I set, it was like I was behind the whole way. I ended my 13 mile run having to run 1/2 mile further than I thought I had too.
I guess it is better to have my phone measure me as going slower and less distance than I actually ran since in a race the distance and time are correct, but it is frustrating that I might be running a minute a mile faster than I think and not know it.
Maybe a Nike+ Sportwatch is in my near future.
Not much more to report today. I am a bit behind since I didn’t get to this last night. I hope everyone has a great weekend.
278 to Boston 