Back After A Short Time Off

I hurt my back playing Volleyball on Wednesday. It wasn't too bad at the time, and I was able to run that afternoon. The following day, however, it hurt to move. I went to work on Thursday and Friday, but that's basically all I did. The rest of the time I was taking it easy and rotating heat and ice on my back. On Saturday I felt a bit better, but still had some pain with any abrupt movement, so I decided not to run that day.

Sunday was a much better day. I still have some stiffness, especially if I stay in one spot for too long, but I was able to run without pain. In fact the first run went so well that I ran a second time. The first run was a 10 miler that I started around noon, and the second was five miles this evening. I ran at an easy pace for both runs (7:49 average pace for the first run, and I left my watch at home for the second run.) Assuming I don't suffer any setbacks, I'm aiming for a minimum of 70 miles this week, although I'd like to be closer to 80.

Master of No Self Control

Whenever I wonder why I haven’t lost any weight over the past month, I only need to look at days like today. For lunch I ate in the galley here on base. For $3.55 I had fried chicken, corn, a salad, soup, a piece of cake, two glasses of Diet Coke and a glass of milk. In my defense, I only eat in the galley once or twice a week. On the other days I eat a fairly small lunch. I’ve found out in the past how easy it is to eat there daily and how fast that practice can add to my waistline.

To make matters worse, I hurt my back playing volleyball yesterday at lunch. I was a bit stiff yesterday afternoon but not too bad, so I ran my ten miles yesterday evening. By the time I went to bed, I was hurting. So far today has pretty much been an adventure in pain from the time I got up. I’m going to try to get out of here early and get into a comfortable position at home so that I can rest up and get better. As far as running goes, I won’t be logging any miles today. I may be able to run tomorrow, but I think Saturday is my best bet.

Give Blood. Save a Life (or two).

I gave blood yesterday morning. I give regularly here at work. It usually doesn’t effect my running too much. At most it slows me down a bit for a week or so, but I’m still able to run the same number of miles. I’m not sure how much of the statements about giving blood, saving lives, and how there is always a shortage of blood is fact and how much is hyperbole, but I know that it’s important that people donate, and it’s hard for me to justify not giving and not helping people just so I can run ten seconds a mile faster in training.

Last night I ran five miles at an easy pace. I’m planning on running ten miles tonight, with the goal of hitting at least 70 for the week. If all goes well, I’ll be in the upper 70s or 80 miles next week. We’ll see.

Stanford - Cal T&F Meet

Yesterday I ran an easy 7.5 miles at 7:55 pace. Even though I was concentrating on taking it easy, I thought I would be a bit faster. I guess the 15 miles on Friday took a bit out of me. Whatever, the key is being well-rested for a long run this afternoon.

Yesterday afternoon, I dragged my wife to the Stanford-Cal track meet. It was frustrating getting there, and we had to leave early to get our daughter, but the couple of hours that we spent there were fun. Cal-Berkeley has an event on Earth Day called Cal-Day, so the area around campus was crazy with people yesterday. As a result, it must have taken us 30 minutes to find parking. As a result, we missed the first few events but got there in time for most of the meet. I had a great time watching the races and enjoying the energy of the crowd (even though I didn’t have a rooting interest). The downside was having to leave early. The family who had taken my daughter for the day had a change in their schedule, so my wife and I had to go pick her up. This meant that we had to leave in the middle of the women’s 5000 meters, so we missed the end of that race, the men’s 5000, the 1500s and the relays. What I saw of the women’s 5000 was impressive. I can’t believe how easy these runners appear to be moving. They were cranking along at a 16:30 5K pace, and it looks like they are out for a slow jog. Sadly, this is the last home meet for Cal this year. However, I’ll definitely try to attend more meets next year.

A Good Day

I had a much better run today. I ran fifteen miles at a 7:40 pace, and easily could have kept going a few more miles. It was just one of those good days. Of course it didn’t hurt that yesterday turned into such a short day; I was certainly well-rested today. Anyway, I’ll go short tomorrow (7-8 miles) and then long on Sunday.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to attend the Stanford-Cal track meet in Berkeley, and I’m really looking forward to it. This will be the first track meet I’ve been to since a couple of meets I went to when I was in high school. It should be a lot of fun.

I had a good day today. I was home from work and spent my time doing a few things around the house. I also laid out on the deck, getting some sun and reading.

My daughter’s spring break from school ended today, as did my week off from work. It’s just the weekend and then back to the usual grind. To be honest, I’m sort of looking forward to it. Not that I haven’t enjoyed the days off, it’s just that I do better when I have set schedule to follow. When I have more time on my hands, I’m more likely to find ways to waste it. When I’m on a schedule, I move through my day getting things done.

I Need to Run More Miles

I haven’t done too badly at getting back at it after taking off two days over Easter Weekend. I did good to run at all on Monday after sitting in a car for 11 hours that day. On Tuesday I only ran 8 miles. I should have run more, but was considering making this an easy week, so I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to run. On Wednesday I ran 15 miles over two runs (five in the a.m. and ten in the evening. Today sucked. I wanted to get in 15 miles in one run, since I hadn’t run that far for ten days. I started out good, but had to stop at only seven miles because of G.I. problems. Basically I had to walk over a mile to get home because every time I tried to run, I felt like I was going to crap myself. I’ve had this problem on and off for years, and it is so frustrating. Anyway, I’m planning on doing the 15 miles tomorrow (I’ll just have to stay near the restrooms). This will set me up to go beyond 15 on Sunday and build back to the 20 mile mark by the end of May.

The reason that I say that I need to run more is that I would like to get a couple of weeks near the 80 mile mark in May. I know a couple of weeks aren’t much of a base, but when placed on top of the good training I’ve done since September of last year, I’m confident that I’ll begin my 18 week training plan in a good position to go sub-3 in the fall.

Easter Weekend Recap

I had a great Easter weekend. Our family trip to San Diego was fun, we got to see a lot of family, and we drove up the California coast on the way home, which was a beautiful drive. From a running standpoint, it was less than I had hoped for, but it was worth it.

As mentioned in the previous post, I didn’t run on Friday. With a long drive ahead of me, I felt a good night’s sleep was more important than waking up early and running a few miles. On Saturday, I ran around Lake Murray, which is less than a mile from my mom’s house. What a great place to run. There is a winding asphalt path that winds around the curves of the lake. There are bathrooms and drinking water available. I would love to be able to run there all the time. On Easter I ended up bailing on my run. I was going to get up early and run before any family showed up. Instead, I slept in and ate breakfast. I was still planning on running before we ate Easter lunch. However, family showed up early, and I got sidetracked. Plus, we would be done eating by 2:30. I would still be able to run by 6:00 or so. Instead my aunt was rear-ended on her way to the house. My mom picked up my aunt and cousin from the emergency room (they’re fine except for soft tissue injuries). My cousin then went back home to get a cake, which they had forgotten at home the first time the left the house (we had cake because it was also my nephew’s birthday.) So what happened was that we all ate at 2:00, and then we all ate dessert at 5:00. From that point on, I just sat around resting my overly full stomach.

Monday was a long day. My wife and I were up at 3:30 a.m. so that we could get on the road and get through Los Angeles before the rush hour traffic. As I mentioned, we decided to take the drive up the coast, which was beautiful. However, the coastal route extended our trip from 8 hours to 11 hours. By the time we got home at 3:00 p.m. I was toast. However, after a short nap, I did get out for 8 easy miles. I ended up sleeping for ten hours last night.

What I ended up with is 8 miles on Saturday and 8 miles on Monday. I don’t really have a plan for the rest of the week. I’m just about to head out for Tuesday’s run. I’m off from work all week, so I’ll try to get in a few doubles throughout the week, but I haven’t set a mileage goal.

Running Everyday

I’ve continued to run everyday this week. I’ve run 15, 8, 5 15, and 10 miles, for a total of 53 miles so far. However, as soon as I get off work today, I’m hitting the road south to San Diego, making today will be my first non-running day since March 17. I considered running early this morning, but I’ll be driving until well after 10:00 p.m. tonight, so I figured a good night’s sleep last night would be wise.

I’ve been thinking about when we choose to take a day off. Even though my legs have felt pretty tired this week, I wouldn’t be taking a day off if circumstances (a long drive) weren’t pushing me in that direction. From other blogs that I read, I see the same thing from other runners. Those who run everyday seem to take a day off because of a fluke in their schedules (illness in the family, spouse has a late meeting, etc.) and rarely because of fatigue. At first I was thinking that this type of scheduling probably isn’t that smart because the body needs rest to improve, etc., etc. However, after a little more thought, I’m starting to find this encouraging. I believe that what is actually happening is that running everyday is forcing me to pay more attention to my body. I’m learning how to actually make my easy days truly easy and to recover without resting totally. Running everyday will make me a better runner not only because I’ll run more miles, but because it is helping me to become a smarter runner and is forcing me to become more in sync with my body.

P.S. I find it odd that the spell check on here doesn't recognize the word "blogs"

A Strong 15 Miles

On Sunday, I ran fifteen miles, which is just a bit over twice around the peninsula on which I live. Even though it rained lightly most of the time I was out, and there was a moderate wind, I had a really good run. I had a lot of energy, and definitely felt like I could have continued to run farther. I probably should have, but I had set out to run 15, so that’s what I did. I guess the point is that after a 70-mile week last week and a strong 15 miler yesterday, I know that I’m now fully recovered from any possible lingering marathon effects. After a couple of more weeks in the 60-70 range, I’ll work on throwing in a few faster miles throughout the month of May. I won’t specifically schedule any fast runs, but will add a few miles whenever I’m feeling good.

I’m out of town next weekend, so I’m not sure how much running I’ll do while visiting family, but when I get back, I’ll definitely take my long run back above 15 miles and build back to 20. I want to get in a couple of 20 milers before starting a marathon training plan, but that won’t happen until June, so I have upwards of six weeks to just build miles.

The bad news is that my daughter is sick and is home from school. I’m not sure what is wrong with her. Basically, she has body aches, fever, and no energy. Fortunately, there’s no diarrhea or vomiting associated with it. Hopefully, she’ll be better soon, and my wife and I will escape without catching whatever she has.

Run Without a Watch

Today I ran without my Garmin or a watch. I knew I wanted to run 7.5 miles, which is one lap around the area where I live, and I knew I wanted to run at an easy pace. If figured the best way to accomplish this was to just run. Without a watch, I would obviously have no idea how fast I was running, and should, therefore, be able to just take it easy. It seemed to work. I know I finished the distance I was looking for, I have no idea how long it took me, and I feel good this afternoon. I was tempted to run a second time today, but I have what now passes for a long-run tomorrow, so only a single today.

I've noticed lately that a 7.5 mile run now passes as an easy day for me. A few months ago I was running five miles on my easy days, but now (if I keep the effort easy) 7.5 leaves me feeling good the next day. With luck, I'll be able to keep my easy days at 7.5 miles as I progress and begin to incorporate some quicker runs.

What a Great Day and Great Week

Today is the best running day we’ve had in this area for weeks. It is also literally the first day without any rain for weeks. Of course by tomorrow the rain is expected to return and keep us wet for another week or so. I can’t wait until it ends, and we get a chance to dry out.

Even with a lot of rain, my training has been really good this week. Beginning with Sunday, I’ve run 15 miles, 7.5 miles, 10 miles, 10 miles, and 6 miles. I will run another 6-7 miles this evening to give me a double for today and put me at over 50 miles with two days remaining in the week. I don’t know why, but I’ve had a lot of energy and have been running really well. For example, after running 10 miles at 7:40 pace on Tuesday, I planned an easy 8 miles on Wednesday. However, a couple of miles into Wednesday’s run, I was feeling great, so I decided to run 10 miles at whatever pace my body took me. I ended up averaging 7:36 pace. During this morning’s six miles, I was relatively stiff and running slow for a mile or so, but by the second mile, I was loose and had trouble keeping the pace under 8:00. I decided to run at an easy effort and not worry about the pace. I ended up averaging 7:52 pace. Let’s hope the good times continue.

Long, Wet, Miserable Run

Sunday was a wet, miserable day, which did not make my afternoon run very much fun. I didn’t wear my Garmin, but ran by time instead. I ended up running the 15 miles I had planned, although I was pretty close to cutting it short at more than one point. When I started, the weather wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t cold, and there was only a light rain. This weather held pretty much the same for the entire run. I found out that after an hour or so, a light rain isn’t much better than a heavy downpour. Every inch of me was sopping wet; my shoes felt like they weighed about five pounds each; and I must have asked myself why I’m doing this about 100 times. I’m not sure if sticking it out for the full 15 miles is a testament to my dedication or just a sign that I’m more stubborn than smart. I was planning on running for two hours. I know from familiar landmarks that I was ahead of an 8:00 min./mile pace in the first hour; but the wet, heavy shoes (and wet, heavy clothes) slowed me down a bit for the second half of the run, so I added a minute to make sure I covered the full distance. I suspect the running gods are smacking me down for my comments a couple of days ago about how despite the rain, my runs have been dry.

I woke up to more rain this morning. However, as I’m writing this the rain has stopped. It sure would be nice to get in a dry run this afternoon.

March Summary

March was the second month in a row where my total mileage went down. Of course that's to be expected, when January was my highest month ever, half of February was part of my taper, and I took nine days off in March, including six straight days after my marathon while my legs rested and the blisters on my feet healed. Overall, I'm pleased with my running in March. Here are some stats:

187.9 total miles
22 running days (including 3 doubles)
9 days off
3:06:39 at the Napa Valley Marathon (24 minute PR)
No off days since 18 March.

Including 1 April (my running week is Sunday to Saturday), I ran 64 miles this week. I ran 8 miles on Friday and 5 miles on Saturday. All of my running is at an easy pace. I plan on staying in the 60-mile range for the next two weeks. I'll probably have a mileage dip around Easter because we're traveling to San Diego for a long weekend. I'll have no problems running while we're there, but I imagine that the day we drive down and the day we drive back to the Bay Area will be off days or at least reduced mileage days. After Easter, I hope to climb into the 70-mile range for a bit. I have no races planned, although I see a lot of low-key races being advertised. I'll try to jump into a few of these just for some fun every once in awhile. However, my goal race is still a fall marathon.

One last thing. This is the beginning of daylight savings time, which is cause for celebration for afternoon runners like me. For any morning runners who may read this, I'm sorry for your loss.