I Finally Ran

After four days of doing nothing, I finally ran on Tuesday evening. It was a short (5 mile) run at an easy pace. I didn't wear a watch, so I don't really know how long it took me. The main goal for this run was too see if it would be painful to continue running. I'm happy to say that he pain was minimal. It didn't hurt where I have stitches -- on the roof of my mouth and on my gums. The only pain I had was on the inside of my cheek. I was numb enough during the surgery that I can't say what exactly they did, but the inside of my cheek is bruised. It feels like I bit my cheek. When I ran, each time my left foot hit the ground, the impact made it feel like someone was poking the bruised part of my gum. Annoying, but not painful enough to affect my running.

One reason that I was able to run tonight was that I continued to take my pain meds. I don't like to take pills for pain unless I'm in really in agony. The last couple of days, I've taken a pain pill before work (at approximately 7:30), and I could feel the effects wearing off by 1:30. Yesterday, I waited until bedtime to take another pain pill. Today, I took another pain pill as soon as I got home from work, and was feeling okay (not great, but okay) when I headed out the door two hours later. Anyway, if I take my pills like I'm supposed to, I should be able to continue running.

Tomorrow is our monthly fun run at work. I plan on running that and then running a longer, slower run in the evening. I should log between 13 and 15 miles for the day. My goal is to run everyday for the rest of the week and get above 50 total miles for the week.

I go back to the dentist on Friday. He'll take off the bandages, which look like putty, that are covering my gums on the left side of my mouth and remove the stitches. Hopefully, after that I'll be able to eat again. I tried a PB&J sandwich at lunch today. I ate it, but it hurt trying to chew. Not only is my mouth sensitive, but my face is still swollen, which makes chewing difficult. For now, oatmeal, apple sauce, pasta, baked potato, pudding and ice cream are my food choices.

No Running

I don't know if I'm a total slacker or if there's something wrong with me. Last week I ran three times for a total of 37 miles. I didn't run on Sunday or Wednesday for no real reason. I had reasons, but really they weren't worth much. Mostly, I was feeling lazy.

On Friday, I had dental surgery. Since then, I've been a slug. I spent the entire weekend sitting in a chair watching television and drifting in and out of sleep. The pain isn't too bad, although I take pain pills at night so that I can sleep painfree. Mostly though I just have a constant dull ache. I've also been icing my cheek in an effort to get the swelling down. My main food consists of oatmeal, which I've eaten for dinner three straight days and for breakfast the last two. I ate mac and cheese and a frozen food lasagna for lunch on Saturday and Sunday respectively. I couldn't chew them, but they were soft enough that I was able to smash small bites with my tongue and the good side of my mouth. The only other thing I've put in my mouth has been ice cream and water.

I was hoping to run today. In fact, I was planning on running a double. However, I'm didn't run at lunch, and I'm not sure what if anything I'll do this evening. I suspect, I'll go home sit around for awhile and then go to bed. I feel like if I run, I'll either get sick or pass out. Neither is a motivating option.

The good news is that I get to have the other side of my mouth operated on in six to eight weeks.

The Lesson that Wasn't Learned

A couple of days ago, I wrote how missing a run on Sunday made me feel like I was playing catch up or chasing numbers for the rest of the week and that I needed to run at least 15 miles on Sunday in order to feel like I'm set up to reach my weekly mileage goal. Of course, the same Sunday on which I wrote that, I didn't run. I could make excuses about how it was Father's Day, and I ate enough to feed a small village and felt like I would puke if tried to run. But really I knew it was Father's Day and that we were going out for a late lunch. I easily could have run in the morning; but I was lazy, and I paid for it later.

One lesson that I'm finally learning is to pay attention to my pace on easy and recovery days. Twice in the past week, I've run slow on ten mile runs, and both times, I've had great runs the next day. Remembering this lesson is especially helpful while I'm trying to stay at a higher mileage level.

One non-running thing that I've noticed. Since I've been an adult, I've lived in Cheboygan, Michigan, San Diego, California, Alameda, California, Topeka, Kansas, Phoenix, Arizona, San Diego, California, Houma, Louisiana, and Alameda, California. As best as I can remember, in all of these places there are cars with bumper stickers for something called the "Mystery Spot." I've driven past these places on highways in wooded areas but have never even considered stopping. There's no real point I'm trying to make here. It just seems odd to me that not only do a lot of drivers stop to see the "Mystery Spot," but a lot of people feel the need to advertise this fact with a bumper sticker.

Eighty Mile Week - Summary

Here's a quick summary of my week of running:

Sunday - 00 (accidental day off as referred to in previous post)
Monday - 15.7 in a lunch/evening double.
Tuesday - 15
Wednesday - 10.3
Thursday - 15
Friday - 10.3
Saturday - 13.8 in a morning/evening double.
TOTAL: 80.1 miles. All at easy or recovery pace.

I usually round the numbers down, but I either ran with my Garmin or ran on familiar routes that I've previously measured with the Garmin, so I kept them. It's mostly a vanity thing because the tenths push me just past my weekly goal.

This was not an easy week for me. The zero on Sunday, made me feel like I was playing catch up all week. I need to get at least 15 to start my week to feel good about my mileage for the rest of the week.

Next week, I'll shoot for my third consecutive 80 mile week.

Happy Father's Day.

Slow Start to the Week

I was able to run 80 miles last week. However, I am not off to a good start towards reaching 80 miles this week. Due to miscommunication or poor planning between my wife and me, I ended up not running at all on Sunday. I made it up a bit by running twice on Monday, but I still only totaled 15 miles. It seems like a trend that I fall behind at the beginning of the week and then end up stacking miles at the end of the week to reach my weekly goal. I need to either set up a long-range training plan or at least sit down at the beginning of each week and set up a schedule for the next seven days. Saying I want to run X miles a week isn't working.

Lately I've been feeling a painful tightness just above the Achilles tendon on my right leg. Stopping and stretching it makes the pain go away for a few miles, but it comes back, and it's to the point where I can feel the soreness when I'm not running also. I'm sad to say that I may actually have to start stretching on a regular basis.

Even with the zero on Sunday (what should be my highest mileage day of the week), I'm still looking for 80 miles this week. I'll have to run a couple of doubles and a couple of 15 milers, but I think I'll get there without too much heartache.

Running, Running, Running and More Running

There’s really not much to say running-wise. I’m been out everyday this week running easy miles. I’m at 55 miles for the week right now. The plan is to run 15 today and 10 on Saturday to get me up to the 80 mile mark. I’m at the point where a run of 10 miles or less is a pretty easy day. However, I do need to watch my pace. If I press the pace one day, I need to be careful to keep it easy the following day, or I will definitely suffer on the third day.

I found out that there a local club hosts low-key 5K and 10K races on the last weekend of every month. The cost for non-members is only $4, so I think I’ll try to jump into a couple of the 10Ks and see if I can finally get my PR under 40 minutes. Who knows, if I’m successful, maybe I’ll work on going sub-19 in the 5K.

A funny thing happened during my run yesterday. I was approximately five miles into the run when I stopped to use the restroom in a bayside park. While I was sitting their doing my business, a city worker came by and locked the restroom. I heard someone walk up to the restroom, but I thought it was one of many fishermen in the area. It never occurred to me that someone would lock the restroom without checking to see whether or not someone was in it. Anyway, when I finished my business, I couldn’t leave. The metal gate across the door is locked, and there’s chainlink fencing over the top of the restroom that isn’t covered by the roof. I could see out through the gate but didn’t see anyone who could help me. Fortunately, there was about a 15 inch wide gap between the chainlink and the gate. With a bit of effort I was able to pull myself up and squirm through the gap and onto the chainlink. From there I sort of wiggled my body around so that I could drop feet first outside the fence. I looked around and apparently no one saw me, so I continued my run dignity intact.

Just Adding Miles

Not much to say. For the next six weeks, I'll just be running a lot of miles and trying to get myself ready to go sub-three this fall. Today, I ran ten miles this morning and another 7.5 this evening. This morning's run was okay. I didn't get out on the road until approximately 10:30, so it was hotter than I would have liked. This evening I felt really good. I was concerned that I'd be lagging after running earlier in the day, but I had plenty of energy. Since I knew how far I was running and was familiar with the route, I ran without a watch, so I don't really know what my pace was. I would guess I averaged 7:45 or so, which is pretty good for an easy run.

Easy Week

This has been an easy week for me. As I've mentioned (probably more than once), my living situation is sort of up in the air right now, so it's impossible for me to make marathon racing or training plans. What I've decided to do is push back race-specific training six weeks. I'll use this time to build mileage. After six weeks, I should have a better idea where I'll be living this fall and can make race plans, with at least 12 weeks to prepare for an October marathon. If I can log a few 20 milers during these six weeks, I'll probably be better prepared than I would be if I followed an 18-week plan that built up to a 20-mile long runs.

I don't have my log in front of me, but I ran 57 miles last week. My longest run of the week was 15 miles. I won the monthly 3-mile fun run at work, but it doesn't mean much. I would guess that I won by close to 4 minutes. The one guy who usually pushes me wasn't there, so I just cruised. I finished in 19:59, making my average pace 6:40.