Care4 Breast Cancer 5k

Last year I did this in an asthma ridden, holy-crap-I-am-out-of-shape 39:45. I'm still embarrassed at that but I'd only bee running around 3 months at the time so whatever. I can only admit to that pathetic time because yesterday I dropped roughly 7 minutes off of it with a 32:47. I am hoping to do even better in the future but that was a huge win for me. I felt really good.

The worst part was that I lined up in the section for people who were going to do between 10 and 11 minute miles and there were shitloads of people who were just walking the race in front of me.  Not only that there were often large groups that insisted on walking side by side down the middle of the race.  They should have gone back further in the crowd. I was full of hatred.

So I spent the first half mile negotiating the heavy crowding to get past all those people. Lots of side to side, slow downs and speed ups until I got out into the open where I could establish my pace. That first half mile took a lot out of me and I hadn't counted on it in my plans. Next year I'll start up nearer the front and just stay to the side and let the REAL runners go past me.

Probably I would only have shaved 15 seconds or so off my time, if anything, but it's nice to know that even setting my personal best time I could have done better in a more ideal running situation. It's hard to run a race with 2400 participants, many of whom aren't really running it but showing support for the cause. For that alone I forgive all the walkers.

Four miles the slow way

I've been running my 3.1 miles the last month or so and brought my average pace down to around 10:40 or so per mile. That's got me pretty happy. Today I thought I'd try to run 4 for the first time since my leg injury and started out slow and finished strong. I probably averaged around 11:00 minutes per mile but ended with around 10:30 for my last one. I feel strong still--tired and endorphinated but strong.

I've got a 5K on Sunday--breast cancer run here in Woodstock. I'm really excited because I did it last year and as long as I take care not to over do it during the week in preparation I expect to shave around 6 or 7 minutes off my time last year.

I'm also doing this kind of strange barbell class where we do craploads of reps with low weight and hit all the muscle groups hard. I come out of it pretty beat but I'm already seeing differences in my strength (and appearance! yay!). But I sure do get a lot of funny looks from the guys who use the regular weights. Aside from the teacher and his brother (that he forces to attend) I'm the only guy in the class.

Rehab update

I've gotten myself up to 2.5 miles at about 11:05 average mile time. That's not great distance but the time is reassuring because I lost so much momentum with this downtime. I believe next week I am going to move to 3 miles. I'm running in a 5K (for Breast Cancer. Well not FOR it. Against it) in late October and I really want to be doing at least 3.5 or 4 miles in under 11 minutes by then.

Yesterday I did a little bit of interval training. I call it that but I have no idea if that is what it really is. Basically I run a mile fast, rest for a minute to 90 seconds, run another mile slightly slower but still over my usual pace, rest again and finish up with a slow mile. This time I ran the first mile faster than I usually do. Ended up with 9:42 for that mile and then dropped back off on the subsequent ones. It really felt good to push that first mile.

I definitely have gotten past the inertia issue of restarting--I really want to run everyday but I've been good and I'm only running every other day.  I

'm doing some weight training on the off days. Emily talked me into trying this barbell weight class thingy and I was surprised at how hard it is, and also how much I really like it. I've always wanted to do weights but getting started on my own is always an exercise in futility. Going to a class forces me to stick with it :) Plus the guy teaching the class knows what he's about.

Back in business

It's been a while but I'm finally running again. I read (and was told by my doctor) that I should only increase my pace and distance by 10% a week so I'm still working on getting back to where I was. I had hoped to run a 10k before the end of the summer but that's so not going to happen at this point. I'm aiming at the breast cancer run here in Woodstock in mid october though.

I'm pain free at this point, got new shoes and am making progress. it's wonderful to be running again but I was surprised how much endurance I'd lost during the two months or so I was off...

Week 3 of The Boot

The good news is that I have no pain where the stress fracture is and I've so far been fairly good about wearing the damned boot. The downside is that I'm in serious endorphin withdrawals. I snap at people more frequently and moan and sob in my sleep. I've got the shakes and actually found myself on a street corner trying to purchase endorphins but a really kind drug dealer told me that its hard to get such a thing out here in the boonies.

But all seriousness aside I definitely look forward to getting back to running. I guess the silver lining is that last week everyday it was in the 90s and humid and that might have killed me so it was nice to have a convenient excuse to avoid running in the heat.

I hope everyone's running, biking, swimming, and whatever else is going great.

Day three of The Boot

So far wearing the boot on my injured leg has caused more emotional reaction than I'd expected. Having it on reminds me of the almost 4 months I wore it a couple years ago. And it feels silly. I walk around normally (well, almost normally) with it--no crutches, walker, cane or anything.

And I'm getting more insaner with every day that I don't run. Who would have thought I COULD get insaner :D.  More seriously I hadn't realized how much I was really relying on running to improve my mood and such.

At any rate I'm looking forward to getting back to the running, of course. I wanted to do 5 to 10 races this year and have only one under my belt so far.

MRI results later today

I'm a bit nervous to find out what's up but at least I will know what has to be done to get back to the running. I'm betting at the very least some time off the leg and new shoes are on the agenda. I've already been off since Sunday and it's bumming me out.

I've been looking at my handy Running Depot list of 2012 local races and I've found a couple I want to aim for in late July and August. Also there are a couple of 10Ks in October that I'm interested in doing but that's a level up from where I am at today in terms of length. But I know I can get to that in a reasonable amount of time if I can just get back on the path :)

Holy MRI, Batman!

I had to lie completely still for 45 minutes while they did the MRI on my leg yesterday afternoon. I can't even begin to tell you how hard it is to lie still. The thing I was on was hard and uncomfortable and I had to keep my toes pointed up. At one point my right leg was shaking like a leaf and it was all I could do not to just relax. The technician came in and taped my feet together so I could just relax, letting the feet counter balance each other. This morning my legs were sore, the small of my back is sore and I'm sleepy.

Of course, I'm always sleepy.

Tomorrow afternoon I go see the doctor again and get the results. I'm really ready to run again and it sounds like I won't be running for a while :(

Universe vs. my leg. Universe 1, Leg, 0

I saw the orthopedic surgeon that fixed up my ankle a couple years ago (Dr. Basran--absolutely fantastic) and he thinks I've got a stress fracture. I'm getting an MRI tomorrow afternoon to confirm it. If it is then I've got to take 4 weeks off running, wear a boot cast and mope around. We talked about how it happened and he agreed with my layman's theory that I need to try high post running shoes. He didn't tell me to get off the pavement though, which is a relief because that's really the only option I have currently unless I want to get on a treadmill. Ew. 

On the upside while he was inspecting the x-rays he looked at the ankle and said that it had healed perfectly. After I did some walking around for him he said that if anything the OTHER ankle is weaker, which is unexpected. Usually people baby the hurt ankle and keep it weaker and do funny things to the healthy ankle due to overcompensation. So that was good news.

Maybe I'll lift weights for a while until I can run again. /cry

More pain--no running

Really bummed out. I've got an early appointment tomorrow with the doctor that repaired my ankle a couple years ago. I'm hoping he just says "get different shoes" or "it's all in your head". I'm afraid he'll say "stress fracture--six weeks no running".

Good and Bad -- post NC runs

My first run back from NC was pretty wonderful. I didn't push myself too hard and managed to hit an above average pace and finished strong. During the first mile my leg hurt again but once I settled into a rhythm it eased up. After the run I iced it and it felt reasonable.

Yesterday afternoon I tried to do intervals and it didn't work out. The first mile was solid but it was extra hot out (for this area--90+ degrees) and it took a lot out of me. After a quick cool down I started the second mile and about halfway through had to stop. I was carrying my new water bottle on my hip rig and was relatively hydrated but the heat was making me feel slightly dizzy. Better safe than sorry. It was deeply disappointing to not finish what I'd intended to do though.

Also, my leg hurt during the entire run and despite icing it, I've still got nagging pain down there. I'm going to pause my running and go see my doctor. I don't mind running through the pain but I want to make sure I'm not making some injury worse. I don't look forward to not running for any length of time though. I'm in a pretty good groove and hate the idea of having to kick start again once the leg feels better.

We'll see.

Here are the links to the two runs:

First 5K after NC
Failed intervals

Final NC runs

Running in NC ended up being a lot more challenging than I'd expected. Despite relatively reasonable temperatures, the humidity really took it out of me. I had a hard time pushing to 3 miles at paces I manage at home and as a result when I tried to head to 4 or 5 miles I was totally drained and couldn't manage it. I hate not meeting a goal so it was a little depressing. I put it in perspective by approaching it with the attitude that they were "maintenance" runs. Just staying in the habit and making sure I got some exercise. I imaging that the mere fact that I was wiped out means I got good workouts, but I've become so goal driven and used to my rate of improvement that it was disappointing anyway.

Here are the links to my last runs there:

NC second run
NC final run

I managed a good run my first day back and it was gratifying to get back in my groove.  I haven't uploaded it from my Garmin yet so the link will follow later.

I do have some pain in my lower left leg just above the ankle and on the inside of my leg. It hurts during the first mile of my run but then settles down, and hurts in a throbbing nagging manner the rest of the day but feels solid again the next morning. I've decided to go see a doctor and make sure it's nothing evil. I'm nervous about the possible need to back off the running while it heals up, but I'm more nervous that I'm going to have to find a way to get off the hard running paths I'm using with are asphalt of varying degrees of soft/hardness.

Wilmington, N.C.

I ran 3 miles today. The weather here is different than I'm used to but because they are having unusually mild weather, the different kind of snuck up on me. It's humid, overcast and relatively cool with a slight breeze. At first it seemed ideal but the humidity kind of got to me. I ended up doing the three miles at a 11:05 pace which is probably about 15 off what I'd normally average back in Illinois. The run was relatively flat with a grade that the Garmin claimed that I didn't really notice. Maybe that contributed to the pain. When I finished I was completely shot. I'm riding the endorphins still and I've got that feeling of accomplishment so despite the pain it was a good run. I'm going to start out a bit mellower tomorrow and maybe try to tack on some more miles. We'll see.

Here's the Garmin report: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/185677391