faster with age

     About 6 weeks ago I signed up to run  Pocatello Half marathon today. This year my running has really tanked after last year was my best and I PR'd in everything I did. 2 months ago I finally felt like my training was starting to feel better and my legs were starting to feel less stale. I got up to 40 plus miles for a couple of weeks with some extra biking thrown in. Then things fell apart again and I have only managed an average of 9 miles a week over the past 4 weeks. I have managed some biking mixed in but not a lot. 3 weeks ago I had a knee problem come out of nowhere while I was barely training anyway. I have been able to run about 5 miles fine and then it gets sore quickly and I'm done. I think it is Patelor Tendonitis. I've run very little the past 3 weeks and it hasn't gotten any better. I knew I wouldn't be able to run the half so I switched to the 5k rather than bag it all together.

     I drove to Pocatello last night and stayed at my daughters house. I have had a terrible cold the past few days that has zapped my energy with a lot of coughing and congestion that has moved into my chest. Needless to say my expectations weren't high. I got a good night sleep for the first night in the last 4 and woke up feeling much better [other than the chest congestion] than I had been. The overall trashed feeling was gone.

     I ran a 1.17 mile warmup before getting on the bus about 40 min before race time. The race went out and I took off at a good pace and felt good. I hit the first mile in 6:06 and was feeling pretty good. I thought maybe I would be shooting for sub 19 for the first time this year. The way I felt yesterday 21 minutes wouldn't have surprised me. I was surprised to have been leading the race from the beginning and ran a chunk of the next mile at around the same pace. Then my lack of endurance from not running much lately caught up with me and I slowed way down. 2nd mile ended up at 6:25 which seemed bad now but yesterday I wasn't sure I could run 1 mile that pace so didn't feel too bad. I was content to just cruise and not make it hurt too bad knowing I had a good lead. I picked up the pace a little the 3rd mile without realizing it to 6:13 and kicked a little but not too much and finished the last 1.1 [Garmin] at 5:30 pace for 19:22. I was surprised that that time was good enough for first overall this year. I won 55 dollars in gift certificates to a running and cycling store that I can definitely use.

     This Pocatello Marathon is just the best. I did the Marathon twice in 96 and 97 and just had to wonder why I haven't been back. They give you a nice duffel bag for your cloths drop, a bag of Idaho potatoes and package of hash browns along with all the typical stuff you get from other races. The food at the finish is awesome. And includes a baked potato bar and barbecued pulled pork sandwiches.

     Now I'm signed up for the Saint George Marathon in 4 weeks so it will be interesting to see if my knee will let me get in at least one long run before then or if I'll even be able to run it.

     Rode my mt bike up to my friends hunting camp in the mountains nearby. 31.35 miles round trip with a lot of climbing. Last mile quite steep on dirt.I was in one of the lowest gears and barely moving. 14.1 mph ave for the whole ride.

     After not running any runs over 4 miles last week, I decided to test it for 5 miles this morning. I haven't been able to make 5 without knee pain the past 3 weeks. I felt fine all the way today. 8:37 AP

     I made it 5 miles yesterday so went for 7 today with no knee pain. I ran the last mile in 6:43. 8:17 ave overall.

     Went 15 miles on the mt bike in a very strong wind. Tough ride.

     Elk hunting this morning. Hiked around 4 or 5 miles.

     I'm signed up for St George Marathon in 4 weeks and haven't done a run over 7 miles in the past 5 weeks when I did a 17 miler. Last year I had done four 20 milers by next week. I guess typically next week would be my last long run before starting a taper. This year I have nothing to taper from. I decided to try for 15 miles this morning and see if my knee would hold up. I made it to 5 miles and my knee felt like it was going to act up again. I didn't want to risk having to walk too far home so I turned around there. By the time I made it home [at 10 miles] it felt the same but I decided against running any farther today. 8:29 ave pace with last mile in 7:41.

     15 miles mt bike

     6 miles. Minimal knee pain from the start but didn't get any worse. Maybe even best last mile.

     Decided I'd better try a longer run since I've got SGM in 3 weeks. I didn't know if the knee would hold up but figured I'd find out. I started out around 8:35 pace and picked it up slightly each mile and averaged 8:17 for the first 7 miles. Then I picked it up a little more and averaged 7:37 for the last 8 miles. The last 4 miles I averaged 7:25 pace and counted those as marathon pace since I'll be lucky if I can keep that pace in the upcoming marathon. My knee was slightly sore again from the start but I didn't notice anything during the last few miles. Hopefully I can get in a 20 miler next week. 

Only had time to get in 12 on the mt bike before it got too dark.

Got in about 4 1/2 hours hiking while bowhunting deer and elk. AM and PM combined.

Hunting again in the morning. Went for a pretty good hike.

     Went for an 8 mile run at 8:13 pace. Everything felt good.

     Was going to do my 20 miler yesterday after my longest run of 15 last week but wasn't able to get out.  Got out this morning and felt very good. I ran the first 4 at 8:10 pace then the next 8 averaged 7:52. With 8 miles to go I dropped the pace into the mid 7:20s and was surprised how good it felt. I held this pace for the next 4 miles then ran 7:09 for the 17th mile. I had been expecting to feel horrible by this point because of my lack of long runs, but felt like I could keep this pace the rest of the way. However toward the end of the 17th mile I started feeling my IT band just a bit and within another half mile it was getting worse. I have had IT Band issues before but not for the past 4 years. It was tough to quit while my run was going so well but with about 2 1/2 miles to go I decided I'd better walk the rest of the way home and not risk a full blown flair up that could take weeks to get over. After walking a mile and a half, a neighbor picked me up and gave me a ride the rest of the way.  This run was giving me a lot more confidence for the marathon in 2 weeks until the ITB problem. If that comes on during the marathon as bad as I've had it before, it can stop me in my tracks. I guess it's no surprise that this would hit when I'm making huge jumps in the length of my long runs. It's a recipe for injuries. Especially as I get older.

     Did quite a bit of hiking while bowhunting elk. My IT Band got a little sore at the end. 

     I hadn't run since my IT Band flareup last Thursday. I tried 4 miles easy with no problems. I've been stretching it out quite a bit. 8:26 AP

     20 miles mt bike

     With SGM coming up next week I haven't done any up or downhill running. I was a little worried about my ITB problem since running downhill is always much harder on it. I started by running the 1 mile out to the big mile long highway hill near my house in 8:14. Then

down: 7:07

up:     8:35

down: 6:46

up:     8:30

down: 6:34

up:     8:21

then the mile home in 7:07.  Most of the mile is a 6% grade so the uphill miles were a harder effort than the downhills. I took a short rest at the bottom each time. My knee [IT Band] did fine but I was way tired the last 2 miles. I can tell how out of shape I am. 7:39 pace overall for all 8.

PM   3 hours of hiking out hunting. ITB got slightly sore a couple of times on some downhill.

     Ran 12 miles out the highway so I hit the 2 big hills out and back. IT Band held up for the run. 8:25 ave pace.