Freethinker ~ Freerunner

 Long easy run.   8:45 AP.  67 degrees.  Disgusting 94% humidity.

I took all of last week off because my right ankle or lower shin was injured the week before.  I finished a 20 mile run one week ago hurting and decided to play it safe by resting.  The good news is that my right ankle/shin seems to be healed up, but as usually happens when I take a week off and then try to run long one of my knees does not make the whole way.  My right knee started hurting about half way through.  I can usually suck it up and finish, but today I had to run/walk the last three or four miles.  My pace gradually fell off to the point of embarrassment.  

I was actually supposed to run 16 miles today with 12 at marathon pace, but I knew starting out that I should take it easy and just try to recover.  I needed to see how my ankle would do on the distance, let alone anything fast.  The I remember that I needed 17 miles by today to complete the Trail Runner 100 mile challenge going on on Strava.  Since I was only going to fall one mile short I decided to throw in an extra mile.  Unfortunately as noted previously it was a miserable mile, but I got it done.  I think I will recover nicely going in to this week.  

Aerobic run this morning.  I kept the pace comfortable and paid close attention to every little pang and quiver of my joints.  AP 8:13.  Temperature 52 degrees.  

I set my alarm for 5:15 last night, but forgot to turn it on.  As a consequence I did not wake up until 7:15.  Good thing I don't work today, as I was still able to get my 9 miles in.  I think taking the week off last week messed up my sleep cycle, because even though I stayed up late last night I would ordinarily not have slept past 5:30 or 6:00 even with no alarm.    

I felt no knee pain and no ankle pain, so hopefully I'm out of the woods on the injury front.  I think it's going to take me a about another week to recover my level of fitness.  I did not thinking that missing a week would set me back this much, but I'm definitely not in the same shape I was in on my last tempo run. 

VO2 Max run today.  9 miles with 6 800's on the track.  7:34 AP.   

I jogged for about 1 minute between intervals.  

800's: 3:17, 3:13, 3:17, 3:16, 3:18, 3:19

I jogged the first two miles at a pretty easy pace from my neighborhood to the track about 2.75 miles away.  When I got there the gates were all locked.  What the hell?  The only signs posted were the usual signs stating that the school system has chosen to make this track public and to please abide by the rules...  Since it was 6:00 in the morning and no one was around I considered jumping the fence, but I decided to run the perimeter of the grounds first just to make sure there was not another open gate at the other side.  Before I got the the gate on the opposite corner I found a slot in the fence that I was able to walk through.  When I got closer to the actual track I noticed it was new, and that there was evidence of other construction near the stands.  I decided to hurry up and get on with my workout before any possible construction crews started showing up for work.  I was into my first 800 when I noticed construction traffic far on the other side of the school grounds start arriving for work.  I began imagining that it was only a matter of time before someone came to the track to kick me out, but alas I kept going. 

I finished my workout before anyone came to kick me out and I exited through the entrance on the opposite side of the track that connects to an adjacent residential area.  This was the gate that I had not yet checked to see if it was open.  It was open.  As I left I turned around and saw a sign.  The sign read "facility closed for track renovation until mid to late September."  I considered myself lucky to have escaped and also considered that it is late September. 

On my way down the sidewalk off a main street just outside the neighborhood I encountered a woman riding bike smoking what at first I thought was a cigarette, but later realized was most likely pot.  She was swerving all over the place and I had to jump out of her way.  She exhaled a puff of smoke that when I passed by was very thick and almost choked me up.  It has been many years since I've smelled marijuana, but the scent was pretty unmistakable.  

Recovery run.  AP 8:11.  I think it was about 54 degrees.  

Today is my birthday.  Happy birthday to me!  I sort of wish I had a nice long run planned for my birthday today.  6 miles seems unworthy somehow for such an occasion.  

MLR.  8:03 AP.  Humidity 86%.  Very nice out.  Heart rate: Min 151, Max 176.  

I felt pretty strong and my legs and joints all felt good.  I've been having this strange upper middle back issue that I need to figure out.  I think I probably just need a massage.  The muscle up there feels like it is too strained to allow me to run with good form.  I feel as though I need to let my shoulders drop a little bit.  I had to self massage that area several times in mid-stride, which temporarily relieves the strain.  I first noticed this strain a few weeks ago, and it only seems to show up on my long or medium long runs.  

General aerobic run with 10x100 strides at the end.  AP 8:00.  Temperature 54 degrees. 

I felt really good.  No pains or discomfort of any kind to report.  Most importantly I felt really fresh.  I'm looking forward to finishing out this recovery week.  

This is the nice time of year for running.  I saw about 5 other runners out.  I'm sure all the seasonal runners are getting ready for the Tulsa Run in October.