A Lean and Hungry Look

Nice, clean air this morning! Jake and I used the new 8-mile route I ran last Thursday and both managed to make it through without falling, although the roads were pretty slick after a little snow last night that followed a day of some melting. I got caught up in telling Jake a story I heard from a friend over the weekend, so I was a little breathless by the last couple of miles, but the effort was easy.

Pace: 7:27

The plan called for 12 this morning, but I got a late start and was still feeling sluggish at about 5 miles, so I turned around and headed home.  I went up to Wasatch, across Parley's to Millstream and back.  The trail was still covered in snow in parts, and that slowed my pace down considerably on the way out (the snow-covered spots were mostly on the downhill on the way back).  My calves were still a little sore (particularly on the uphill sections), but it's hard to tell if that was attributable to Friday's run in the VFFs or just the fact that I upped my mileage so much last week.  Either way, I'll keep an eye on it and will try to remember to stretch throughout the day and apply The Stick at night.

Pace: 7:40 (150)

Jake and I met around 5:15 for what was supposed to be an easy 9 across campus and along 11th Ave and back, but Jake pushed the pace for the first few miles.  Once I finally warmed up (after the climb to 11th Ave), I may have started pushing Jake a bit.  The overall pace was just over 7:00, but we had several sub-7 miles in the hilly section, so my heart rate was probably pretty high.  So much for an easy day!

I slept in until 5:50, strapped on the VFFs (I'm down to about 30 seconds per foot now), leashed up Maja and headed down to Jake's, where I found a quiet house with all the lights off.  As a result, Maja and I padded off on our own for an easy and relaxing 5 1/2.  Since most of the snow is gone, I ran on the park strip along most of 19th East and wherever the surface was level and where the grass hadn't been replaced with rocks or other xeriscaping.  My calves felt fine and my gait was comfortable.  The only thing that bothers me in the VFFs is the feeling that the ball of my foot is getting slightly bruised.  I assume that improves over time.

Ran south on Shoreline along Wasatch to Mt. Olympus and back.  Took it easy all the way out, then picked it up a little on the way back with a little more concerted effort in the last four miles. Last mile in 5:57.  I felt great start to finish.  I had a slice of Brooke's homemade bread before leaving and a packet of fruit snacks at the turnaround.  I never really felt wiped out the rest of the day (like I did last week after my 15-miler), so maybe I'll have to make a routine out of that.  Wore the VFFs around all day and didn't feel at all sore.

Pace: 7:12 (it was around 7:45 on the way out)

AHR: 155

I got to bed too late on Sunday night to make it out for a 5 am run yesterday and the day just got away from me, so I pushed this week's schedule back a day.  I headed over to 11th Ave past the Marriott Library, then turned right at the Capitol and up the lovely hill to Edgecombe Drive and back for an even 13.  By the time I made it home, I was in a rush to get Brooke some breakfast from Eggs in the City for her birthday (Happy Birthday, Brooke!), so I didn't even check my Garmin to see what my pace or HR looked like.  I feel pretty safe in guessing that the pace was no faster than 7:40 and HR was no higher than 150, though.

It's been a rough week for getting up at 5, but I managed to get to bed at a decent time last night and made it out this morning for a lovely run in the falling snow.  I took it quite easy all the way out and about halfway back, then threw a little effort in for a couple of sections of a half mile or so.  It felt good to stretch the legs out a little.

Pace: 7:20

AHR: 159

Short run in St. George.  I started in the VFFs but I'm losing a nail on my second toe on my right foot (happens every year), so they didn't feel good.  I turned around, put on my regular shoes and finished a short effort in time to start the process of driving all over St. George to attend 6 soccer games in two days, while also shuttling my kids to and from team dinners and parties.  Good times.

My favorite place to run is the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve in St. George, and today reminded me why.  In perfect running conditions (high-40s at the start, low-50s at the finish under perfectly blue skies), I ran the Icehouse trail from the condo in Green Springs.  I had a full day of soccer awaiting me, so I had to cut the run short and ended up throwing in some tempo and beyond in order to avoid making my son too late for his team warmup.  The route features a lot of elevation changes, soft sand in sections, and boulder fields in others, so it's pretty challenging, but completely rewarding, especially at the top of the plateau.  This is why I run.

I spent the day moving furniture for my parents (and throwing my back out in the process), then packing up the kids and driving home.  I could barely walk after the move, and I'm a little worried about this week's mileage as a result.

Although the back felt slightly better this morning after icing it last night and getting a solid night's sleep, it is still way out of whack.  I can hardly walk without bending over slightly, so running was out of the question.  I brought the Miracle Ball to work with me and have been using it every hour or so in an effort to get my lower back to chill out and let me live my life.  Hopefully I'll be back on the wagon by tomorrow.

After spending an hour or so of quality time rolling around on a ball last night, the back was a little bit better this morning, but still not quite ready to run.  I spent another 30 minutes rolling around and can feel (and even see) the difference in my lower back.  Barring any setback today (good thing I sit at my desk all day), I should be able to resume running tomorrow.  I guess this should motivate me to do some core strengthening.

I kept looking for a box that said "Horrible, Crappy Miles," but "Easy" was the closest option available.  After my back issues that kept me out for the first half of last week, I came down with a nasty chest cold/bronchial infection that was bad enough to keep me off the streets for another several days.  As a result, today was my first day out in 9 days, and I paid for it.  Although my cold is clearly on the  mend, the congestion is still going strong and had me wheezing throughout the second half of the "run."  In addition, I had a new pain in my inner right knee that was fairly severe for about the first mile (I almost turned around and went home).  The pain lessened as I started to warm up, but never fully abated.  I expect it's just one of those old-man issues that crops up as a result of taking too many days off, but I'll keep an eye on it.  I was supposed to run 12 this morning, but there was no way that was going to happen with the way I was feeling.  It was like trying to start an old car that's been sitting out in the bitter cold for a few weeks.  That's apparently what I've come to at the age of 35.

My sister had twins last night (10 weeks early), so I was at the hospital until late and didn't make it out of bed in time to run this morning, so I ran at lunch instead.  I hadn't done a lunchtime run up City Creek for a long time, so it was great to be up there again and to see some of the regulars.  Fortunately, the knee pain that bothered me so much yesterday was totally gone, and my lungs felt a little better, too, although I've clearly lost a step from where I was 10 days ago.  Normally I like to include a little turnover work on the way back down the canyon, but the best I could do today without really laboring was in the 6:20 range.  Hopefully it comes back quickly, because I need to start doing some speed and tempo work, ideally next week.

I love having a shower at work.

Easy effort around Sugarhouse and back with Maya in tow.  Lungs still aren't clear, but the hack is slowly going away.

I'm giving serious consideration to putting my semi-competitive running pursuits on the shelf for a few years.  My kids are requiring more and more of my time and attention, and I feel like my focus on running sometimes dilutes my effectiveness as a husband and father.  I know that these issues are specific to me and that many people can compete without compromising their commitment to family, but I just don't seem to multitask well enough.  Here is a nonexhaustive list of ways that my efforts to compete impair my ability to be the kind of husband and father I want to be:

• Going to bed early so that I can get up in time to do a long run or a hard workout the next day.  Even though I do this so that I can avoid missing time with my kids in the morning, I'm finding that as my older kids approach the teenage years, they are out later and I need to be around to talk to them before bed.
• Getting in to work later due to my morning running routine.  When I run 12-16 miles on a weekday, it's hard to be at the office before 8:00 even when I run at 5:00.  I think my kids would benefit more from having me home earlier in the evening, which I could do if I were getting to the office by 7:00 every morning.  If I were home by 5:00 on average, I could spend an hour shooting hoops or kicking a soccer ball with the kids before dinner and homework.
  
• Being wasted on Saturdays following a long run plus tempo work, which leaves me not wanting to do projects around the house and not feeling too enthusiastic about things like taking the family skiing or hiking or otherwise doing something active.  Besides, with two kids playing comp soccer as well as other sports and participating in music, our Saturdays are plenty busy even without my long runs.
• Spending money on entry fees, travel expenses, and equipment when the cost of my kids' activities is going up drastically and they are expected to participate in more summer camps and other supplemental activities in support of sports and music.  The cost of running isn't that high, but when the other costs are astronomical, it wouldn't hurt to have a little room in the budget to work with.
  
• Being focused on hitting my goal to the neglect of my kids' own pursuits.  For example, I freak out when I miss a long run or a hard workout and sometimes miss a soccer game that comes too early on a Saturday morning.  I'm always the party pooper on family vacations because everyone wants to hang out until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning and I have to be in bed by midnight in order to get up and do my run the next morning.  But it's not just a time thing--my mindset when I'm in achievement mode is just as big a problem as the time my pursuits require.  I just can't shake the feeling that it's not about me anymore, and that anything that detracts from my desire or ability to be fully engaged as a husband and father should be thrown by the wayside.  If I had a job that allowed me to be around more or if my kids were younger or if they weren't so interested in pursuing their own goals, it might be different.  Every family has different dynamics and requires different levels of parental engagement.  All four of my kids require a lot of attention in totally different ways, and I just couldn't live with myself if I were to look back in 20 years and wish I hadn't been so focused on myself that I didn't give every piece of myself to my wife and kids.
  

I'm not going to make a decision today, but I am going to keep thinking about this and may end up drastically changing my plans for 2010.  If I were to scrap the semi-competitive running, I would continue running 4-6 times a week, but I would do it for purposes of health and fitness and general sanity, not in training for a specific event.  Instead of looking at 60-80 miles per week through the summer, I would keep it to somewhere between 25-50, depending on the specific commitments and conflicts in a given week.  I might even cross train now and then, just to mix it up.

If anyone is reading this, please don't interpret it as judgmental of other parents who are working to reach a running goal.  I acknowledge that I am a bit of a head case and that my inability to limit my intensity about running is not a defect shared by everyone out there.  I know runners who are able to put in huge mileage without sacrificing their families' interests.  Some runners have jobs that allow them to be home during business hours or provide flexibility that accommodates a running lifestyle better than mine does.  I'm talking only about myself here given the particularities of my situation at the present time and am not trying to discourage anyone out there from pursuing their goals.  I am especially sensitive to the needs of stay-at-home parents to have an outlet and, if I decide to back down, will encourage my wife to spend the time she wants and needs to pursue her own running with me at home as her support crew instead of the other way around.