A Lean and Hungry Look

I went home for lunch to hang out with Eli while Brooke taught Janey's class.  It was gorgeous outside, so I put Eli in the jogger and we did an easy 4.  The AT was a little tight for the first 1/2 mile but felt decent after that.  My right plantar fascia was a little tight leading up to the run but felt good during and after.  I suspect the tightness is from my cycling shoes.

45 minutes on the trainer while I finished watching "Without Limits."  What a great show.

ASTYM treatment #8 (final).  Ryan says he can feel a difference in the tissue in my Achilles due to the healing that's been promoted by the treatments.  He says the real healing starts now, since I will no longer be going in twice a week to have him beat up on the tissue.  He also told me to expect an occasional flare-up but not to be alarmed by that--just treat it with ice and stretching.  I am to continue my eccentric loading exercises, but Ryan believes those will become unnecessary as the tissue heals completely.  He thinks that in 5-6 weeks from now I should be feeling more or less completely healed.  I'm feeling hopeful about it, but I'll continue to monitor my pain carefully.  I really want to be able to run Boston with Brooke, so that should help me avoid overdoing it.

Easy jaunt with Maja down to Guardsman, across the U campus to the engineering building, then up past the new track, across the Olympic bridge, and back down to Wasatch to Foothill and home.  Almost no soreness in AT start to finish.  I'm hoping to join Brooke for part of her 20-miler in the morning, but probably no more than 10.

Took Maja out for the first 6, then dropped her off to finish the run (she's woefully out of shape).  Picked up the pace over the final 4 miles (across the U campus) and finished with a 6:10.  Achilles felt a little tight but not painful.

Did 1 hour on the trainer in the basement while watching '24' after the kids went to bed.

Woke up to 12 inches of snow, so I spent my running time clearing snow (Brooke and Kaela had to leave at 7:10, so I had to get the driveway done by then).  No official workout today.

Brought my gear and ran at lunch.  The snow was melting pretty quickly and I was able to run in a short-sleeve shirt.

Minor pain in the Achilles for the first half mile but nothing thereafter.

Ran home from work.  I was a little nervous about it, since it's mostly uphill and I don't want to put too much stress on my Achilles, but it seemed to handle the run just fine.

Easy run through U campus with Maja.

In St. George for mid-year Bar convention.  Brooke and I headed east from my sister's house in Washington and ran largely on dirt roads toward Sand Hollow.  Pace was very easy (overall average was around 8:30), although the terrain was pretty uneven and hilly.  On our way back, we came around a bend to hear the sound of rifle fire in rather rapid succession.  We continued on and saw a guy with a rather large rifle aimed perpendicular to us.  His truck was stopped in the middle of the road and was still idling.  He shouldered the rifle just after we came into view and started walking back to his truck.  As we approached him, I asked how he was doing.  He said, "Better now--I just got me a rabbit!"  I replied, "I'm just glad you didn't get you a runner!"  He didn't seem particularly amused.  After we passed, he opened the door to get in, and we heard a Sara Bareilles song blasting out "Who cares if you disagree, you are not me, you aren't the kind of anything!"  The combination struck me as slightly incongruous.

My achilles held up very well and was only a little bit sore following the run.  I'm hopeful that I'm truly on the road to recovery.

With that in mind, I'll mention a conversation Brooke and I had during our run.  She asked me whether I was going to try to break 2:30 again and I told her I thought that time had passed.  She pressed me on it for a while, suggesting that I probably don't have many years of competitive running left in me (since I'm 36) and urging me not to give up on the goal.  She told me that if she knew I was going to be training intensively for 12-18 months but that it would be over at the end of that time period, she would love to support me in pursuing the goal.  We talked about what it would mean in terms of early bedtime, early runs, long runs on Saturdays, a more disciplined diet, hiring a coach again, etc., etc., and she continued to urge me to take it on.  I'm still thinking about it, but I am leaning toward giving it one more shot.

I woke up to lightly falling snow.  It wasn't heavy enough to turn Maja back, so I brought her along and we enjoyed a relaxing and enjoyable jaunt down to 17th East, out to 27th South, up to 20th East, and back home.  My achilles felt quite good from start to finish.

Easy pace across U campus, over Olympic bridge and down through Research Park.  After a rough winter, Maja is starting to look slightly skinnier, and I'm sure she's as happy as I am that my achilles is getting better.  (In case anyone happens to read this without knowing what I'm talking about, Maja is my dog.  I'd hate for someone to think I was talking about my wife that way!)  Achilles seems to be steadily better.

Drove out to The Store and parked, then ran home and back with Brooke.  8:40 overall average, which was probably a little faster than a long run for Brooke should be.  Achilles was a little sore on the uphill sections but felt pretty good otherwise.  I did some ice afterward and will be sure to stretch throughout the day.

Although I haven't trained for Boston (due to the Achilles injury), it is somewhat comforting to know that I can handle 20 without much difficulty (at a slow pace).  This is the perfect year to run it with Brooke and just enjoy the experience.  At least I know now that I can handle the distance without slowing Brooke down.

Ran across U campus to Federal Heights Drive, then up to University Hospital, across the med school campus, then through Research Park and home.  Had two unleashed dogs try to attack Maja (no apologies offered by either owner, which left me a little miffed) and battled traffic at about every other intersection once I reached the hospital.  Not the most relaxing run, but at least the weather was nice.