dedication, perseverance, self-discipline

Midnight Madness 5k

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Location:

Alpine,UT,USA

Member Since:

Jan 01, 2008

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Olympic Trials Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

3K: 8:58 Pocatello, ID 2003 (indoors at Idaho State)

5K: 14:55 Salt Lake City, UT 2010 (Law Day 5k)

10K: 29:33 Salt Lake City, UT 2010 (Des News 10k)

1/2 marathon: 1:06:59 Provo, UT 2010 (Utah Valley Half)

marathon: 2:21:59 St. George, UT 2009 (St. George Marathon)

Short-Term Running Goals:

To get running higher mileage more consistently without getting injured

Sub 2:19:00 marathon

Personal:

I used to run competitively, and maybe I will do so again someday.  Right now I am primarily running to try and get in better shape, and to maintain both physical and emotional health, but also for the simple joy that comes when I run.

I am also the proud daddy of five little ones.  I love the opportunity that I have to be a daddy, and my challenge is to balance my family responsibilities with work and running.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Asics Speedstar Lifetime Miles: 2020.05
Asics Gel Ohana Racer Lifetime Miles: 2332.20
Adidas Adizero Lifetime Miles: 1375.45
Barefoot Lifetime Miles: 183.10
Nike Free 5.0 Lifetime Miles: 2221.85
Saucony Kinvara Lifetime Miles: 795.92
Puma Faas 200 Lifetime Miles: 381.50
Puma Faas 250 Lifetime Miles: 466.10
Altra Adam Lifetime Miles: 1836.85
Baretrek Lifetime Miles: 290.15
Hoka Conquest Lifetime Miles: 41.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
1205.8116.257.751.191231.00
Barefoot Miles: 49.10Altra Adam Miles: 651.25Adidas Adizero Miles: 54.00Puma Faas 200 Miles: 103.00Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 100.75Saucony Kinvara Miles: 112.40Puma Faas 250 Miles: 95.00Nike Free 5.0 Miles: 56.50Asics Speedstar Miles: 7.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
44.000.000.000.0044.00

I haven't been blogging for a while, but I want to get back into it again.  I haven't been running all that much for most of this year.  I will estimate that I have averaged about 20 miles/week this year so far.

So basically, I have been running enough to get some health benefits from running but not enough to stay in good shape.  This past semester at school was really hard on me as well, which didn't help things either.

I imagine that I could run a 5k in about 17 minutes right now, maybe a little faster but not a lot.  I did run 2400m on the indoor track (300m no banks) in 7:34 at the beginning of May, but I am in bad enough aerobic shape right now that I don't think I could hold that pace for a longer distance.

I am starting to try and get back into shape again.  I have decided that in order to motivate myself again I need to start racing.  Running races is fun, and it will give me something to shoot for.  I ended up running 44 miles this week.  Nothing spectacular, but it is slightly ahead of where I was last year when I was in a similar position.

I have also been experimenting with running barefoot on pavement, and walking around barefoot as often as possible.  I want to get a better idea of what it feels like to run barefoot when you have thick calluses on the bottoms of your feet, but in order to do so I need to get thick calluses on the bottoms of my feet.  

I am doing this because proprioception of the foot is known to be impeded when wearing shoes (or socks for that matter).  The question I now pose is: does proprioception decrease when thick calluses form on the foot, or do these calluses simply allow an individual to avoid injury while still allowing for complete sensation of the ground?  

Personally I feel very unnatural when running in my minimalist shoes (Altra Adam) without the inserts that they come with (with the inserts in the shoes I do not have this problem), however I always feel very smooth and fluid when running barefoot (provided that the pavement is sufficiently smooth to not cause pain).  It feels like my form changes when I run with or without the minimal shoes (without the inserts in them) and I suspect it is due to changes in proprioception.  So nothing scientific here, but it is fun to try and understand some things a little better by experimenting with myself.

Barefoot Miles: 9.00Altra Adam Miles: 35.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
49.000.000.000.0049.00

I ran 49 miles this week.  We also bought a bike (my last bike was stolen in Vegas 2.5 years ago) and I spent some time riding it around.  The bike is mainly for Kimia to use for exercise and as a means to go places without needing to drive (we bought a trailer as well so that we can haul the kids around too), but I may use it on occasion as well.

Part of the reason Kimia wants to exercise on the bike is because since I last blogged Kimia got pregnant again and she felt like running was too uncomfortable.  We will be having another boy with a due date of September 27th.  We are excited to have another little one in the house, although we are not quite sure how we are going to be fitting 5 people into an apartment that is probably less than 800 square feet.

Adidas Adizero Miles: 8.00Barefoot Miles: 9.00Altra Adam Miles: 32.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
42.500.000.000.0042.50

I overdid things a bit last week with biking around on top of running more mileage than I had run in a week since the beginning of the year (pathetic, I know).  As a result I decided to cut back a bit this week and take things easier and slower.

I ran a fair amount with Kimia, while she would bike pulling the kids in the trailer.  It was a lot of fun to go around town as a family.  This also helped me to keep the pace of my runs much slower than if I was running alone (approximate 8:30 pace average).  I also ran less barefoot mileage as a result as it was less convenient to take off my shoes.  I had to make sure that I kept up with Kimia on downhills, and I had to help push the trailer on uphills when Kimia struggled to pull the kids on her own.

Running less mileage barefoot was not necessarily a bad thing as my feet had been feeling fairly sore from all of the rocks I have stepped on lately and it gave them a good break.  I still walked around barefoot as much as possible, so hopefully the stimulus was still there.  It was also good for me to run more slowly this week, and to just take things easy.  I sometimes forget how to be patient when I am trying to get back in shape as I still remember what it was like to do so much more and not struggle

Barefoot Miles: 1.50Puma Faas 200 Miles: 8.00Altra Adam Miles: 33.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.500.000.000.009.50

I ran with Kimia and the kids today.  Total of approximately 9.5 miles in about 1:22.

Altra Adam Miles: 9.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

I ran with Kimia and the kids again.  About 8 miles in 1:06-1:07.

Altra Adam Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

I ran alone today, running 8 miles in about 1:01 or 1:02.  I ran the last mile and a half barefoot.

Barefoot Miles: 1.50Altra Adam Miles: 6.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.500.000.000.008.50

I decided to try a little experiment today.  For the most part when I have been running barefoot I wait until the end of the run to do it so that my feet are not sore for most of the run.  Today I did the opposite, running barefoot first, followed by running with shoes on.  My reasoning for doing so was that I feel fluid when running barefoot, but awkward when running minimally shod (without inserts in my shoes).  My theory was that if I ran barefoot first and then put on my minimalist shoes I would feel more fluid while wearing shoes.

My theory seemed to hold true for most of the days run.  I forgot for a little while that I did not have the inserts in my shoes (until I started running on a gravel road... you can still feel big rocks through minimal shoes).  This makes me think that there might be a learning component involved with minimalist running that requires you to run barefoot until you learn the technique correctly.  Once the technique is learned you can put on shoes and hopefully the technique will remain unchanged.

Another thing I have noticed running barefoot is that I naturally direct force more vertically when I sprint with no shoes on.  Maybe it is to avoid generating too much friction and developing blisters?  I also feel like I have more of a forward/upward drive with my thighs during the swing phase.  I am not quite sure what to make of this as it is difficult to focus on ones form without consciously changing it.  I am going to continue monitoring things and sprinting barefoot occasionally.  At some point I may pop into the lab to test myself running over a force platform.

In the afternoon we took the kids down to Des Moines for the USATF championships.  It was the first professional track meet that I have ever attended, and the first track meet of any kind that the kids have gone to.  The kids really enjoyed themselves (although Shayon pooped his pants just before the womens 10,000 started).  Anita really liked cheering for Rapunzel (Jordan Hasay) and during the race she was cheering and she yells out "I like your hair" as Jordan ran by.  After the race Anita was in heaven when she was able to take her picture with Jordan and Tara Erdmann during their victory lap, although she did get momentarily upset later on when she realized that she didn't get a chance to touch Jordan's hair.

Here is one of the pictures that we took of Anita, Jordan, and Tara after the race

 

Barefoot Miles: 1.00Altra Adam Miles: 7.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

8 miles easy during the hottest part of the day.  I was soaked by the time I got home.  I also ran a few strides.

I liked how I felt yesterday when I ran barefoot at the beginning of the run rather than at the end, so I did the same thing again running a mile barefoot to the track and then running an additional barefoot mile on the track before leaving and finishing my run on the trails wearing shoes.

Barefoot Miles: 2.00Altra Adam Miles: 6.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.001.000.000.0010.00

I ran 2.5 miles barefoot at the beginning of the run, followed by running 7.5 miles with shoes.  Total of 10 miles.  I felt tired early on in the run so I just hung out around 8:00 pace for most of the run after opening about a minute slower than 8:00 pace for the first 2.5 miles.

I decided to run the last mile fast as the beginning of the speed work I will need to do in order to accustom myself to running fast again.  I figured that if I add 1 mile hard per week to the end of my Saturday run I can slowly get used to running hard while already fatigued (ie 1 mile today, 2 miles next Saturday, etc.).  I ended up with a 5:47 for the last mile.  Total time of 1:18:55 for 10 miles.

I was not too happy with the time on the last mile considering the effort, but on thinking over things I realized that I couldn't be too hard on myself for a number of reasons.  I was running into a headwind, it was warm (between 80 and 90), the mile is slow (5 super sharp turns and hilly), and I started off more slowly easing into things.  I had been expecting a faster time in part because I finished fairly hard, forgetting that I started off more slowly.  This result did convince me that I need to hold off on increasing the mileage of my Saturday long run until I get more comfortable where I am at.  Even as I increase the distance that I run hard every Saturday I will still keep the total distance to 10 miles for a while longer.

Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 7.50Barefoot Miles: 2.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

I ran approximately 9 miles this morning in 1:10:43, starting off with 2.5 miles barefoot, and then running the remainder of the run with shoes on.  I ran 1 of the barefoot miles on the track because sharp rubber doesn't hurt as much as a sharp rock (although I did step on one on the way to the track... it hurt).  I also feel like the track provides a good amount of friction, so I feel like it still helps toughen up my feet despite not being as painful.

Barefoot Miles: 2.50Altra Adam Miles: 6.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

I ran 9 miles this morning in about 1:14:00.  The first 6.5 miles was with Kimia on the bike with the kids.  The last 2.5 miles was on my own.  The first 2 miles of the run was barefoot, while I wore shoes for the rest of it.  Shortly before I stopped to put on my shoes I took a bad step and smacked my right heel on the concrete.  It hurt for a while afterwards, but feels better now.

Anita and Shayon enjoyed finding the little frogs next to the path while we were out.  I caught one so they could get a closer look.  The frogs looked like yummy bird food because of how small they were.

Barefoot Miles: 2.00Altra Adam Miles: 7.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.500.000.000.009.50

I ran 9.5 miles today, running 1.5 miles to school in the morning, 1.5 miles home in the afternoon, and 6.5 miles pushing Shayon in the running stroller in the evening.  My evening run was finished in just under 52 minutes.  I broke my day up this way because I was feeling tired today, and I wanted to take things easier without sacrificing the mileage.  I also got a cut on my right foot on the big toe, so I didn't run barefoot today.  I found out later in the evening that some junk had gotten into the cut making it hurt worse.  I am going to back off on the. barefoot stuff for a few days until the cut heals.

Saucony Kinvara Miles: 6.50Altra Adam Miles: 3.00
Comments
From Sasha Pachev on Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 13:23:33 from 69.28.149.29

Jeff:

I think it would be good to do a 5 K or similar distance time trial to see where you are at. Ideally on the track or some very flat reliable course.

From jeffmc on Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 13:32:20 from 129.186.252.75

I was planning on running a road 5k on the 12th or 13th of July for this very reason. Do you think I should do something sooner?

From Sasha Pachev on Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 13:56:14 from 69.28.149.29

I think it would be good to have a benchmark to work from prior to the race. This does not need to be an all out effort - it can be, for example, a certain challenging but likely doable pace target, e.g 80 seconds per lap, with an all out kick in the last 200 meters which will be an indicator of how easy that pace was.

From jeffmc on Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 14:05:26 from 129.186.252.75

That sounds reasonable. I may try something like that on Saturday. I may end up doing it on the indoor track as well in order to control for temperature, humidity, and wind.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

I ran 9 miles this afternoon in 1:13:19.  I felt sluggish again so I just ran super slow and didn't bother to worry about the pace.  I suspect feeling this way has something to do with building up mileage again.  I have been waking up a lot during the night lately as well, and I also wonder if I am not getting the rest I need despite getting plenty of sleep.

Altra Adam Miles: 9.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

I ran 9 miles this morning in 1:12:41.  I felt less tired than yesterday despite starting this run only 12 hours after finishing my run yesterday evening.  I threw in a short pick up at the end of the run just to get my legs moving.

Altra Adam Miles: 9.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.900.003.100.0010.00

Sasha recommended that I run a 5000 meter time trial to gauge fitness.  I was planning on doing a 2 mile tempo today at the end of 10 miles, and I decided that today was as good a day as any to run the time trial.

I warmed up by running to the indoor track (a little over 1.5 miles) after I arrived at the track I ran one lap to finish my warm-up and to find the 5000 meter start line.  The track is 300 meters, so it is pretty fast despite being indoors.  My plan was to start off more slowly and to speed up over time, finishing the last 200 meters all out.  Goal splits were broken up into 4 lap segments with the plan to run 63 seconds per lap for the first 1400 meters (4 laps plus the 200 to the finish line), followed by 62's, 61's, and 60's for the last 12 laps (The last lap would obviously not be a 60, but I still grouped it that way).  This would give me a total time of 17:06 if I did not speed up the last 200.

Splits were as follows:

0:41 - first 200 m, 1 second faster than planned.

1:06 - having a hard time judging effort, slowed down a lot.

1:03 - finally on goal pace.  Feels a lot harder than I though 5:37-38 pace should feel.

1:02 - effort about the same.

1:01 - effort still about the same.  Trying to decide if I should try and hit the pace goals anymore or if I should just stay at the effort I am already at.

1:02 - I backed off just a tiny bit to try and stay on goal pace.

1:01 - running just a tiny bit faster just feels more natural.

1:01 - relaxing into the pace more.

1:01 - hit the 2400 meter mark in 8:17.

1:00 - didn't plan on speeding up, but it happened so I didn't worry about it.

1:00 - worrying that I may struggle the last few laps.  Breathing is fairly hard.

0:59 - didn't want to go sub 5:20 pace quite yet.

1:01 - relaxed a little partly to make up for the previous lap and partly because I zoned out and lost concentration.

0:59 - feeling like I am working harder now.

1:00 - effort about the same.  Not sure if I actually slowed down or if splits were both 59.xx for the last two laps.

0:59 - feeling like I am struggling just a little.  My struggles feel mostly aerobic.

0:52 - I made it to 4800 meters in 16:15 (7:58 for the last 2400).  Last 200 meters in 0:33.

Total time:  16:48

I was happy with the last 200 as I was not running all out until the last 75 meters or so.  I imagine that I could have closed in 0:32 if I was trying harder.  The bad part of this whole deal is that I did not feel like I could run much faster than 59-60 seconds per lap, which would still only give me a 16:31 if I averaged that pace throughout.  I felt like aerobically I was lacking and it was preventing me from taking advantage of my potential.  I guess that is a good thing because it is a problem that is easily fixed by simply running more.  I could also feel my form breaking down just a little during the last couple laps.  This also felt aerobic, but could have been the result of muscle fatigue as well.

I plan on running a bit more later in the morning as I am going to run some errands (literally) with Kimia and the kids.

I ended up running about 3.5 miles more (30 minutes) as I ran with Kimia and the kids to the store to pick up some small things for Shayon's birthday, followed by running home using a slightly longer route so that I could end up with 10 miles total for the day.

Adidas Adizero Miles: 6.50Altra Adam Miles: 3.50
Comments
From Sasha Pachev on Sat, Jun 29, 2013 at 17:10:57 from 72.250.218.114

OK, so the positive out of this is that you can run 16:48 alone and it is not all out. Identifying the limit is the positive as well.

I think your condition somewhat mirrors the early winter of 2008. What has your training been like in the last 6 months?

From jeffmc on Sat, Jun 29, 2013 at 19:37:35 from 65.110.254.156

Training the past 6 months has been sporadic. I was running about 50 miles/week at the end of December and the beginning of January, however I dropped down to about 20 miles per week by mid January.

From the end of January until late march I ran anywhere from 10-20 miles per week with a low of 6 miles one week when I was sick with some sort of bug. Some weeks the only running I got in was running too and from school (about 1.5 miles each way) which would result in me running between 12 and 15 miles total those weeks.

In mid march I started to teach a running class 3 days a week which helped me to start running a bit more. The problem was that I was still only running 20-30 miles per week. The class finished in early May. On one of the last days of class I had the students run a 2400 meter time trial to test improvement over the semester. After class I did the same thing and finished in 7:34. It is possible that I could have broken 7:30 with a little more motivation, but I was running pretty much all out and ran a fairly even pace throughout.

In mid May I started to feel like I really wanted to try and get into shape again, but it took me until late May to really start training again. I think I ran over 30 miles one week in May prior to starting on the blog again. The other weeks in May were all in the 20's mileage wise.

I have at least put something up on the blog documenting the weeks since then. One way that I am motivating myself differently this time (compared to last fall when I was building mileage and then developed symptoms of overtraining by doing too much too soon and then just didn't have anything to train for and lost the motivation to really train) is by finding races now that I can race in the next few months. I am running a 5k in a couple weeks here in town, another 5k at the end of August, and I have also signed up for a half that is going to be really competitive at the beginning of September (winner ran 1:04 last year). I am still looking for races from October onward.

From Sasha Pachev on Sat, Jun 29, 2013 at 19:45:32 from 72.250.218.114

This makes sense. Your probably then could follow the basic ideas of what you did in 2008 adapting them as necessary.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

9 miles in 1:11:05.  I felt a little stiff when I woke up this morning, and I thought that I might feel some residual soreness from the 5000 meter time trial I ran on Saturday.  Fortunately I felt good while out on my run today and I didn't feel any noticeable soreness or stiffness.  I could tell yesterday that the workout on Saturday was harder than I was accustomed to, but even yesterday the soreness was limited.

Barefoot Miles: 1.50Altra Adam Miles: 7.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

I started the run barefoot and ran the first mile in 9:07, and I made it to 1.5 miles in 13:07 before stopping to put shoes on.  After that I slowly caught up to the 8:00 guy and finally passed him just before the 7 mile mark.  Total time for 9 miles was 1:11:30.  Average pace after the first mile was 7:47.

Barefoot Miles: 1.50Altra Adam Miles: 7.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran later than normal today because Kimia had a glucose tolerance test in the morning.  I ended up running with the kids in the stroller to the hospital to meet Kimia after the test (about 2.5 miles), then we had to run to Walgreens before running home.  I had run about 5.5 miles at this point, and seeing that the run was so broken up I decided to run a little extra in order to get to 10 miles on the day instead of just 9 as I had originally planned.

I ran over to the high school because I wanted to run a few strides barefoot on the track.  I found out fairly quickly that it was a bad mistake.  At 2:45pm with a black track my feet got roasted.  I tried to go into the grass, but the grass was actually hotter than the track because it was synthetic.  I only ran 2 laps barefoot and by the end of the second lap my feet were in a fair amount of pain.  I ran home after that, and I finished up the run with a total of approximately 10 miles in 1:20:25.

Barefoot Miles: 2.00Puma Faas 250 Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.500.000.000.0010.50

I planned on running 9 miles this morning, but I ended up running 10.5.  Kimia took the kids to a multi-ward breakfast at a local park, and after she left I though it would be nice if I ended my run at the park so that I could help her bring the kids home before the parade.  So, I ran 9 miles finishing at the park and realized once I got there that Kimia had already left and gone home.  After debating what to do for a minute or so I ended up running the last 1.5 miles home.  Total time for the run was about 1:22:00.

Barefoot Miles: 1.00Altra Adam Miles: 9.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

I noticed some bruising on my left knee yesterday evening while at a concert (featured music by John Sousa as well as some additional patriotic songs played by the Ames Municipal Band).  I'm not sure where it came from, and it doesn't hurt, so I am not too worried.  Just to be safe I wore normal shoes when running today (albeit shoes with over 2,000 miles on them).  I will watch the knee over the next few days to make sure nothing is wrong.

My whole family also came down with food poisoning yesterday evening.  The likely culprit was food we took to the parade yesterday afternoon.  It sat out in the sun all afternoon, and we didn't end up eating it until we went to the concert later on in the evening.  Both kids started throwing up in the evening after we got home, while Kimia and I both felt nauseous.  I ended up throwing up at 5:30 am.

As a result of everything I already mentioned I decided to take today's run really easy.  I told Kimia before I left the house that I felt as if I would throw up while out running.  Unfortunately I was right.  I stopped at 0.75 miles to void some liquid nastiness from my southward region, I stopped a second time just past 3 miles to void a different type of liquid nastiness from my northward region, and finally I stopped at about 4.25 miles for a third and final time to void from my southward region again.  I contemplated cutting the run short because I felt gross, but ultimately I decided to just keep running slowly and to finish the run.  I ended up running 9 miles in 1:16:08.

After finishing the run I drank some water which brought on more nausea.  I ended up lying down for a while which seemed to help some.  Hopefully I will be able to get some food down later on today, because I am hungry.

Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 9.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.002.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles this morning in 1:14:31.  The first 1.5 miles were barefoot, and the rest wearing shoes.  At the end of the run I ran the final 2 miles hard (measurement is approximate).  I was lucky in that I did not have to stop at any stoplights during those 2 miles.  According to the course tool I started the 2 mile tempo at 903 ft elevation, I hit 1 mile at 950 ft, and ended at 945 ft.  This would lead me to believe that the first mile is slower than the second.  However, I ended up running the first mile in 5:44, and the second in 5:48.  Both miles have 6 turns in them, but the turns in the second mile are much sharper than those in the first making it slower than you would guess.  The second mile also rolls quite a bit slowing it down even more.  The first mile, while gaining 47 feet does have one stretch with a decent downhill in it, but otherwise climbs fairly consistently.  I had a hard time getting my legs to really move in the second mile, maybe due to all the uphill in the first mile and the turns?  According to the temperature I looked at online it was 75 degrees at the start of my run and 84 degrees at the finish.  My initial impression is that the heat did not affect me much.  I will need to think a bit more about that 2 mile tempo before I can really make any conclusions from it.

Update:  I ended up mapping the last 2 miles of my run on the course tool (I did it twice because the first time there was an error and it wiped out the whole thing).  Both times I mapped it out the distance counter showed 2.00 miles prior to hitting the Save button (it says 1.9922 when I press analyze... grrr) so I am pretty happy with myself and my ability to guess how far 2 miles was without any trail markers for guidance (There was a small section in the trees that I could not map as accurately as I wanted, but I was still able to follow the 'road' from the road overlay on the satellite image).

What does appear to be a little off is my estimated mile marker, explaining most of the discrepancy in split times (splits should probably be right around 5:45 and 5:47, or maybe both at 5:46).  The course tool says that the course is worth about .1 miles more than the actual distance due to the elevation change.  Knowing this brings things into focus for me a bit more.  It appears that I am a poor uphill runner currently, and after running uphill I seem to have trouble changing gears to get moving again (I could feel that problem during the second mile of the tempo run today).  Maybe I should start to focus on improving my uphill running ability.  I might start by running uphill strides and then work my way up to running shorter repeats up the massive hill near the 1 mile mark of the tempo.

Barefoot Miles: 1.50Saucony Kinvara Miles: 8.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

Today is my little boy's birthday.  Happy birthday Shayon!

I ran 9 miles this morning in 1:09:53.  It would have been a little slower, but I sped up for a bit to catch up to another runner.  The first two miles were barefoot and the rest was with shoes on.

Here is a picture of my birthday boy that I took before his birthday party.

 

Barefoot Miles: 2.00Altra Adam Miles: 7.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.850.000.960.199.00

I ran 9 miles today in 1:08:58.  First I ran over to the track, and after finishing up 2 miles barefoot (1 mile to the track plus 1 mile on the track), with one stride of about 50 meters thrown in to get the legs moving, I ran a small workout.  After my 2 mile tempo last Saturday exposed some weaknesses of mine I decided to take a beginning step towards fixing things.  The two main weaknesses that I could think of were a weakness when running uphill (lack of strength/power), and an inability to get my legs moving at a reasonable pace once the terrain flattened out (potentially for the same reason).

I have come up with a few ways that I can remedy those problems.  My main idea is that I simply need to run more, and that the strength will come from putting more miles in my legs as I get in better shape (this should fix at least 90% of the problem).  The next idea is to run hill repeats and instead of backing off at the top of the hill I will attempt to pick up the pace (at least maintain the effort) once the terrain flattens out for a minute or so.  Another idea I have considered is to do some box jumps, etc every other day or so (I am not so keen on this idea) in order to increase strength/power without needing to go to a gym to lift weights.  Another idea is to run a hard but submaximal effort for a set distance, followed by running some short sprints immediately after finishing in order to get myself used to changing gears even when fatigued.

The final idea listed above is what I decided to start with today because it seemed to be the easiest logistically for me to pull off (other than simply running more, which I am doing already), while it was also easy for me to keep the workout small enough that it should not put me over the top from a fatigue perspective (this has been a problem lately as I have been building mileage which has forced me to basically eliminate hard workouts).  I decided to run a fast 1600 with a sprint over the last 50-80 meters, followed by more short sprints every 200 meters thereafter (approximately).  I thought that 5:20 for 1600 should be fast enough, but I decided to not look at my watch and just focus on how things felt rather than the time.

I started the 1600 fairly quickly, however I slowed down after maybe 200 meters and settled into a nice pace.  It had rained earlier in the morning and I could tell it was much more humid than it has been lately.  I could see the steam rising off of the track when the sun came out from behind the clouds.  I ended up starting my final sprint with maybe 60 meters left and I finished the 1600 in 5:16, so pretty much right where I was hoping to be.  After 200 meters I ran the next sprint, and I repeated this every 200 meters thereafter (so about 150 meter recovery) until I had completed 4 additional sprints.

After finishing the workout I feel like this did not target my problem areas in the way that I had hoped.  I really do need to add the hills into the initial hard portion of the workout for it to work.  The hard 1600 just did not feel like it was taxing enough to do what I wanted, while running at speeds that are fast enough to stress me sufficiently may get me hurt.  If I run this same workout with the hard mile run uphill I will not need to run as fast, but I should be able to stress the system sufficiently to produce some sort of effect.

Barefoot Miles: 2.00Altra Adam Miles: 7.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

I ran 2 miles barefoot, followed by 7 miles with shoes.  Total time was 1:10:55.  I actually passed the 2 mile marker on accident without realizing it so I ran a little over two miles barefoot (about 1:00-1:30 extra).

My assumption is that accidentally passing up the two mile mark is a good thing as rather than anticipating when I get to put shoes on, because it hurts to run without them, I am starting to just relax and run without worrying what it is that I am about to step on.  However, to be honest I still feel like the skin on the bottom of my feet is fairly soft.  I would have thought that with the amount of time I spend unshod either running or walking around outside that my feet would have developed tougher callouses by now.

Barefoot Miles: 2.00Nike Free 5.0 Miles: 7.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

9 miles in 1:13:59.  Things just felt off today, so I ended up running pretty slowly.

PM: We took the kids to the mall, and I ended up running most of the way home.  About 1 mile extra. 

Barefoot Miles: 1.00Altra Adam Miles: 9.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

I still felt off, similar to yesterday so I mainly just trudged through my run again.  9 miles in 1:14:20.  I did speed up to about 7:00 pace for one quarter, and oddly enough that felt more comfortable than the slower speeds I had been running.  Hopefully this is a good sign for my chances at the race I am running tomorrow evening.

Barefoot Miles: 1.00Altra Adam Miles: 9.00
Race: Midnight Madness 5k (3.107 Miles) 00:17:11, Place overall: 19
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.003.000.008.00

Bad race.  Not much to report on the race itself as I was sick, and I have been feeling really tired lately.  I have also been getting bad rashes that cover most of my body and had another flare up a few hours after the race which, along with some other symptoms, prompted a trip to the emergency room at 1 AM.  About an hour after the race I also started getting bad chills, and I was shivering so bad that I was biting my tongue, my back and other muscles were locking up, and I could barely walk.  Before the race I was also having some issues as I felt like I was not getting much air in.  It felt like my airways were slightly constricted and dry.

After the race started I made efforts to not start off too fast, but still started off faster than I should have.  My goal for the first mile was 5:20, but I ended up with about a 5:10-11 (estimated as I missed the mark by a few seconds and did not look at my watch until it read 5:13).  I was in 13th place and already moving backwards.  I was passed by two people about 100 meters later pushing me into 15th place.  I stayed there until just before the 2 mile mark when I passed one of them back hitting 2 miles in 10:39.  Within a quarter mile however two more people passed me, with a third passing me shortly thereafter.  Two more people passed me during the final straightaway pushing me back into 19th place.

I started having a side stitch during the second mile.  I felt like I was still not getting enough air in.  I drank a little water at an aid station which made things worse.  I struggled fighting cramps, nausea, and side stitches for the rest of the race.  It didn't help that the last ~1.25 miles was almost all into a headwind (lots of tailwind during parts of miles 1 and 2, but we had to run back into it at the end).

So, the race was not one I want to remember, but Anita was able to run her first ever "race".  She doesn't quite get the concept of running as fast as you can.  She just trotted along and enjoyed the 45 seconds it took her to run down the street and back (when she is excited and is playing she can run rather fast, but minus the motivation she will not run fast at all).  They gave super hero capes to all of the kids, which Anita liked.  I also gave her my age group medal as a prize for running.  Shayon slept through the entire thing or he would have run as well.

Some pictures:

Anita showing off her cape

Anita and I before the race

 

Anita and the other kids running in the kids dash

Anita and the superhero runner lady after the race

 

 

I guess we forgot to take pictures of Shayon because he was sleeping in the stroller... Oh well. 

 

Barefoot Miles: 1.00Puma Faas 200 Miles: 7.00
Comments
From Sasha Pachev on Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 17:24:13 from 69.28.149.29

Something is going on health-wise it seems. Do you connect this to your troubles in your last marathon?

From jeffmc on Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 19:14:43 from 65.110.254.156

I am not sure quite yet, but I am starting to think there may be a connection. I had an elevated CRP test this week (test for inflammation), while pericarditis manifests through inflammation/fluid around the heart.

The Dr. and I are looking into potential autoimmune disorders, arthritis, etc. and we are going to try and figure out what is wrong. I will probably be referred to a rheumatologist in the near future.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

The Dr. at the ER yesterday recommended that I take a little time off just to be safe.  I rode the bike to a follow up appointment today and did not feel good so I decided to follow his counsel.  The Dr. ordered some blood tests which will hopefully tell me something.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

I ran 6 miles in 48:53.  I felt horrible during the run.  The run would have been slower except I ran 1 mile in 6:35 in an attempt to test things out.

I also found out yesterday that one of my blood tests was off.  It was the C-Reactive Protein test.  This is produced by the liver and elevated levels provide a general clue that inflammation is present somewhere in the body.  My levels were not super high, but they were higher than normal.  I have another appointment tomorrow.

Altra Adam Miles: 6.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.500.000.000.008.50

I ran 8.5 miles today in 1:11:12.  I did not feel good, but I felt better than yesterday.  I actually think that I felt worse yesterday because I did not run 4 days in a row.  Running fatigues me at the moment, but not running leaves me more fatigued in the long run.

I also had another Dr. appointment today.   The Dr. ordered more tests including tests for ferritin and rheumatoid factor.  It is actually possible that my ferritin levels are too high, while rheumatoid factor is an initial test for arthritis.  The Dr. ordered some more tests, but I do not remember what they all are.  He also said that he would probably refer me to a rheumatologist.

Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 8.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.000.000.000.0011.00

11 miles in 1:30:33.  The run was super slow again, but I was actually happy with it as I felt better than yesterday, and I ran the last 4 miles in 32:06, which is not bad considering my first mile was 8:49.

Puma Faas 250 Miles: 11.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles today in 1:20:49.  Last 4 miles in 31:16.  Other than the race on the 13th and some minimal speedwork I haven't run anything that fast for a while, which is kind of sad considering my fastest mile today was only 7:42.  I am feeling better pretty much every day, so that is good.  The exeption to this was Sunday, but I had no run planned as usual and I took a 4 hour nap.

Adidas Adizero Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles this morning in 1:19:46.  I was happy to average under 8:00 pace for the first time in a while.  My first mile was 8:29, but due to a mild tailwind I had caught the 8:00 guy by the 5 mile mark where I turned around.  I had a mild headwind and net elevation increase the second half of the run so I ran right around 8:00 pace for the rest of the run.

Altra Adam Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles this morning in 1:18:46.  I hit 5 miles in 39:24, and ran the second half of the run in 39:22.  The running has been getting better and better every day lately.  Last night was rough as I felt run down and I was having headaches, but after 10 hours of sleep I felt decent this morning.

Saucony Kinvara Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles today in 1:18:39, hitting the halfway mark in 40:03, and finishing the second half in 38:36.  I felt kind of sluggish at the beginning, however my legs seemed to wake up just before I hit the halfway mark, and I sped up quite a bit.  I ran the last mile in 7:27/7:28, which surprised me a little bit.

I have another Dr. appointment tomorrow morning.  We will see what comes of it.  From the results I got from my blood work last Friday it seems one of the liver tests they did had borderline high (or low?) values, but additional testing came back normal.  All of the other tests were supposedly normal, but I will hear more about this tomorrow.  Blood testing can be frustrating at times because of the huge ranges that are accepted as normal in the medical community.  Unless your test results are so far off that you are incapable of performing general daily tasks it is hard to know if a value is actually off for a specific individual.

Nike Free 5.0 Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

I found out today that I have Mono.  I had felt sluggish at the beginning of my run yesterday, as well as yesterday evening and this morning.  This explains part of the problems I was having.  I decided to take a little time off so that things don't get worse.  I have heard horror stories of people that still tried to exercise when they had mono.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

no running so far this week.  I have been sleeping a lot.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Still no running, but I decided to start cycling some because it puts less stress on me and this way I am at least able to do some exercise without worrying too much about overdoing things.  According to blood tests a couple days ago the mono is still getting worse, but I feel about the same.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.500.000.000.006.50

I ran 6.5 miles today.  I did not feel too good afterwards, so I probably need to back off again and keep cycling.  I have not been keeping track of how far I bike, I just ride for a while.  sometimes with Kimia and the kids and sometimes alone.

Altra Adam Miles: 6.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

More cycling the last few days.  Still not keeping track of how far or how long.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Cycling for the first few days of this week.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

We went camping yesterday evening.  I did a run today at the campground.  I will estimate that I ran about 6 miles.

A couple pictures...

We told Shayon to swim in the water.  Evidently he thought swimming was the same as taking a bath, so he stripped off his swimming trunks and started splashing around naked.

Anita was afraid of the water for some reason (maybe she thought it would be cold) so I ended up setting her down in the mud so that she wouldn't have to get in the water.

Saucony Kinvara Miles: 6.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.500.000.000.006.50

I ran 6.5 miles today.  I strained my quad (I am thinking the sartorius, but I am not completely sure) before I found out that I had mono and I thought that it would be fine by now since I have not been running much.  No such luck for me as it hurts worse now that it did before.  It was fairly painful.

Altra Adam Miles: 6.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.500.000.000.006.50

6.5 miles again.  I think that the distance is too much for my quad to handle.  I will back off some for the next little while.  The mono is not getting better very quickly either.

Puma Faas 200 Miles: 6.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
1.250.000.000.001.25

I only ran about 10 minutes today.  I could have run more, but I just wasn't feeling up for it.  I also rode the bike some today.  From here on out I will probably be riding the bike some every day as I will be riding to and from school, plus a little extra to run errands, etc.

Altra Adam Miles: 1.25
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

4 miles.  This distance felt decent.  My leg still hurt some, but I didn't feel like I was making it worse.

Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 4.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

4 miles today.  I felt tired.

Altra Adam Miles: 4.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

I felt like the mono was still affecting me so I just rode the bike the last two days.  Today I was near the lake with the kids and I saw this:

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

4 miles this afternoon.  I also biked about 12 miles going to and from school and then riding to the store with Kimia and the kids (I figure that I should at least try to guess how far I am riding).

Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 4.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

I ran 4 miles today in about 33 minutes.  Only 3 miles on the bike.  Kimia made me raw vegan carrot cupcakes for my birthday.

Anita made me a pretty birthday card.  She wrote her name all by herself.

Altra Adam Miles: 4.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

I ran 4 miles in just over 32 minutes today.  I biked about 6 miles riding to and from school twice.

Puma Faas 250 Miles: 4.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.500.000.000.005.50

 

I rode my bike to meet Tyler (a former student from my running class) this morning.  We ran about 5.5 miles together, after which I rode the bike home.  I then rode the bike to school, rode the bike at lunch to pick up a book for school then rode the bike home in the evening.  After getting home Anita wanted to go on a bike ride, so we ended up riding as a family to the other end of town and back.  I will estimate 17.5 miles total on the bike today.

Saucony Kinvara Miles: 5.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.500.000.000.004.50

 

I ran 4.5 miles with my running class this morning.  I could tell that I overdid things on the bike yesterday so I took it easy.  I ended up riding about 6 miles on the bike to school and back

Altra Adam Miles: 4.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

I didn't run at all today, but we went with some friends to a bike trail in Slater, IA and rode out to Woodward, IA before riding back.  Total distance was just over 25 miles round trip.  I was pulling over 100 lbs extra because I was towing the kids and our lunch, etc. in the trailer.  The extra weight definitely makes things more difficult.  Kimia did rather well considering she is 36 weeks pregnant.  She had some mild contractions on the way back because she was getting slightly dehydrated, but after a short rest and some fluids she was fine.

The High Tressle Trail bridge.  They light this guy up at night

The biggest praying mantis that I have ever seen.  Probably about as long as my hand

At the bridge overlooking the river (I think it is one of the tributaries to the Mississippi).  We are all squinting because the sun was in our eyes.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

I ran 4 miles this morning in just under 32 minutes.  My left quad still feels tight when I run, however there is slowly beginning to be less pain which leads me to think that I may be able to increase the mileage soon.  9 miles on the bike, riding too and from school, and to the store in the evening.

Puma Faas 250 Miles: 4.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.500.000.000.005.50

I ran about 5.5 miles with Tyler this morning.  I rode about 5.5 miles on the bike as well, riding to school and back and riding to meet Tyler and then back home.

Altra Adam Miles: 5.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.500.000.000.005.50

I ran some with my running class this morning, and then ran a little more after class with Jackson, one of my students.  Total of about 5.5 miles.  I only rode about 3 miles on the bike today, riding to school and back

Adidas Adizero Miles: 5.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

I ran in Omaha today as I drove out early this morning for the American Society of Biomechanics national meeting.  I found out very quickly that once you leave downtown Omaha, the city is super ghetto.  I definitely would not want to run in those neighborhoods after dark.

Anita started preschool today as well.  She does not go for very long, but it gives her the opportunity to spend some time in a fun setting.  She was super excited to ride the bus this morning.  Here are some pictures Kimia took (I didn't want to miss out while in Omaha).

The excited girl in front of our house

At the bus stop

Ready to get on the bus

Altra Adam Miles: 4.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

I ran 4 miles this morning in Omaha.  I stayed in downtown this time because traffic was minimal at 6 AM.  I enjoyed being able to see some of the older buildings mixed in with the newer architecture.  Old buildings give a city some style (as long as they are not falling apart).

Puma Faas 200 Miles: 4.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

One last run in Omaha before heading home.  I ran along the river today that marks the Iowa/Nebraska border.  I left later this morning, but still early enough to see some of the early morning color in the clouds from the sunrise.  Not as pretty as what I would see in Washington when the sun would come up behind Mt. Ranier in the morning, but pretty nonetheless.

Altra Adam Miles: 4.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.500.000.000.004.50

I ran about 4.5 miles this morning, running most of it with my running class.

I ended up biking about 9 miles as I had to go back and forth to campus multiple times during the day

Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 4.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.500.000.000.004.50

I ran 4.5 miles this morning in 34:47. I saw the soon to be temple matron at the winter quarters temple on her bike, so I sped up and ran 1 mile in 6:33 while chatting with her. The faster speed actually hurt my quad less than the slower speed normally does. I wonder if it has something to do with the mechanical work being done. Mostly I am just glad that my leg is getting better, although I still wonder why things got worse after I took some time off from running to let myself recover from mono.

I only rode 3 miles on the bike today, riding to and from school one time.  In the evening I ran about a half mile with Kimia (I am guessing it was about 12 minute mile pace, so I won't count it toward the mileage).  She hasn't been running this pregnancy because she has been riding the bike instead, but she wanted to run a little to try and stretch herself out a bit since the baby is due in 2.5 weeks.

Nike Free 5.0 Miles: 4.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.500.000.000.004.50

I ran with my running class this morning, running for 36:53.  I will count it as 4.5 miles.  I also rode to school, so by the time I get home tonight I will be at 3 miles on the bike as well

Altra Adam Miles: 4.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.500.000.000.005.50

I ran 5.5 miles with Tyler this morning in about 43 minutes.  My quad hurt a little more today than it has the last couple days, but overall it was not too bad.  I rode the bike to where I met Tyler, and also rode to school for a total of 5.5 miles on the bike.

Lately, my knee has also been acting up a little bit on the same side of my body where I strained my quad.  It started to hurt off and on about a month ago when I was on the bike, but it was so mild that I just passed it off as nothing.  Since then I have experienced no pain while running, and I have been more careful on the bike (as I had mostly been biking very short distances I would almost always ride as fast as I could for those short distances and I think it put a little extra stress on the knee that I was unaccustomed to) only feeling some knee discomfort when I went on a 25 mile bike ride a few weeks ago.  However, in the past week or so the knee has started to feel tight when I am sitting or lying down, and I have felt some mild discomfort while running on two occasions.  This makes me wonder if I am compensating for the hurt quad in some way that is putting undue strain on my knee.  I hope that this does not become a problem.  I just want to be able to run without being run down from mono, without pain in my quad, and without pain in my knee.  Is that really too much to ask?

In the evening I ran a little over 3/4 mile with Kimia.  Running to try and speed up the pregnancy doesn't seem to be working this time because Kimia is in better shape than she was with the past pregnancies.

 

Saucony Kinvara Miles: 5.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.500.000.000.004.50

I ran about 4.5 miles with my running class this morning in about 36 minutes.  I felt more positive about things today as my leg felt the best it has all week.  My knee felt decent despite waking up feeling sore and achy all over this morning (I am at a loss for what caused that as I have been doing the same thing nearly every day and have not felt any muscle soreness for a long time).  Near the end of the run both the quad and knee felt just a little achy, but there was no pain, so I am happy with that. I rode the bike for about 6 miles total today as I rode to and from school 2 times.

Puma Faas 200 Miles: 4.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.500.000.000.004.50

 

4.5 miles this morning in 35:16.  I felt pretty good this morning, which was encouraging.  My knee started to feel just a little tight with about a half mile to go, but it was not bad.  I ended up biking with Kimia to a tail gate party and to the store in the afternoon, totaling approximately 9 miles.

Altra Adam Miles: 4.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.005.00

I ran approximately 5 miles this morning, running most of it with my running class.  I suspect that I may have actually run a bit farther than 5 miles, but I have no measurements where we ran today, so I am not completely sure.  My leg a knee felt pretty good today as I did not feel any tightness or soreness until the last half mile or so (this is the best I have felt in quite a while), although my back felt tight and uncomfortable for pretty much the entire run (bummer).  I ended up biking 6 miles today as I rode to and from school twice.

On a side note, Kimia has still not had the baby.  Now, she has not even hit 39 weeks yet, but if you would have asked me on Thursday I would have sworn that the baby was going to come over the weekend due to the number of contractions that Kimia was having.  As a result, I am now getting just a little impatient (and I am not the one packing an extra 30 pounds with a baby inside of me, imagine how Kimia must feel).

Altra Adam Miles: 5.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.005.00

I ran 5 miles this morning in 38:16.  This is the fastest run (pace/mile) that I have completed in a while as it was raining and my rain jacket seems to have lost its waterproofing so I ran a little quicker.  On the plus side of things my leg felt pretty good with the exception of a short stretch around mile 3 when the quad tightened up for a bit.  My back on the other hand was complaining for the majority of the run, similar to yesterday.  I am not quite sure what is going on there as I have had chronic back pain for years, however my problems have been fairly minimal for approximately 3 years now.  It seems too coincidental that around the same time period that I am having quad and knee issues, my back starts acting up again, with the discomfort localized to the left side only (the same side where I am having the other problems).  I stretched out my back and hamstrings after I got home in an effort to try and minimize the discomfort in my back.

Puma Faas 250 Miles: 5.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

I haven't run yet today, and I am not sure if I will because Kimia had our baby at 5:36 am.  Both mom and baby are doing great.  To top things off, Kimia rode her bike approximately 3 miles from our apartment to the hospital before having the baby.  Kimia actually said that riding the bike made the contractions more manageable, and she was not in as much pain while riding, wherease when stopped she couldn't even walk.  We rolled into the parking lot at about 5:15 am, and by the time we got situated around 5:30 am it was just about time to start pushing.  I will upload photos when I get the chance.

Mom and baby Kamran just following the birth

Kamran doesn't seem to like the lights very much

In riding the bike to the hospital and back home later on in the day to pick up the kids I ended up riding about 5.5 miles, although I did not run at all.

Comments
From jtshad on Wed, Sep 18, 2013 at 08:00:35 from 141.221.191.225

Congratulations on the new family member.

From Burt on Wed, Sep 18, 2013 at 08:03:28 from 174.26.216.3

Way to go! Congratulations!

From Kim on Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at 11:38:00 from 160.7.247.191

I just noticed your story on the honor board and had to come see if you had pics! What an awesome story...as if having a baby isn't awesome enough! Congratulations to all of you. Beautiful baby and gorgeous mom!

From Burt on Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at 11:52:00 from 71.216.109.214

Escape hatch. Ha!

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

The only chance I had to run today was in the morning.  Due to the fact that Kimia was at the hospital and I was alone at home with the kids I was unable to run.  I thought that after Kimia's dad got to Ames from the airport I would be able to go on a run, but we got home from the hospital late enough that there was not enough time.

On a side note: while we were getting ready to leave the hospital another mom was in delivery.  Everything had been progressing normally, but the baby did not start breathing when it was born.  The baby was rushed to the NICU, while the mother, grandmother, and aunt were distraught.  We saw them crying as they spoke to others on the phone, worried that their little baby was about to die.  Seeing the pain expressed on their faces caused me to reflect on our own baby sleeping peacefully just a few feet away.  How grateful I am that our little Kamran did not have to go through an ordeal such as that.

Kimia and I ended up going into the waiting room with the grandmother and aunt and we offered to say a prayer with them to help in their time of need.  They are not of our faith (they are Quakers), but they accepted and I was able to offer a prayer to our father in heaven asking that their little one would be spared.  Shortly after we finished the prayer a nurse came in to the waiting room to talk with the grandmother and we went back to our own room.  The aunt came to speak with us later and told us that the baby had begun to breathe on its own and that the doctors believed that the baby had come down with some sort of infection which had caused the initial problems.  While the baby was not completely out in the clear the prognosis was looking much better.

I felt the hand of the Lord in our life yesterday, prompting me to go and help comfort this family.  I feel blessed to have a healthly baby boy, who was born without complications, and I feel blessed to have been able to give aid to this family in their time of need.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Here are a few more pictures that we took while at the hospital:

Anita holding baby Kamran,

Shayon holding the baby,

Anita and Shayon holding the baby.  I love the look on Shayon's face in this picture, he looks so devious.  Both kids love giving kisses to the baby, they are very sweet.

The whole family together

Comments
From Sasha Pachev on Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 13:07:53 from 192.168.1.1

Belated congratulations. Kamran is a familiar name to me - a few years ago I did a little bit of work for a guy named Kamran who had a website dedicated to soccer. He was Iranian.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.500.000.000.005.50

I ran about 5.5 miles today, running about 3.5 miles with my running class, and running the last 2 miles alone.  My leg is continuing to improve, while I have not felt any discomfort in the knee in the last few days.  My back on the other hand does not feel good.  I am not sure if my hips have gotten out of alignment or if I am dealing with pain related to overcompensation following the leg injury.

As far as baby updates go, we came home from the hospital last night, and baby Kamran pooped multiple times in the middle of the night.  Kimia is pretty tired because she was up with Kamran quite a bit.  I did get up with Shayon as he wet his pants in the middle of the night and I got to change him and put him back to sleep.  Unfortunately however, Shayon was having trouble going back to sleep so he ended up sleeping with me in our bed for half of the night (its good we are small people, because otherwise we would not all fit in bed).

Here are a few more pictures that we took before leaving the hospital yesterday:

Kamran with his eyes open

Kamran sleeping in the car seat shortly before going home

Altra Adam Miles: 5.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

I ran 6 miles this morning in about 46:30.  I felt pretty good for most of the run.  My quad felt mildly tight for part of the run, but not bad, while my knee only felt odd for a minute or so as I was running up the hill towards my apartment at the end of the run.  My back did not feel good, but did not feel too bad either, as I was able to do things while running to help it relax so that there was minimal discomfort.

Nike Free 5.0 Miles: 6.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.500.000.500.006.00

I ran about 3 miles with my running class this morning, followed by another 3 miles alone in 21:42.  I was feeling decent, and I was running about 7:30 pace pretty easily, so I decided to run a half mile fast as a test of where my fitness is at, with plans to bail if my quad started to act up.  I ran the half mile in 2:40 (81, 79) with the first half being flat, and the second half having a net uphill.  I felt pretty smooth the first quarter mile, but during the second quarter I felt like my aerobic system was lacking and I had to work harder (I was also running uphill and I sped up).  Overall I was pleased because I was not shooting for a specific time and 5:20 pace came naturally.

My leg felt decent during the run as I could feel just a shade of tightness letting me know that it is not completely healed, but no pain.  My back was acting up again, and I am not sure exactly how to fix that.  I feel like my hips are somewhat out of alignment again, and that may be part of the problem.  I also feel like my hamstrings are super tight all the time.  I am going to work on getting my hamstrings looser, while trying to realign my hips as well.

Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 6.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

I ran 6 miles this morning.  I was supposed to meet up with Tyler, but he showed up late and we missed each other (It reminds me of when I used to run with Sasha, except I was the one showing up late).  While running, I observed a couple things:

First, I am not yet ready to run fast at all.  My leg and knee have been feeling sore/tight/stiff/none of the above/all of the above (its hard to describe what it feels like, just know it doesn't feel good) although I feel fortunate that my knee did not bother me while running (I generally only notice the knee when I am sitting).  My left quad and knee had progressively been feeling better, yet after running fast yesterday (for a measely half mile!) they are feeling more tender while at rest.  I also feel that the additional discomfort I felt during my run today was likely due to running fast yesterday.

Second, I think that I may be onto something in guessing that my problems are primarily related to my pelvis being out of alignment.  I performed some stretches/exercises yesterday, and my back felt much better when I woke up this morning (compared to the last few days), while there was no noticable discomfort in my quad either (the knee did not feel good, so its not like I did some miracle stretch or something).  The lack of discomfort persisted throughout the first mile and a half of my run this morning, after which things went downhill.  The last 4.5 miles of the run were not very comfortable as my back and quad were both acting up.  I ended up stretching out my hamstrings and back after I got home with the hope that some good will come of it.  The reason I feel like the exercises I did may have helped is primarily due to how I felt waking up.  Lately my back has felt stiff waking up, which indicates to me that it may not be in proper alignment.  I slept on the same mattress as always last night, yet may back did not feel as stiff in the morning, and there was less pain for the first part of my run.  I will need to keep monitoring things to see if I can keep progressing.

Altra Adam Miles: 6.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

I ran 6 miles today, running a little over three miles with my running class, and then running a little less than three miles on my own.  I timed two miles near the end of the run in 15:01 (7:27, 7:34) but otherwise the distance was an estimate assuming I was running approximately 8:00 pace (seems fairly accurate as I run slower with my running class than when I am alone).

Puma Faas 200 Miles: 6.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

I ran 6 miles this morning in 45:34.  I ran a little faster than I intended to as there were more people out than normal this morning, and I got excited.  

Temps were in the 50's this morning when I left to run, and being a wus for cold weather I was wearing long sleeves, pants, and gloves.  Most other people out running were wearing less clothing than I was, but I did see one other person wearing long sleeves and pants.  Being dressed as I was, I was surprised about 2.5 miles into the run when I passed by another runner wearing nothing other than a tiny pair of shorts and a sports bra.  Now I understand that temps in the 50's are not that cold, but they are definitely not hot either, and I really do not see a point in wearing so little clothing in this type of weather.

This actually reminds me of a Sunday back in late 2005 when I was driving down the road on my way to church and I passed by an older guy out running with no shirt on.  If I remember right it was close to 30 degrees outside that morning (maybe in the high 20's?).  That struck me as downright crazy.  In a strange twist I saw a newspaper article just a few days later where this same guy was interviewed and he talked about running shirtless in New York City when it was 15 degrees outside.  He seemed to like doing it for the attention.  If it isn't for the attention however, why bother?  I remember back when I used to like running shirtless (I would run that way fairly frequently), but even then I would put on a shirt as soon as it started to cool down so I really am not getting it.  Am I just missing something here?

On an additional side note, I have been building bunk beds for my kids with the help of my father in law.  I decided to build them, rather than buy them, because I came across a bunch of free wood, and because I wanted bunk beds that were shorter than the standard height (due to having a toddler that will be sleeping on the top bunk).  We are almost done, and the kids slept on their new beds for the first time last night.  All that is left is to put together the ladder, and maybe do some touchup sanding/staining.  Overall I am pretty happy with how things turned out.  Here are a few pictures of the almost finished project in addition to some other unrelated pics:

The new bed (the kids picked out their own sheets)

The dinosaur Shayon made out of playdough (I think this is pretty good for a two year old)

My sweet baby Kamran sleeping on my chest

Altra Adam Miles: 6.00
Comments
From steve ash on Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 12:46:37 from 64.134.220.84

Family life seems to suit you well Jeff. Do you have any plans to get back into the racing scene soon?

From jeffmc on Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 12:51:23 from 129.186.252.75

As soon as I can get healthy enough to train more I am going to take another shot at getting back into racing shape. Currently my pelvis is all messed up (I think) and it is causing some sort of discomfort or pain in my left knee, left quad, and low back. As a result I have to be really careful to not run too much until I get things sorted out.

From Sasha Pachev on Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 13:12:13 from 192.168.1.1

Jeff - I think you will enjoy this story. One time Sarah came home from her run and said she saw the BYU team and the UVU team. I asked her how she knew who they were. She said they were shirtless. I asked her how she knew the difference between the two. She said that the BYU guys had blue shorts, while the UVU had green.

From steve ash on Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 13:42:40 from 174.52.33.62

Seems like I heard that story somewhwere..

Every guy coming down that canyon was shirtless but us! It was pretty warm and humid today..

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

I ran 6 miles today, with a total time of 43:30.  I ran the majority of my run with my running class.  I ended up running fairly quickly for most of the run because I was going back and forth between the different groups of students.  The positive I will take from this is that speeding up came fairly naturally.  This tells me that I am likely ready to start increasing the mileage a little more, and that my body should be able to handle it without causing additional pain to the knee, quad or back.  My back felt a lot better while I was running today as well.  I will attribute this to the hamstring and back stretches I have been performing recently, in addition to some core exercises.  The quad and knee have been feeling pretty decent for a while now (with the exception of Tuesday), so after today I see no need to comment further on the progress there, unless something flares up again.  The next step for me will be to get my back pain free when I am not running.  Once that is taken care of I think that the running will take care of itself.

Adidas Adizero Miles: 6.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.500.000.000.006.50

 

I ran 6.5 miles this morning in 47:21.  I timed 4 miles in the middle of the run in 7:07, 7:10, 7:09, 7:11.  I had no intention of running that fast, but I started off the run fast and then struggled to force myself to slow down until the last mile of the run.  My back did not feel good, but it did not feel horrible either.  I think that I just need to keep doing what I have been doing and my back will eventually get better.

Altra Adam Miles: 6.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.000.007.00

I ran 7 miles today, running the first part of the run with my running class, and then finishing up the run on my own.  Total time was 51:17.  My back still felt kind of tight and painful while running, but it did not hurt too bad.  I think that sleeping on the floor the last couple nights has been helpful.  I stretched out my hamstrings and low back after running as well.  I am already noticing that my hamstrings are getting more flexible than they were previously (although I still have rather poor flexibility).

Altra Adam Miles: 7.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.000.007.00

I ran approximately 7 miles this morning in 52:15.  I ran to school and met up with Tyler, and after running about 4.5 miles with him I ran home.  During the run home something unexpected happened.  I stopped to do my business in some tall grass near the road.  In order to remain invisible to the cars I had to hold a rather awkward position, squatting down really low to the ground while keeping my feet far enough forward to avoid soiling them with my excrements.  When I stood up to run again my back did not hurt as much as it did prior to performing the squat.  This made me wonder if squatting in that fashion somehow caused my pelvis to realign itself naturally.  Now, this wasn't some sort of miracle cure, as my back still hurts while I type, but it did enough to make me wonder if there is more to explore there.

Asics Speedstar Miles: 7.00
Comments
From Burt on Tue, Oct 01, 2013 at 12:35:12 from 71.216.109.214

I really like this entry.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.000.007.00

I ran 7 miles this morning in 53:27.  I ran the first part of the run with my running class, and I ran the rest of the run on my own.  When I woke up this morning my back felt the best that it has felt in a while.  This persisted through the first part of the run today, but unfortunately it did not last.  My back started to get stiff and hurt a bit partway through the run, persisting until the end.  The positive that I am taking from all of this is that things are getting better.  Progress is painfully slow (literally), but at least I can say that I am making progress.

Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 7.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.000.007.00

I ran approximately 7 miles this morning in 54:30.  I was supposed to meet Tyler, but he never showed up so I ran alone.  My back felt decent but not great this morning. This is a positive for me because I helped a neighbor move a couch into his apartment last night and my back was fairly sore afterwards.  I was worried that I would experience a fair amount of pain, which never materialized.

About 5 miles into the run I performed a little experiment.  I mentioned on Tuesday that while hiding in some tall grass I had to squat super low in order to remain unseen while doing my business.  Upon commencing running once more I noticed that my back felt better.  Today I decided to see if there was something inherently special about holding a super low squat, so I stopped, spread my legs out a little wider than normal (to simulate the attempt to avoid getting my nastiness on my shoes when in the bushes) and I squatted down really low, holding the squat for about 20-30 seconds.

I didn't notice anything special at first, but I remembered that on Tuesday I had also bent forward at the waist to get my torso lower to the ground.  When I did this I felt like there was a slight stretch in my low back, and when I stood up I felt less discomfort.  It made me think that my pelvis rotated just slightly when I squatted like that, prompting a slight decompression on one side of the vertebrae.  Unfortunately, whatever happened did not last and within a mile I felt no different than I had felt previously.  The positive is that I felt better after I held the squat, while the negative is I still do not know what actually happened to make things feel better.

I may try squating as such on occasion during my runs or while at school/work if my back is feeling off.  Maybe I will get a better idea of what is happening through repetition.  I also think that I should name the squat.  Since I discovered this while doing my business maybe I should name it based on it origins?  Something like "nature's squat", or maybe the "squatting dog", or "excreta's squat".

Altra Adam Miles: 7.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.000.007.00

I ran 7 miles this morning in 53:51.  I ran the first half of the run with my running class, and I ran the second half on my own.  During the second half of the run I picked up the pace four times for 10-20 seconds.  The point of doing this was to see how my back and leg would respond to running fast without risking injury by running hard for long periods of time.  Picking up the pace a bit actually caused me to wonder if the problems I have been having with my left quad are partially due to some sort of nerve impingement.  I still feel a pinching sensation in my quad (at the proximal end just below the ASIS) despite the absence of pain for the last week or two.  I actually notice this sensation more when walking than when running.  Sometimes this pinching sensation actually radiates upwards into my pelvis and low back as well.  I will have to look more into that.

Saucony Kinvara Miles: 7.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.004.000.000.007.00

I ran 7 miles this morning in 45:16.  I got out the door later than planned and as a result I decided to run a little faster so that I wouldn't miss any of general conference.  I didn't want to risk hurting myself, but recently I have felt like the pain I have been feeling is not muscular, but maybe nerve related and as a result I felt like I was not taking too large of a risk by running a little faster.  What I did not realize was how fast I would naturally start to run without really trying to run fast.

I started the run, and I figured that if I started below 7:30 for the first mile I could then speed up to sub 7:00 pace, maybe even 6:30-6:40.  Still worried about potential injury I did not feel comfortable going faster than that.  I ran the first mile in about 7:20, and a little over a minute later when I hit the trail (where there are markers every quarter mile) I started timing my splits.  I felt like I was running around 6:40 pace, maybe a little faster, so I was rather surprised when I hit the half mile mark in 3:05.  The pace felt so easy that I decided to just keep going.  The next half mile was 3:00, followed by 2:53 and 2:51 for the next two half mile segments after which the trail ends (so, 6:05 and 5:44 mile splits, 11:49 for 2 miles).  I felt like I was maxing out aerobically at about 5:40 mile pace, which is unsurprising considering my training (or lack thereof), but I was happy that the effort did not feel too taxing from a muscular standpoint.

After using the port-o-potty nearby I ran a little extra until I hit my turn around, came back, and started heading back on the trail towards home.  On the way back I was running slightly uphill (vs. slightly downhill on the way out) and I ran splits of 1:29, 2:51, 1:26 (5:46 mile), followed by 2:48, and 2:47 splits (5:35 mile, 11:21 for 2 miles).  I definitely felt like I was going anaerobic near the end of the second mile when I was running up a steeper uphill grade and I was going faster than I had run early on.  Overall, running hard today felt really good.  It has been a while since I have run hard, and I was missing it (no hard runs since I got mono in July).  To top things off, my back was feeling better today than any other day this week, and the different focus during the run shifted my focus away from my back and I was able to ignore things for all but the first mile of the run.

On a side note, I figured it would be good to post a few more pictures of my little people.

Anita holding baby Kamran

Anita holding Kamran #2 (she loves holding him, it is very cute)

Kamran doing what he does best, sleep!

Kamran smiling in his sleep while wearing the blanket that Grandma McClellan made for him

Shayon taking a nap on the living room floor

Altra Adam Miles: 7.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

While watching general conference today one of the speakers spoke about developing physical endurance and related it to the development of spiritual endurance.  Since this is a running blog I figured that mentioning this talk here specifically was relevant.  The speaker, Elder Maynes, mentioned that our testimonies, like our bodies, need to be in shape if we are to endure.  We will not be in good spiritual shape just from watching general conference, just as we will not be in good physical shape if all we do is watch sports on television.  The "price" that Elder Maynes said must be paid to develop spiritual or physical endurance is "dedication, perseverance, and self-discipline".  I feel like those words ought to be remembered by any runner who is striving to imrove and get faster, for it is impossible to do so without maintaining consistency in training and avoiding injury.  If we are dedicated and persevere we will out of necessity maintain that consistency in training that is required to develop strength and speed, while self-discipline can be employed to avoid the common pitfalls that cause many of us to become injured, etc.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

I ran approximately 8 miles this morning in 1:01:43.  I ran about 5 miles with my running class, and then another 3 miles on my own after class was over.

Puma Faas 250 Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

I met Tyler this morning, and we ran together.  As I was running to meet Tyler I felt really sluggish, averaging slower than 8:40 per mile on the way to our meeting point.  After we started running together my legs seemed to really wake up, and the two of us sped up quite a bit.  At one point Tyler looked at his watch and it claimed we were running about 7:10 pace (we were out in the open so the gps was probably reasonably accurate).  After we got back onto campus I ran with Tyler towards his apartment for a few minutes before turning back and heading home.  Total of about 9 miles in 1:08:31.

Altra Adam Miles: 9.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

I ran approximately 8 miles today in 1:03:44.  I did not get much sleep last night because of a school assignment so I felt really sluggish today.  My running class met at the ISU cross country course, and while there I ran the 5k course in 24:34.  There are a lot of hills on the course, and I could tell that my back was pretty stiff going downhill but otherwise my back actually felt pretty good.

On the other hand, my leg has not really been making any progress over the last week or so, which is frustrating.  I am becoming more and more convinced that there is some sort of impingement on the femoral nerve, as I feel clicking in my hips when I straighten my legs out while in a prone position, I have point sensitivity on one or two of the vertebrae in the lumbar spine, and the location I most frequently feel discomfort in the left quad is right where the femoral nerve exits from under the inguinal ligament.  The discomfort also has a distinctively non-muscular feel, more like a pinching feeling, and less like a stretching or compressive force, while on occasion the pain will radiate up through the iliac crest and into my back.  I feel like I am just about at the tipping point where I will go to see a doctor for this, as it has been 3 months since I started having problems with my leg, and I have tried just about everything that I know how to do to fix the problem. 

Nike Free 5.0 Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

8 miles this morning in 1:03:07.  I ran about 4 miles with Tyler and ran the rest of the run alone. My back felt pretty stiff starting off, but it felt better after I got warmed.  My leg felt similar to my back, hurting more at the beginning and feeling better as I was able to relax more.

Altra Adam Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

I ran the first 3.5 miles of the run today with my running class, after which I ran another 4.5 miles on my own.  Total of 8 miles in 1:03:09.  My leg was bothering me more than normal during the last mile or two of the run.

Adidas Adizero Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

I ran 9 miles today in 1:06:14.  I have felt recently that when I stretch out my hamstrings after my runs that my quad hurts less, so today I decided to try stretching them out beforehand.  Results were mixed, as the quad and back still hurt, but they felt better than yesterday.  I stretched the hamstrings out again after I got home.

Altra Adam Miles: 9.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.810.000.190.008.00

I ran on the indoor track this morning as I had my running class run a 2400m fitness test (I just called it 1.5 miles when I explained it to the class).  After they were done I just stayed at the track and ran there rather than running outside.  I switched directions every so often, and ran in the outside lanes when running backwards.  As a result I still had to approximate the distance despite running on a track.  Approximate total of 8 miles in 59:00.  The very last lap that I ran I decided to run fast while still maintaining control (i.e. not hurting myself).  I ended up running 300m in 0:56 (5:00 pace).

General takeaways from today:   My leg and back still hurt... darn, they were feeling a lot better yesterday.  At first, running counterclockwise around the track (the way you are supposed to run) hurt more than running clockwise around the track.  Once I got used to the turns my back and quad felt more achy than anything (less pain than normal... yay).  The discomfort I was feeling was largely contained to the area of the inguinal ligament, and the iliac crest as it radiated upward towards the low back (this is fairly normal for me, but generally the pain radiates farther down into my leg, and farther up into my back).  5:00 pace felt easier than i thought it would, and I was surprised to see 0:56 for 300m, I was expecting 0:58-0:60 based on effort.

I didn't post any pictures last week, so here are a few random pictures from the last few days:

Anita sleeping.  She fell asleep on the couch last night (while still wearing her church dress) and we just left her there.  This is what I saw when I got up this morning.

Kamran finally lost his belly button scab!  It is gross, but his scab was much bigger than our other kids' scabs so I took a picture.

Kimia and I started a competition of sorts, the details of which will remain unwritten, however I am going to post our score to my blog so that I can remember.

Following day 1:  Kimia - 2, Jeff - 1

Puma Faas 200 Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

I ran 8 miles this morning in 1:01:47.  My back felt very sensitive this morning, almost like one bad step would cause it so seize up, so I was very careful not to make any sudden twists or turns.  Luckily, there was not much pain, and when I was able to relax more there was less discomfort.  I am starting to feel like my hamstrings are becoming more flexible as well, so hopefully this helps decrease pain over the long term (I say this while working under the assumption that I have an anterior tilt to my pelvis, and that working towards greater flexibility will help keep my pelvis in a more neutral position).

Here are a few more pictures of my little people:

Kamran hanging out

Anita spending time with her baby brother.  She really loves to hold him and cuddle with him too!

Continuing the competition that Kimia and I are having...

Total score after day 2:  Kimia - 3, Jeff - 2

Altra Adam Miles: 8.00
Comments
From Ben VanBeekum on Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 11:19:46 from 216.206.44.14

Congrats Jeff! What a blessing. Cute kiddos...

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.250.000.000.0010.25

I misjudged how much I would run with my running class today, so I ended up running more than planned as I ran the first part of my workout before class today rather than after like I normally do, and also ran home afterwards so that Kimia could go to the hospital (more on that later).  I left the house this morning, and ran about 4.75 miles before class in just over 37 minutes.  During class I was purposefully running much slower than normal trying to run a shorter distance (I go back and forth to check on students, so running slower does actually help me run less), however the unfortunately did not work very well and I still ended up running about 4 miles in class.  After class was over I ran home an additional 1.5 miles for a grand total of 10.25 miles with a total time of about 1:24:00.  So, it was more than planned, but I felt decent, so it was not a big deal.  In fact, I felt the least amount of pain that I have felt on any given day since I started running again after getting mono in July.

Now, back to Kimia.  She started bleeding again while my mom was visiting at the beginning of October (she had previously stopped bleeding completely).  We weren't sure why, but the bleeding was similar to a period so we were not too concerned (we even thought that maybe her period had started again earlier than usual).  However, over the last few days the bleeding has progressively increased, and last night Kimia passed a number of rather large clots.  She ended up going into the ER late in the evening, and she found out that a piece of her placenta is still embedded in her uterus.  She had to go into the hospital this morning to have it removed.  Hopefully everything goes well and she is able to leave the hospital as soon as she wakes up.

Total score:  Kimia - 4, Jeff - 3

Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 10.25
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

I ran 8 miles this morning in just under 1:01:00.  I ran on the indoor track because I had a student that needed to make up her fitness test.  I ran a couple miles before she showed up, I ran a couple more while she was doing the fitness test, and I ran my last few miles after she left.  My back was a little sore this morning because Anita was late for the bus and I was running while holding her in my arms.  This caused a little bit of soreness while running, but overall my back felt okay.

On a side note, Kimia seemed to be feeling a lot better today.  After the procedure yesterday she threw up and was loopy for a while because despite her requests they gave her some strong pain meds.  This morning after she got a full night of sleep she seemed to be doing a lot better.

In an effort to keep things quiet in the house last night, I took the kids out so that they could have some fun.  Here are a couple pictures of the kids trying on hats at the store.

Total score after day # 4:  Kimia - 4, Jeff -4

Altra Adam Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.501.500.000.008.00

I ran 8 miles this morning, running a little over 5 miles with my running class, and then running the rest of the run on my own.  Total time of 1:01:12.  Today was the last day for the running class, so I will be running alone on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from here on out.

I was not planning to run anything fast today, but as I was finishing the run with my class one of the students who had gone out further than the rest of the class (today's run was a timed out and back) realized that he needed to speed up in order to finish in 40 minutes.  As a result he sped up to sub 6:00 pace for the last mile or so, and I ended up running the last mile with him.  My leg felt kind of sore and tight when I sped up with my student, so when I ran on my own I ran another half mile fast to see if the tightness was just a result of speeding up quickly or if it was something else.  I made a point of speeding up gradually (1st quarter in 88, second quarter in 82), and sure enough I did not notice the tightness that I noticed earlier, despite running sub 5:30 pace for the second quarter.

I also noticed when warming up with my class that if I slide to my left I feel some pain in my quad, lower back, and along the iliac crest.  This further reinforces my belief that my pelvic alignment is off.  I also notice a clicking in my hips when I extend my legs from a prone position, or if I perform hip adduction/abduction exercises.  More and more, the question for me is to ask myself how long it will take before I stop experimenting and finally cave and see a physical therapist?

Total score:  Kimia - 6, Jeff - 6

Puma Faas 250 Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.001.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles today in 1:13:08.  I didn't look at my watch until I was 3 miles into the run, and I had averaged about 7:30 pace up until that point.  I then ran 4 miles in 7:17, 7:34, 7:31, and 7:25.  I hit the 5 mile mark in 37:19.  I slowed down a little (although not much), between the 7 and 9 mile markers due to a fair amount of uphill running, making it to 9 miles in 1:07:28.  I had decided partway into the run to run the last mile fast just as a test of how my back and leg were feeling.  I ended up running the last mile in 5:40, which all things considered is not half bad (lots of hills and turns during this mile).  The only time my back complained during this mile was during a very short but steep downhill section, while my quad felt pretty good for pretty much the whole thing as well.  Another positive that I will take away from the run today is that I had to keep consciously making an effort to slow down.

Total score:  Kimia - 9, Jeff - 7

Altra Adam Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Kimia and I finished our little challenge for the week.  Kimia won with a total score of 10-9.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.000.000.000.0013.00

I ran 9 miles this morning in 1:09:21 (33:56 first half, 35:25 second half).  I started off the run really slowly, and I hit my 2 mile mark in about 17:00.  Just before I hit this mark I saw another guy out running and I sped up in order to catch up to him.  Just before I caught up to him he noticed that I was coming, and he sped up as well, so I didn't really slow down after catching him.  It ends up that it was one of the Iowa State runners out on a morning run.  I met him once while running last year (November maybe?), and he guessed correctly who I was, simply because he couldn't imagine anyone else running him down from behind.  I ended up running with him for about 2 miles (about 6:30-6:40 pace average) before he turned off to head back to campus.  I then slowed back down again, and finished the run on my own.

At school I helped out Liz collect some pilot data for her research, and I ended up running about 4 more miles while helping her.  I ran a short warm-up, and then ran just over a mile while forefoot striking, followed by running just over a mile while heel striking, and finished up by running just over a mile barefoot.  I also helped Liz by experimenting running "barefoot" with socks, and running barefoot without socks.  I performed all of the running trials on a treadmill, with an accelerometer attached to my right tibia.  Essentially, Liz is going to be looking at the data collected to see how randomly the timing of my footfalls is distributed about the mean, and is trying to see if there will be differences depending on footstrike pattern.

Barefoot Miles: 1.60Saucony Kinvara Miles: 2.40Altra Adam Miles: 9.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

I ran a total of 9 miles this morning in 1:12:02 (36:12, first half, 35:50 second half).  I felt tired this morning, so I didn't make any effort to run fast, even when I realized that I had a good chance of catching the 8:00 guy at the end of the run I didn't really speed up much.  I think I was tired because yesterday I ran more than I am accustomed to.  It is kind of pathetic that running 4 more miles than planned wore me out as much as it did.  I probably need to keep things easy for the rest of this week.  Hopefully the max stress test I am doing in class tomorrow doesn't wear me out too much.

Saucony Kinvara Miles: 9.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.001.009.00

I only ran 7 miles this morning because I was going to run a max stress test in the afternoon.  Total time was 53:58.  I felt much better today than yesterday.

In the afternoon for the stress test I ran what I will call 2 miles.  Total time was 21 minutes, with a 5 minute cool down at the end.  Total distance was probably less than 2 miles, but I maxed out at a 22% grade going 6 mph, while the test started at a 10% grade.  My HR maxed out at 189 at the end of the test.  I guess this gives me a benchmark that I can use to gauge fitness improvements.  If I do this again in a year maybe I can hit 24 minutes instead of 21.

Puma Faas 200 Miles: 2.00Altra Adam Miles: 7.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

I got a replacement HR monitor strap yesterday, so I was able to run with the HR monitor for the first time in about a year and a half.  The results were about what I expected to see, although not what I wanted to see.  My HR was between 5-10 bpm higher at a given pace than it used to be when I was in better shape.  My best guess is that this coorelates with about a 30-40 second per mile reduction in pace compared to before.  It looked like I was hitting about 131 on the HR monitor at about 8:10 mile pace.  2 years ago, I would have been about 7:30-7:40 mile pace with a HR of 131.  Total time for the run was 1:11:48 for 9 miles.

Total score thusfar for week two of the competition that Kimia and I are having:  Kimia - 7, Jeff - 7 (I was down 7 to 4 at the beginning of the day).

Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 9.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

Total time of 1:10:28 for 9 miles, with an average HR of 133.  So, 1:20 faster than yesterday, with an average HR that was 1 bpm slower.  That makes me think that I was still slightly fatigued yesterday after the max stress test on Wednesday.

My leg and back have still caused intermittent pain recently, though I have not made daily mention of it as I did previously.  The pain tends to radiate through the iliac crest and down into the quad/groin, or up into the low back.  I really should go to see a physical therapist soon so that I can try to get rid of the pain completely.  My hesitation however, has been that I have been mostly successful at eliminating the pain without the need to see a doctor.  I keep thinking that maybe I will figure out something new to fix things on my own, and the possibility excites me considering how close I actually am to doing just that.

Anyhow, I figure that my kids need a little more love today, so here are a few pictures.

Shayon holding Kamran.  He doesn't like doing this very often (although he loves giving the baby kisses), so we had to persuade him to hold the baby so that we could take a picture.

Anita and Shayon pretending to be Darth Vader at the Halloweed store.

Shayon decided to be an artist today.  Here he is painting his face with the face paint that was supposed to be part of his halloweed costume (a skeleton).

Altra Adam Miles: 9.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.000.000.000.0011.00

I ran 11 miles this morning in about 1:26:00, with an average HR of 133.  My back did not hurt much, but it felt off today.  I wonder if I need to start sleeping on the floor again.  I tried stretching out my back after I got home, but it didn't seem to help much.

Altra Adam Miles: 11.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Total score for week 2 of my competition with Kimia:  Kimia - 10, Jeff - 9

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles this morning in 1:19:38.  Average HR at 132.  My left leg still feels like something is not right.  Today, my back did not really hurt, and my groin did not really hurt, but things did not feel right.  I'm not completely sure what to think.  My right tibia has also been bothering me just a bit lately, as I smacked my leg on my bike pedal the other day.  My ankle bled a little from the hit, and over the last few days I feel like there is a little soreness in my leg while I run.  Part of this might also be the increase in mileage over the last month or so, and it is simply more noticable because I hit my leg.

Altra Adam Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.500.500.000.0010.00

I figured out yesterday afternoon that the tension I was feeling in my right leg was not due to the bike injury I got a few days earlier, it was actually due to a tight soleus.  I massaged the muscle out yesterday afternoon, which was somewhat painful.  During the run today I did a little heart rate fitness test to see what my HR would be at about 6:00 pace.  I ran a half mile in 3:01 (92, 89) with an approximate HR of 162 at 6:00 pace.  When I was in better shape my HR would hit about 155-157 at 6:00 pace (at altitude).  Unfortunately my little test was more than my calf could handle, and for the last 4 miles of my run my calf was complaining.  Total of 10 miles in 1:15:19 with an average HR of 137.

Some more pictures of life recently:

The pumpkin that I carved for the kids

Shayon standing with the pumpkin pie that Kimia made using fresh pumpkin

Kamran hanging out after his bath

Puma Faas 250 Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles this morning in 1:19:44.  Average HR of 128.  Not sure why the HR was lower this morning than on others.  A few factors were in play, as I left the house earlier this morning so I hadn't been awake as long, I started off slower (first mile in approximately 9:00), there was a lot of fog in the air so there was more moisture than normal, and I put wintercrest on my calf prior to stepping out the door (to help with the calf soreness).  Any of these factors could have played a role in the lower than expected HR, or possibly none of them (hopefully the later).  I averaged 7:51/mile for a 4 mile stretch with an average HR of 130, which is much more in line with what I used to see when out running (still a little higher, but much closer).

Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I was supposed to meet Tyler this morning to run, but he didn't show up, so I ran alone.  Total of 1:19:12 for what I will guess was 10 miles.  Average HR of about 130.  HR was lower again this morning, with similar conditions to yesterday minus starting out at 9:00 pace for the first mile. I averaged 124 bpm for a mile at 8:00 pace early on in the run.

Here are a couple pictures that we took last night before the ward trunk or treat.

Shayon, eating an organic lollipop while sitting on the toilet.  He was mad that I put face paint on him, so we gave him the lollipop as a distraction.

All the kids just before we left.  Anita is Rapunzel, while Shayon and Kamran both wore glow in the dark skeleton outfits.

Altra Adam Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

10 miles this morning in 1:19:06.  Average HR of 132.  HR started off lower this morning just as it was the last two days, but it did not stay that way.  I felt tired this morning, and maybe that played a role, but I also left on my run later in the morning, and I have been wondering if my HR is naturally higher in the mid morning vs. early morning runs.  I recorded average HR for a few segments of the run to track things.  Early on in the run I averaged 132 bpm at 7:45 pace for 1.5 miles, followed by 132 bpm at 7:53 pace for 2.5 miles, followed by 133 bpm at 7:58 pace for 2 miles.  Basically, I was keeping my HR at a similar level throughout the run, but I was progressively slowing down.  Not a good thing.  I will hope that I was just feeling tired.  This was the first week where I have run 10 miles per day, and I have not been getting great sleep lately, so I guess I should have expected it.

Anita drew this picture today, with all of the members of the family "and lots of hearts".  On the left are pictures of Kamran, and Shayon on the bottom, and Anita on the top.  Her picture is bigger because according to her she is a big girl now.  Kimia and I are pictured on the right (Kimia's picture has the longer hair).

Nike Free 5.0 Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles today in 1:16:33.  Average HR of 138.  I was originally planning to run 12 miles today, but I have been feeling tired so I was happy just to run 10 miles.  I'm not sure where the fatigue is coming from to be honest.  It seems to kind of come and go, as I will feel fine for a few months, followed by a few weeks or more where I feel run down and tired all of the time.  It is never too bad, but it is bad enough that when I got mono in July, I didn't really feel any different than I do when the fatigue hits me.

On a more positive note, my back and leg are feeling much better, just minor aches here and there.  Someone just needs to remind me not to do depth jumps anymore while wearing a backpack filled with books, as thats what got me hurt in the first place.  The minor aches that are bothering me now may not even be related to the injury to be honest, as my back bothers me at night while sleeping and it wakes me up, with this pain predating the injury by close to a year.  Also, sleeping on the floor, which helped with the pain due to the injury did not seem to help with the back pain at night, and eventually I started sleeping in my bed again.

Hmm... my effort to be more positive is not sounding so positive anymore.  Anyhow, I am glad that I am running with less pain than before.  I can deal with pain at night as long as it doesn't hurt while I run

Altra Adam Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles this morning in 1:19:08.  Average HR of about 135-136.  I'm not sure why my HR seems to be getting higher, as I was hitting about 134 bpm at 8:00 pace, whereas most days last week I was hitting 130-132 bpm at 8:00 pace.

We took the kids to a pumpkin patch a few weeks ago.  Here is a picture of Shayon while on the hay ride.

Here is a picture of Kamran after bathtime last week.  That boy always wants to have a pacifier in his mouth.

Altra Adam Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles this morning in 1:18:03, with an average HR of 136.  Nothing special happened.

Adidas Adizero Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles this morning in just under 1:19:00.  Average HR of 133.  I felt pretty stiff this morning when I woke up, but otherwise I felt decent.  My back and leg felt decent while running as well.  I could feel where the pain has been in my quad while I was running, but it was not painful.  My leg felt more like it was just letting me know that it is not one hundred percent better, not that anything is wrong.

Altra Adam Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles this morning in 1:17:57, with an average HR of 131.  I felt pretty good while running today, although I felt stiff when I woke up, which lasted for the first half mile or so of the run, and my back tightened up a little bit with about 2 miles to go, lasting for about a mile or so.

Altra Adam Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles this morning in 1:19:16, with an average HR of 132.  I was feeling antsy today because I wanted to run fast, but I was afraid that running hard 1 time would either wipe me out for the next week, or agravate my leg and/or my back.

Saucony Kinvara Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.002.000.000.0012.00

I ran 12 miles today in 1:27:04. I made it to 10 miles in 1:15:43, and then ran the last 2 miles in 11:21 (5:57, 5:24). Average HR for the run was 141. HR got as high as 179 during the last 2 miles as I was running up a hill with a 10 percent grade at the end of the first mile/beginning of the second. I actually forgot to start running hard at the beginning of the final 2 miles, which is why that mile was so slow. I was on pace for a 5:44 after the first half mile, so forgetting to start fast may have cost me about 13 seconds

Altra Adam Miles: 12.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I had to be at school earlier than normal, so I didn't run in the morning today, instead running after I was done with school.  During the day it snowed, our first snow of the year.  Luckily, the snow only stuck to the grass, so my running route was not slippery at all.  I ran a total of 10 miles in 1:19:38 with an average HR of 137.  There was a lot of wind while I was running today, but otherwise I am not sure why my HR was so high.

Altra Adam Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles this morning in 1:19:32, with an average HR of 138.  Again, I am not sure why the HR was so high as I was running really easy the entire run.  It was very cold this morning (9 degrees when I left to run), and I loaded up on the extra clothing, so maybe that explains things?

Puma Faas 250 Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.000.000.000.0011.00

I ran approximately 11 miles this morning in 1:25:31, with an average HR of about 136.  I ran most of the run with Tyler, as he is finally getting back into running a bit more after running the Des Moines Marathon.  Luckily for me it was not as cold as yesterday morning, with temps in the low 20's at the beginning of the run.

Altra Adam Miles: 11.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.000.000.000.0011.00

I ran 11 miles this morning, although it was not all at once.  I woke up later than planned, so I ran 6.5 miles initially in 50:46, with an average HR of about 138.  After getting Anita ready for preschool and dropping her off at the bus stop I then ran another 4.5 miles in 35:02, with an average HR of 144.  Total time for the run was 1:25:48.

I am really starting to wonder what is going on with the HR right now.  When I first started wearing the HRM again my HR would average about 132-133 on easy runs just faster than 8:00 pace.  Today, I averaged 144 bpm with a 7:47 average over the last 4.5 miles.  I do not feel like the mileage is wearing me out right now, and I am pushing the pace only on rare occasions.  Maybe it has to do with the change in weather (more wind, colder temps, etc).  I probably just need to be patient and wait for the HR to drop back to normal on its own.

Altra Adam Miles: 11.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles today in 1:18:30, with an average HR of 139.  I ran a different route than normal because I was supposed to meet Tyler to run.  He accidentally slept in and didn't wake up in time so I ended up running alone.

Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.000.000.000.0013.00

I ran 13 miles today in about 1:41:30ish.  HR average was 135-136.  I am starting to wonder if my HR was higher recently due to the gas leak in our apartment building.  The leak was discovered on Wednesday and fixed that same day, but who knows how long it had been that way.  My HR was at its highest on Thursday, and then slightly lower on Friday, and slightly lower still today.  It makes me think that my HR is going back to normal slowly as all of the excess gas in the building slowly dissipates.

Overall I was happy with the run today.  This was my longest run of the year so far (pathetic, I know, but at least I am trending in the right direction) and the highest mileage I have run in a week since December of last year when I hit 70 miles one week about halfway through the month.  I still feel like I am unable to run any speedwork without hurting myself, which is frustrating.  At the same time this may be a blessing in disguise as I am unable to overdo things in that regard, while I am still able to increase the base mileage which will help my aerobic fitness significantly.

Altra Adam Miles: 13.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles this morning in 1:17:09, with an average HR of about 145.  I was super surprised by the high HR as my legs felt great, and I was running faster than normal yet felt like I was running really easy.  I was convinced that the HR monitor was giving me bad readings, but when I double checked things manually I found out that the HR monitor was giving me correct readings.

So... I am thinking that the gas leak was likely not the problem, unless there is still something wrong.  There were times on the run today where my HR was in the high 140's or low 150's, yet I was only running 7:45-7:50 pace.  Sometimes I just feel like I am always broken.  As soon as my leg and back started getting better (which is not completely the case, although they are getting close) my HR starts to rise despite no evidence of overdoing things on the training end.

Altra Adam Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.000.000.000.0011.00

I ran 11 miles this morning in 1:26:06, with an average HR of 147.  Again, my legs felt fine, but my heart was beating way faster than normal.  With an average pace per mile of about 7:50 I would expect my average HR to be between 132-135 bpm depending on the day.  Back when I was in better shape I would have expected to see 127-129 bpm.

Later on in the morning I was teaching my aquatic fitness class, and I had the opportunity to sit down for a bit as the students were exercising (normally I am on my feet the entire class, so this was out of the ordinary).  I took the time to measure my HR three different times while sitting down, getting HR measurements of 70, 80, and 71 when measured for a full minute.  When measuring my HR while sitting at my desk working I recorded a 74.  Normally when I am sitting in class my HR is below 60 (I know, I am weird to measure my HR when I am supposed to be paying attention to my professors).  Not sure what to make of this, but for the sake of keeping a record I am posting it.

Here are a few randomn pictures as well:

Kimia took this picture of the trail that I run on most every day while she was out running.

Anita has been practicing writing her name.  The N needs some work, but otherwise she seems to be doing well.  I also like how she kept switching up the colors.

Saucony Kinvara Miles: 11.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

I ran approximately 11 miles this morning in 1:23:12, with an average HR of 147.  I ran about 5 miles during the run with Tyler, and ran the rest on my own.  I was late getting out the door this morning, so I ran sub 6:30 pace to the meeting point with Tyler.  I think that because I had just barely started the run my HR was more reluctant to rise, so I only had a 152 HR average on the way to the meeting point, whereas running 7:40 pace later on in the run had my HR in the high 140's

In the evening I was walking home from school (normally I bike) and after about a half mile I decided to run the rest of the way, so I ended up running another mile home.

Altra Adam Miles: 12.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.000.000.000.0011.00

I ran 11 miles this morning in 1:26:33, with an average HR of 133 (I essentially ran the sime time and route as I did on Tuesday, as the only major difference was a slower first mile today around 8:25 vs. about 8:00-8:04).  I was rather surprised to see my HR back to normal (more or less) this morning.  The only thing I can think of that was different today is that there was more moisture in the air than normal, and there was a little bit of fog here and there.  It makes me wonder if the pericarditis from before came back again, causing the slightly elevated HR, and somehow the extra moisture in the air caused the trend to reverse itself (If you couldn't already tell, I am just thinking out loud here, as I really have no understanding of the underlying processes behind what causes fluid to build up around the heart).  My HR did rise steadily throughout the later portions of the run, as I averaged 130 bpm for the first 4 miles, about 134 for the next few miles, then 136-137 for most of the rest of the run.

Here are a few pictures of my little people that I want to share:

Shayon sleeping, he actually slept through the night without wetting his pants!

Kamran sitting and doing nothing.  That's what babies are good at.

Anita all ready to go swimming.  It was 9 degrees that morning, and when she put on the swimsuit it was still only about 20 degrees outside.

Puma Faas 200 Miles: 11.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.000.000.000.0011.00

I ran 11 miles this morning in 1:26:29 with an average HR of 138.  First run in the snow this year.

Puma Faas 250 Miles: 11.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
15.000.000.000.0015.00

I ran 15 miles today in 1:48:57, with an average HR of 149.  The snow from yesterday had mostly melted off of the sidewalks, despite the temperature never reaching higher than the mid 20's yesterday, so I didn't have to worry too much about slipping on the ice.  Temps were in the single digits this morning, so I ran during the warmest part of the day, leaving on my run when it was about 20 degrees outside and finishing the run to temps of about 15 degrees.

Saucony Kinvara Miles: 15.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.000.000.000.0011.00

I ran approximately 11 miles today in 1:31:41, with an average HR of 133.  My normal route is blocked due to construction so I had to improvise a bit.  I was lazy and did not leave to run until just before it got dark.  I averaged right around 8:00 pace for the first 5 miles, but as soon as it got dark I immediately slowed down a fair amount because I didn't want to slip on ice on the road.  I estimate that my HR averaged 135 at 8:00 pace, and about 131 at 8:30 pace.  Still a little higher than previously, but more normal.  I am starting to check humidity levels to see if higher humidity leads to lower HR.  Today, humidity was above 70%.

Altra Adam Miles: 11.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.000.000.000.0011.00

I ran while the car was in the shop today, so the route was improvised and distance was guessed rather roughly.  I ran approximately 11 miles in 1:29:26, with an average HR of 138.  Humidity was approximately 50%.  There was a lot of wind today.  Normally I run among trees, so the wind is mostly neutralized, but the run today was exposed and the wind was pretty strong at times, causing spikes on the HRM of 10-20 bpm when the wind was in my face.

Nike Free 5.0 Miles: 11.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.000.000.000.0011.00

I ran 11 miles today, in 1:27:51, with an average HR of 137.  Humidity was in the mid 50 percent range.  My leg and back seem to be getting worse lately, which is frustrating.  They had been getting better to the point that I stopped spending as much time on my back and ab exercises/stretches, etc.  Now, they are getting worse again, and to top it off my right calf is acting up (I think due to overcompensating as a result of the left quad pain).  At least I am still able to put the mileage in.

Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 11.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

I cut back on the mileage today, and only ran 8 miles as I haven't been feeling well.

Altra Adam Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I ran 10 miles today in 1:18:38.  Average HR was 141, with humidity around 40%.  I took this entire week off as I have been sick, while I also felt like I needed a bit of a break to hopefully let my leg and back heal.  Resting didn't help my back or leg at all when I had mono, but I am hoping that the better fitness this time around and a shorter break period will ultimatley help.  Things seemed a tiny bit better while running today.  During day to day activities I have noticed a larger difference as my leg and back feel a lot better when just walking around.

Altra Adam Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
1.500.000.000.001.50

I was actually sore on Sunday after running 10 miles on Saturday, which I was not expecting since I only took off one week.  As a result of that, and a test coming up Wednesday that I need to study for I just ran 1.5 miles today, running home from school.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
1.500.000.000.001.50

1.5 miles, same as yesterday.

Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

8 miles this morning in 1:04:46 with an average HR of 142.  I can't remember the humidity exactly, but I think that it was somewhere in the 50-60% range.

Saucony Kinvara Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

8 miles in 1:04:21 with an average HR of 136, and humidity around 80%.  I could tell that there was more moisture in the air this morning, and my HR was substantially lower at the beginning of the run than it has been lately (high 120's).  About 3 miles into the run I felt like my throat started to become dry despite the higher humidity, and I also noticed an increase in my HR.  We have a cold air humidifier at home, but I wonder if it might be beneficial for me to buy a warm air humidifier to use when I sleep at night in order to keep my airways moist.

Puma Faas 250 Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

I ran 8 miles today in just a little bit slower than 1:04:00.  Average HR was about 140 (maybe a little higher), with humidity around 40% (I think?).  I think that I finally figured out what was going on with my leg and back as I guessed recently that my pelvis was rotated slightly counterclockwise in the transverse plane.  Doing some tiny things to fix this problem has virtually eliminated the pain that I have been dealing with for the last 5 months.  I think that the limited activity over the last few weeks has also helped to correct the problem more quickly, as I have not been reinforcing bad habits while attempting to fix the problem.

Saucony Kinvara Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.501.500.000.008.00

I ran 8 miles today on the indoor track at ISU.  It was actually a little warmer than it has been, but I am sick of running all bundled up, so I ran indoors after I finished my last final exam this evening.  The plan was to alternate directions on the track so that I was not going the same way the entire time, however I did not realize that the track team had practice until 6:00 pm, so I was stuck running on the upstairs track which is slightly smaller, has sharper corners (it is essentially a square with rounded corners versus an oval), has a harder surface (mondo downstairs, concrete with a thin layer of a cheap track surface upstairs), and has fewer lanes so that I am unable to change directions and run in the outside lanes.

To top things off I got excited due to the number of people on the track (and because it finally doesn't hurt to run as my back and leg have been feeling much better lately), and when a girl almost passed me at the beginning of my run when I was still running slowly, I quickly picked up the pace and before long I was running sub 5:30 pace with a HR of approximately 180bpm.  Doing this without ever changing directions on the track mentioned above is a recipe for disaster, and before long I could feel blisters forming on the bottoms of my feet, and I could tell that my outside (right) leg was getting fatigued.  I finally slowed down after running fairly hard for about a mile and a half, settling into a pace that was just slower than 7:00/mile.  After 6 miles I was finally able to go run the last 2 miles of my run on the downstairs track, however as track practice was over I had to dodge all of the people that were playing basketball on the track (whoever thought of putting 20 basketball courts on an indoor track was completely out of their mind in my opinion, as they dominate the good track, leaving only the sub par facility to run on, while a track makes for a sub par basketball facility as well).

Total time for 8 miles was about 57:00 if I am remembering correctly, with an average HR for the run in the high 150's.

Altra Adam Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

I ran 8 miles this morning.  I fly to Arizona tonight, so I get to escape the cold and run in shorts for the next few weeks after this.  Total time for the run was a little slower than 1:04:00, with an average HR around 140.  I was pretty sore after running on the indoor track last night, and my right calf was complaining quite a bit.

Puma Faas 250 Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

We arrived in Arizona last night, to a downpour, and as a result it was fairly humid today (80+ % humidity).  The high humidity today will give me an opportunity to test my theory that lower humidity will lead to higher HR while I am running, and high humidity will lead to a lower HR while running as withing the next few days the humidity should drop quite a bit.  There are no mile markers that I can find anywhere, so all distances for the next while will be approximations.  Since my HR has been so wacky lately, I am not sure that using HR to estimate distance will be effective either.

I ran for 33 minutes on the canal trail today before turning around, calling it 4 miles.  As my back and leg have finally been feeling better I could not resist speeding up during the second half of my run despite the lingering soreness from my run on Wednesday evening.  I ended up finishing the run in about 1:02:00.  Average HR was about 133 during the first half of the run, and 138-139 for the entire run.  So far I am leaning toward accepting my hypothesis that high humidity = low HR, but I will have to wait and see.

Puma Faas 200 Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

I ran about 8 miles today.  HR was in the mid 130's on average if I am remembering correctly, with humidity in the 60's, and total time a little slower than 1:04:00.

Altra Adam Miles: 8.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

I ran approximately 9 miles today in about 1:12:00, with an average HR in the high 130's and humidity in the 20's.  This falls in line with my thought that low humidity = high heart rate, as humidity was lower today and my HR was slightly higher than the past couple days.

Altra Adam Miles: 9.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
46.000.000.000.0046.00

I am lumping all of this week past monday into a single blog post as I do not feel like writing individual posts for each day and I do not remember all of the details.  In general I have been feeling better than I have in a while.  My HR has been lower than previous weeks, despite being in Arizona where there is lower humidity (although I have not been checking, so I am not sure exactly how low it has been).  This makes me think that humidity is not what causes my HR to rise (although I still think that it plays a role in what is going on).  I am starting to think that maybe my elevated HR is related to how well hydrated I am.  If I am well hydrated the HR will drop, and if I am not it will rise (or so it seems).  Maybe this was what caused the pericarditis over two years ago, as my body could have been attempting to protect the heart by placing fluid around it in order to combat chronic mild dehydration.  I will keep track of this.

My runs this week have not been too fast, but I have been throwing in something fast on most days as my back and leg finally feel healthy enough to speed up on occasion.  I have been careful to not run hard for long stretches, but I have been running strides some days, or maybe picking up the pace for a half mile or so on other days.  There was also one day where I was chasing a lady on an odd looking three wheeled contraption that she swerved back and forth in order to move forward.  It is very possible that I creeped her out, but I figure she had it coming when she rode an odd looking device on a public canal going slower than 5:00 pace such that I could keep up and examine how it worked from behind.

Total mileage Tuesday-Saturday was approximately 46 miles, with 9 miles per day, excepting Saturday when I ran 10 miles.  I alternate running either North or South on the canal depending on the day, and I am starting to get a better feel for how far I have gone each day, so my approximations are starting to become more accurate (I hope).

Puma Faas 200 Miles: 28.00Altra Adam Miles: 18.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.005.00

Instead of running today I went hiking with some family.  I was initially planning on running some after we got home, but round trip counting driving the hike took over 5 hours, and I didn't have time during the rest of the day.

Total distance hiking (minus exploring done at the top of the peak we hiked to) was about 5 miles, so I will count that as running mileage for the day.  Total time hiking was about 2:20:00.  Net ascent during the climb up to the peak was somewhere in the 1100-1300 ft range.  I could tell near the end of the descent that my legs are not used to that type of exercise, so I expect that I will be sore tomorrow.  I also had to be careful because I was wearing minimalist shoes on the hike, which do not offer much protection from rocks.  As a result I had to exert much more control over my motion when descending than the others did in order to avoid hurting myself, which I imagine took more muscular effort than I would have experienced otherwise.

Altra Adam Miles: 5.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.252.750.000.0010.00

As I expected I was fairly sore today after the hike yesterday.  I ran approximately 10 miles in 1:15:58, with an average HR of 144 bpm.  I hit the halfway mark in 40:30, with a 137 bpm HR average, and realizing that I needed to speed up to get home in time I picked up the pace at the 1:00:00 mark, maintaining this effort to the finish.

Puma Faas 200 Miles: 10.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
1205.8116.257.751.191231.00
Barefoot Miles: 49.10Altra Adam Miles: 651.25Adidas Adizero Miles: 54.00Puma Faas 200 Miles: 103.00Asics Gel Ohana Racer Miles: 100.75Saucony Kinvara Miles: 112.40Puma Faas 250 Miles: 95.00Nike Free 5.0 Miles: 56.50Asics Speedstar Miles: 7.00
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