Running in Life's Slow Lane

Goal:
5 min walk, 3.1 mi < 12'00"/mi pace, cool down

Achieved:
5 min walk, a great horrid mess

Summary:
I'm almost embarrassed to take credit for these miles it was such a struggle. If I had to guess I would say more of the distance was walked than jogged. My goal had been to go out on the streets here at Southwestern Oklahoma State University and do a few hills but primarily to get in a 3.1 mi jog done. My legs were lead, I tripped (actually twisted my ankle) on a chunk of burrito someone had thrown in the street, was whipped around by the wind and completely defeated by the hills. Since it was obvious early on that I could not get any distance out of my legs I turned it into a hill exercise for lack of a better description. Basically I found a stretch of hill and ran up the hill walked along the top, ran down the hill, walked along the bottom, and repeated. I probably didn't jog more than 0.1 mile at a stretch.

Realistically I think my body needs more sleep, some regular meals and a great deal more water than I have managed in the last 48 hours. Of course, once I reached home last night I found that in addition to spending my day chaperoning teenagers here my wife has committed me to a social engagement this evening. Here's hoping the "party" is horridly boring and I get excused to go home early.

And where is the ibuprofen for this ankle?

Weather
Temp: 55     Hum: 21%    Wind: S 19 gusting to 25     WC: 55
Conditions: Partly Cloudy, Dry

No exercise today. Spent the morning helping at the theater then traveled to see Kristoffer perform in the All-Region Band. Very nice day. Decided to just rest and try to get my system readjusted to home llife.

I did get my weight down to 171.6 lbs this morning which means I shaved another point off of my BMI and continue to slowly work towards my target weight. Hopefully taking today away from jogging won't set me back too much.

Goal:
5 min walk, 25 min jog, cool down walk

Achieved:
5 min walk, 15 min jog, mixed jog and run

Summary:
Today demonstrated that I still need to train my mind. I did great through the first mile yet around 1.25 mile I just didn't want to run any more. There was nothing hurting me more than usual and I certainly couldn't complain about the weather. Just after 15 of my planned 25 minutes of jogging I just stopped and walked a bit. For the remaining ten minutes I jogged half a lap and walked half a lap. Finished by walking the rest of the distance. Teresa said I was being too hard on myself because I was feeling very frustrated at my performance today. And while I know she is right I am reluctant to give up anything I feel has been accomplished recently.

Goal:
5 min walk, 25 min jog, cool down to reach 3.1 mi

Achieved:
5 min walk, 21+ min jog, cool down

Summary:
Much improved over yesterday. While I still didn't reach my goal of 25 minutes I did get a full 1.75 miles of jogging. My pace during the 21 minutes I did jog was right around my normal 11'30" so I am okay with cutting it short today. I'm focusing on staying positive and just knowing that there are times when I just don't want to push myself. Generally I make a point of walking enough to get at least 5K during each workout but today Kristoffer was finished with academic team practice before I got all my distance finished. I'll make up for it by laying down some cementitious backerboard tonight in a friend's bathroom.

Did make a nice orange-mango-banana smoothie when I got home. About 100 cal per serving and lots of good stuff in there.

Tomorrow evening's run is planned for the wilds of Austin, Texas. Yeee Haaa!

No miles today. Spent the day in a meeting and the evening driving home from Austin. In addition to not running I also stopped and ate at the Hard Eight BBQ restaurant in Stephenville, Tx which probably added 5 pounds to my waist.

Tomorrow, we shall run!
 

Goal:
25 min jog

Achieved:
5 min walk, 25 min jog @ 12'47" pace, more walking

Distance: 3.21 mi
Time: 42'12"
Avg Pace: 13'07"/mi
 
Summary:
Well, 12'47"/mi pace for jogging is pretty bad but I will take it. This is the first time in a more than a week that I have managed the 25 minutes of jogging. Actually I jogged 25'35" to get 2 mi done, so bonus! Legs didn't feel dead at all, just the normal calf ache and general crankiness of muscles made to work. I am going to back off on my mileage a bit as well as making my "easy" days easier by just walking. We'll see how it goes.

Found out this afternoon that Cameron University is hosting a 5K in Lawton on 01 March. They are also doing a 1 mile fun run. If it fits into the schedule I might try to get out for the 1 mile. Not going to go for the 5K until the week following at The Tough Enough race.

2.73 total miles in 37'16" for a 13'39"/mi pace
2.0 miles jogged at 12'20"/mi pace

Okay, so it appears that at some point my Nike+ has lost its calibration or I have changed my stride since I calibrated. I finally paid attention to how many laps I made around the track today and realized the Nike+ was giving me credit for too much distance. Right now the error factor seems to be about +10%. Since I am going to be on the road through Friday, getting it calibrated again will have to wait for at least a week. Until then I will have to account for the error in my goals.

This week my goals will be jogging 2.25 miles on Tues and Thurs with walks or short jogs on Mon and Wed. Friday I will spend the day flying back from California.

Nike+ : 5.10 miles in two workouts, with 3.5 mi of that being jogged
Adjusted: 4.64 miles in two workouts, with 3.18 mi of that being jogged
(Thought I should give the Nike+ numbers that my buddies will see on the website and what I estimate the accurate numbers to be)

Location: Livermore, California

I took off from the hotel planning to make it an easy day by walking a bit and jogging for a mile or so. Knowing that my Nike+/iPod distances are off by about +10% I had made adjustments to what that meant to the distance I needed to collect before quitting. I walked down a gradual sloping hill for 0.72 mi and then ran 1.32 miles in a loop near Las Positas College before walking the 0.72 mi back up the hill. Then as I stretched at the intersection near the hotel I noted that while my calf was achy my legs were not particularly tired and being at the top of a grade thought I would just tack on a bit more by jogging downhill. Well, basically I just ran until I could tell my legs were tired which ended up being a jog of some 1.86 miles! This included up and down some gently sloping hills. So I guess today was just one of my rare good days.

My pace during the first jog was 12'30"+ and I am sure I was even slower during much of the second jog. Yet, I'll take it. The fact that I actually managed the distance is a bonus when I was struggling so hard in Lawton.

I am sure the 2 hours of napping on the plane helped quite a bit.

Dinner was a visit to Cattlemen's Restaurant where I had about 5oz of Sirloin cooked medium well, a bit of salad, rice, beans and sourdough bread all washed down with a large quantity of cold water. Now I get to sit in the hotel and try to set up the AFATDS for this week's testing.

Nike+: 4.64 miles with 3.3 miles jogged
Adjusted: 4.22 miles with 3 miles jogged

Location: Livermore, Ca

Tonight I walked about 0.64 miles before starting to jog. From that point I just kept jogging with an eye towards getting as close to 3 miles as possible with no good way to judge my distance because of my Nike+ calibration problems. Finally decided that if I could tough out 39 minutes that should get me close to 3 miles. As it so happened, it appears to put me right on 3 miles. Not bad considering the lousy day of work I had which lead me to skipping lunch. I really need to understand that working that extra hour rarely leads me to any great productivity while just starving my body of calories. Today's run was done with a total calorie intake of one orange this morning for breakfast. Tomorrow's goal should be to eat decent.

I am really starting to hate Apple, Nike, and their whole iPod Nano Nike+ thing.

Apparently my Nike+ and iPod froze up 17 minutes and 1.3 miles into my run. At least that is what I gather from knowing that I had walked 0.7 miles before starting my run and the Nike+ seems to have frozen at 2.0 miles. I walked around a bit as I punched the dial on the iPod fruitlessly and finally gave up. Starting my stopwatch again I continued running until I had totaled 48 minutes.  I estimate that I must have ran at least 3.5 miles and that left me quite a stretch from the hotel so with my earlier 0.7 miles of walking I figure I got at least 4.5 miles.

Nice to know that I can run without music at whatever has seized the iPod also prevents me from playing any music.

Oh, and it must not be wind killing my runs at home. Tonight's total workout was 70 minutes in 23 mph wind gusting to 38 mph from the NNW. AND I ran up and down plenty of gentle hills.

Nike+: 3.63 miles jogging
Adjusted: 3.27 miles jogging in 42'37" for an average pace of 13'02".

Got away from LLNL late this afternoon so I knew I would be running in the dark. A big thank you goes out to the city of Livermore and their municipal requirements for industrial light pollution so that I could run on the streets beneath plenty of light.

Fearing another iPod meltdown I planned a course on MapMyRun that would cover at least 3 miles before starting. As I ran I tacked an extra loop on for good measure and the adjusted mileage seemed to match the mileage from the map measurements pretty closely. It felt like the wheels were coming off around 2.25 and I gutted out the last 1.0 mile just telling myself that I wanted to get the 3 mile mark accomplished.

Tomorrow is going to be consumed with getting home. IF I get home. They are predicting freezing drizzle for Lawton tomorrow and American Eagle loves to leave me stranded in the DFW airport.

No running today as I returned to Lawton from Livermore. Did get some nice sleep though as I made myself get a full 8 hours and then napped during my travel. Arrived in Lawton to find temps in the lower 30s, wind at 20mph and thunderstorms spitting out the occasional freezing rain. Just a bit of a change from my days in California.

Nike+: 4.63 miles
Adjusted: 4.17 miles

I started with a 5K jog that took 41'22" for an average pace of 13'21"/mi. The first mile I managed to keep at 12'/mi pace but soon after hit a long tough hill that crushed my pace. Ran in 31F windchill, light rain or heavy mist, winds NNW at 5-10 mph. Toes got wet a few times and definitely felt the results. Only one spot near the lake had ice and I managed to skate past without going down.

After the 5K I walked 0.4 mile then ran another 0.6 mile to meet my son at his vocal rehearsal.

When I met some friends immediately after the run, they initially thought I had ice on my stocking cap and chin stubble but it was just the fine silvery mist  that collected there. Still it was cool that they thought of me as being tough enough to run through ice. The wind is predicted to return tomorrow. Here's hoping I am ready.

Big news on the home front: Kristoffer has admitted to having a girlfriend. Now I have to think about having that father/son talk. Not sure I am ready.
 

Nike+: 3.21 miles
Adjusted: 2.89 miles

Only got to jog 2.50 miles today because of Teresa's busy work schedule. The first mile I pushed the pace to give my heart and lungs a good challenge knowing that I would not have to make my 5K distance today. I probably need to do this once or twice a week as I think I have grown comfortable with my current pace and am no longer pushing the cardio levels to improve which is my whole reason for running.

1 Mile at 11'13".
2.5 Miles total at 30'00" exactly for an average of 12'00".

Tomorrow I will try to get back to my 5K distance.

Nike+: 4.93 miles
Adjusted: 4.43 miles

Took advantage of the holiday to get in some extra sleep. I hope our great leaders appreciate that I put their special holiday to such great use.

First run was 5K in 40'02" which gives me a 12'54" pace. This was a winding traverse of the neighborhood which included some small hills. I am proud to say that while my pace slowed I did not have to stop and walk up any of the hills. These hills are not as large as those I will probably face at the race in March but I have got to start some place.

Walked 5 minutes.

 Ran another 1 mile at a very slow pace.

 Weather was nice: 45F with wind WNW 5-10mph, sunny, dry.

Nike+: 3.54 miles
Adjusted: 3.22 miles

Today was a painful and slow day. If I were to guess, I would theorize that yesterday's extra distance along with the inclusion of several hills worked my left calf over really well. As a result it complained quite painfully at the start of today's jog. In 30 minutes I managed only about 2.35 mi which would be an average pace of 12'46"/mi. Teresa actually lapped me today but there was no way I was going to push the pace and do something stupid to my calf out of pride. Her pace is always faster than mine on good days and today was NOT a good day.

Tomorrow we load up and spend 7 hours driving to Kansas City so I doubt that I will find time to run or feel like it once we reach the hotel. I will play it by feel and accept it as an off day at a good time to rest the calf if that happens.

Weather was nice: 61F, dry, sunny with wind S @ 15-20mph.

No workouts today. Instead I spent the day driving 7 hours to reach Kansas City, Missouri.

The calf of the left leg is still being cranky especially after sitting for the long drive. Tomorrow may need to be a slow, easy day.

"Shake it off."

 That's what I had to keep telling myself after today's run. Because of the cold weather I tried out the treadmills in the fact health club on the 22nd floor of the hotel. Very nice facility with the treadmills turned toward the windows so I could watch the very large snowflakes fall to the ground. Unfortunately my body was night ready for the workout no matter how nice the scenery.

Left calf still hurt. It was hotter than I am am accustomed to, I have not been sleeping well, hydrating well, or anything else well. In addition I tried to run too soon after lunch. That is my list of excuses as to why I only jogged 1.25 miles today.

Tomorrow I will do more. I must. Hopefully today's short distance will let the calf stretch a bit and we'll be ready for close to average distance. If not, I will take what I can get and work back to where I want to be.

Spent the rest of the day beating my head against the wall that is this hotel's lousy internet service.
 

No miles today. Left calf still achey and I spent the day in Ft Leavenworth. Made it difficult to get back to the hotel, get dinner, spend time with the family and still make it to the treadmill. Saturday and Sunday are going to be very busy as well so I may not see miles again until Monday.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

Ran south on SE 45th from the house until just short of the 2.0 mile mark and turned back. Jogged a total of 2.25 miles in just over 27 minutes. Walked a bit and then ran another 1 mile. Nice weather and felt good to get in some decent miles after the crazy time in Kansas City.

Location: Orlando, Fl

What a huge pain! I flew to Orlando last night but my luggage did not arrive. I stayed awake until nearly 1am hoping to hear from American Airlines before getting into bed. Even as I type this at 2108 EST my luggage has not reached me.

I was committed enough to go buy some shorts and an athletic shirt this morning while picking up a few necessities that are lost in my suitcase. My normal walk-about shoes are Nike+ Triax so I thought I could run in those. And I can, but my calves did not like it.

Jogged the full 3.5 miles. My 5K time was seriously off pace at 42'03" but I will claim that is due to the lack of sleep, the lack of my usual shoes, not enough hydration and running in 75F temps. Hopefully my luggage will find me and I can get a better time in the next day or so.

With today's run I have managed to log miles in Oklahoma, Texas, California, Missouri and Florida this month.

Well, as dedicated as I may be I bow to the forces of nature when lightning gets involved. A nice display of lightning, high wind and torrential downpour hit shorty after I had changed into my running clothes. I want to thank a friend who called before the storm delaying me enough to prevent my being caught away from the hotel when the skies opened.



 

Distance: 3.1
Time: 41'05"

Pushed myself around the hotel area enough to accumulate the required 5K distance.  Temps were very chilly in comparison to the first days of the week. I had to break out the tights and long-sleeved running shirt. Once again I let myself work through lunch which made running a real effort.

On my next trip I will have to carry fruit or something in my laptop bag so that I don't get stuck without any food should I choose to work during lunch.

Location: Orlando, Fl
 

No miles as I worked then flew from Orlando to Lawton arriving at home around 2100.

Plenty of sleep though as I slept most of the way from Orlando to DFW.

The boss has decided that my presence is not required in Virginia until the 9th of March so I am back on track to run the Tough Enough 5K on the 8th in Weatherford Oklahoma.

Total Distance: 4 miles
Total Time: 58'27"

5K Time: 42'55"

Tried running in the morning for the first time in ages. I ran the first mile in just short of 12'00". Second mile was a bit tougher since it involved some long gradual climbs. Just short of the 2 mile mark, right around 1.90 mile there is a short but steep climb and I was puffing pretty hard when I got to the top. I allowed myself to walk 0.37 miles to get out of that stretch of road and to let my heart rate come back down before running another 1 mile. Finished up with .63 mile walking.

The change over to the morning run (right around 1000) didn't seem too hard though I must remember to take care of the morning PB before getting on the road. Also need to make sure I hydrate well upon climbing out of bed.

Tonight is the Linkin Park concert in OKC. I hope Kristoffer one day appreciates the fact that his parents are actually buying him tickets and taking him to a major rock concert at the tender age of 13.