Running in Life's Slow Lane

Total Distance: 2.85 miles
Total Time: 41'54"

I couldn't get 5K today due to time constraints. Just as well though as the lack of sleep made it nearly impossible to accomplish any distance at a decent pace. As it was I only managed 1 mi jogging, 1 mi walking and finished with 0.85 mi walking. With only 4 hours of sleep I had no energy whatsoever and my legs were really wobbly. I just got the 2.85 miles done because I told myself I was out there so I should just burn what calories I could whether it be walking or jogging.

Gorgeous weather though. High 70s with a stout 15-25mph wind from the south.

Side notes: The Linkin Park concert Friday night was great. We managed to get up early on Saturday and get to the regional vocal competition where Kristoffer won top honors for his age category in Musical Theatre as well as Art Song. Dance and choral rehearsals Saturday were all accomplished. We even stayed awake during the entire 2.5 hour performance of their barbershop chorus and the after concert party that lasted well into Sunday morning.

3.26 miles in 42'04" for a 12'54" pace.

Finally got a run in this week. Good thing as I run the Tough Enough 5K on Saturday. I ran from the house south and west along the section boundary roads which have a few gradual inclines. Nothing too killer which was good since I hadn't run in two days. Plan to do the same types of runs for the rest of this week to avoid any big strain on the legs ahead of the race.

Looks like getting my 5K in under 40'00" is still going to be a challenge.
 

3.42 miles in 44'16" for an average pace of 12'56".

Originally I didn't see a way to squeeze a run into the afternoon's busy schedule yet the knowledge that the 5K was coming up on Saturday forced me out onto the streets while Kristoffer had choir rehearsal at the church. I ran in tights and long sleeves so my body was warm while the tips of my fingers suffered the stings of a chilly sundown. Glad I got the run done because the weather for Thursday is predicted to be horrid.

My Nike+ sensor is complaining about a low battery. Apparently you cannot replace the battery. You have to buy a new $19 sensor. The batteries are designed to last about 1000 hours and I know I have not been running 1000 hours since Christmas. Unfortunately any movement can set the sensor into service so riding in airplanes, through airports, up and down stairs in the suitcase has probably kept my sensor fairly busy. In the future I need to remember to "turn off" the sensor after each run or definitely while packing for a trip.

Guess I will have to visit the Best Buy or somewhere similar in Chesapeake to get a new sensor.
 

Walked 0.2 miles, jogged 1.5 miles and walked the rest

The bitter, cold, vengeful gale that can only come in the grayest times of winter served notice that as much as I may wish to run, the forces of nature can tear the desire from my aging body. The weather forecasters said the windchill was 21F but it drove straight into the bone thanks to gusts at 30+ mph. I finally gave up after 1.5 miles of struggle and walked back home.

No running today. My hips and lower back were a bit tired from my push against the wind yesterday and I have my first 5K race tomorrow. Decided that I would just let everything get a full day of rest. Tomorrow at race time they are predicting a windchill of 19F. What is up with that? I don't live in Idaho, Montana or anyplace that should have races in this sort of weather.

As expected the hills kicked my butt.

Mile 1 - Not bad since it was a downhill stretch and a turn up Main St. I got stuck at the start behind a bunch of walkers and had to work to get up to a running pace but once I did it felt good to let gravity pull me out of the pack. The real runners were far ahead of me and the walkers were a bit behind. This mile finished with a turn into a gradual long climb.

Mile 2 - This was the mile of hills. The long climb started in Mile 1 continued and I was puffing quite hard when i hit the top. The course had only a block before it turned to a shorter but steeper hill. My lungs needed to catch up and I walked up the hill and ran down the other side right into another steep hill. Walked and ran through this one too.

Mile 3 - This was mostly downhill to give up all the altitude achieved in miles 1 & 2. Again I opened up my stride a bit and tried to let gravity help out. One final hill at the 2.75 mark took us up to the level of the finish line and I slowly trotted up it. It was a straight slow incline to the finish line. I was going to make it!

Just as I was closing in on the finish line a college aged man passed me. For some reason this irritated me and I picked up my pace to keep up with him. He heard me coming and increased his pace. At that point I took it personally and began sprinting. My strides were huge and my arms were pumping when I raced passed him. He tried to pick up his pace to match mine but fell back about 100 feet short of the finish line. That was my personal victory of the race.

The clock read 39'40" as I crossed the line. Just short of my 40 minute goal.

They had a nice free brunch after the race and I pigged out in the warm cafeteria. I stayed for the awards announcement just hoping to hear where I placed on the overall rankings list. They never reported any times from any of the winners and I was completely shocked to hear my name announced as the 3rd place winner in the 40-44 category for men. I can only guess there weren't too many men in that age category running the race. Whatever, I was happy to accept my little bronze medal to make my day extra special.

Distance: jogged 2.0 then walked 1.32

Thanks to the time change I didn't get to bed last night until 11:30pm then had to get out of bed at 4:30am to catch the 6:05am departure of my flight from Lawton to Dallas. Thank goodness I enjoy sleeping on planes so I could catch a decent pair of naps on my way into Norfolk.

Once I had lunch and did a bit of shopping I drove to the hotel and immediately took the legs out to burn a few calories. The new Nike+ sensor* went with me and I will have to take time to calibrate it this week as it was well over the usual 10% in error. My hamstrings were a little tight yesterday and this morning - probably from the expanded strides I took yesterday during the sprint - so I didn't want to do anything too challenging. In addition the complete lack of sleep left my legs pretty drained. As a result I felt comfortable quitting at 2.0 miles and was happing with the fact that I had maintained a 12'00" pace through the distance. Finished up with a decent stretch of walking and a hot shower.

*My adventure with the Apple Store -
Well, if Apple provides any sort of service for the Nike+ sensor, my buddy Josh at the Apple Store in the MacArthur Center Mall of Norfolk Virginia knows nothing about it. They were full of people today for some reason so I had to wait to get someone to help me and well ... Josh was lost from the moment I opened my mouth. I had already seen that they had no stand-alone sensors for sale so I asked Josh about replacing my sensor since the battery was running low. He of course looked at me and said "Can't you just replace the battery?" I explained that no, it was intended that I get a new sensor OR that I should get this sensor replaced since it had not lasted the 1000 hours as advertised. Josh informed me that since the sensor was a Nike product I would have to get it handled through Nike and maybe I could get the sensor from their website as well. According to Josh, Apple just has the little kits and doesn't really support the product otherwise.

I probably could have tried finding someone else in the store and asking about my issue but I was drained from the flights and ready for lunch. As a result I paid the $29.99 for a new Sensor AND Receiver as well as picked up some new armbands for Teresa and I that fit the Nano with the receiver attached: we have armbands but they are for the standard Nano and the Nike+ receiver sticks out the bottom keeping us from closing the pouch as it should. I will keep the sensor and see if I can get it replaced in the future.

Not sure how this week's schedule will unfold with regards to running since I believe we may be working on Germany schedules.

Jogged 1.0 mile to calibrate the new Nike+ sensor then jogged a 0.5 mile segment and another 0.25 mile segment with some walks between to test the accuracy of the calibration. The error seemed acceptable and knowing that it is completely dependent on how regular my stride length is means I will always have some error.

I had planned to jog a bit more but as I finished my last 0.25 mile jog I needed a PB and was close to the hotel so I cut the day's work short. 

First day to jog 4 miles!

The temp was nice and there was very little wind so the conditions were perfect for a slow, steady jog. I did 1.55 miles before the iPod Nano locked up so I stopped for about 90 seconds to fool with it. Thankfully I had the foresight to stop the timer on my watch so that I kept a decent track of my total jog time. I resumed jogging and around 2.25 miles decided to push my pace to finish the 5K and held myself to around 11'30" -- I know it's hard for you to imagine someone having to PUSH to get an 11'30" pace -- to get finished in 41'30". After that I decided to shoot for 4 miles and dropped back to my usual trot to finish the distance in 54'09" which is a 13'32" pace. Which really makes me wonder how slow I was going before I pushed the pace to 11'30". No matter though, slow is fine as long as my heart and lungs are pumping.

Of course, since the iPod Nano locked up I don't get credit on any of my Nike+ challenges or goals for this distance. Thank goodness I had the GPS and the watch with me today.

Jogged 3.16 miles in 39'00" which included a few sprints where I got the pace down in the 9'30" neighborhood but had to walk afterward to recover. Walked the final 0.4 mile as a cool down getting back to the hotel.

After yesterday's 4 mile jog everything from my knees down were sore this morning. Ibuprofen helped and there didn't seem to be much lingering effect this afternoon. Going to do a light day tomorrow and then a medium day Friday. Not sure what I can get mileage-wise after that since I will be traveling to Lawton and then heading to Colorado to go with Kristoffer and friends on a ski trip: they will ski and I will stay warm.

2 miles in 25'30" for a light workout.

Today was chaotic at work and I wasn't feeling the urge to run this evening. Somehow though, talking to Dale convinced me that I should at least drag myself outdoors and try.

I had a PODRUNNER episode of techno music mixed with a beat of 180bpm so I gave that a try. It fit my normal stride rate very naturally and with the 70F temp I worked up a nice sweat quickly. There was definitely enough energy to go more than the 2 miles but I just wasn't feeling the motivation today. Hopefully I can catch up tomorrow with a normal 5K jog.

Lots of crankiness in anything below the knees tonight. I think I may take an ibuprofen tablet before climbing into bed.

5.26 total miles in 1:10:12.

Jogged the first 5K in 39:08, walked 1K, jogged 1K and then walked the rest back to the hotel.

Weather was gorgeous with a moderate wind to cool off the sweat on occasion. Got out of the lab before 5pm so I didn't have to worry about as much traffic in the park which was one of the reasons I only did 2 miles last night. When you are running on a little park road and all the families decide it is time to take the children to soccer or baseball practice, there is not much room for the lonely jogger trying to trudge along the same stretch of asphalt.

I seriously need to get some new music on the iPod. All of my playlists are getting too familiar. Maybe the new Avenged Sevenfold album or some old school Cream.

No running. Rode in a car from 5am to 5pm or a bit later going to Grand Lake, Colorado to start a week of skiing and relaxing. Oh and work. 

When we finally reached our cabin, the gentleman driving our vehicle managed to get it wedged nicely into a snowbank. We spent two hours wielding ice cutters and snow shovels before finally breaking it loose. Enough of a work out.
 

No running today. Instead I experimented with skiing for the first time in my life at Sol Vista in Colorado. That was a workout! Definitely gave my calves quite a bit of work. I was bone tired after a day of ski school. I am going to spend tomorrow in the cabin doing _real_ work and maybe do some running/exploring in the nearby National Forest.

Location: Grand Lake, Colorado - Elevation: 8813ft

Managed to intersperse 2.0 miles of jogging amid a great deal of walking. The jogs were in intervals of 0.25, 0.75, 0.25, 0.5 and 0.25 mile. Could definitely feel the elevation in my lungs and yesterday's skiing in my legs. I covered some larger hills during the walks and tried to keep the pace quick so my quads reacted a bit.

Didn't notice the cold too much and for a change I did not over dress. The last 2 miles or so had me walking into the wind and shade so my face got nipped by the 12F windchill. Didn't have traction problems on the sections I walked on snow.

Glad that I got away from work and out of the cabin to put in the work. Tomorrow if I get a chance I will try to jog longer intervals.

No miles today. Instead after working through the morning, I joined Kristoffer in building a snow cave. About two hours of shoveling and sculpting snow was my excuse for a workout today.

Location: Grand Lake, Colorado    

Jogged 3.35 miles broken up into intervals with very short walks because I cannot jog up the larger hills in the area and with the altitude difference my lungs need the breaks. I did manage an interval of 1 mile and another of 0.95 mile so I definitely improved over Tuesday's run. Tomorrow is my last change to run in this area before returning to lower altitudes on another 12+ hour car ride Saturday. 

In addition to the jog, I spent about 2 hours with the kids digging in the snow fort. Then after my run we spent 2 hours snowmobiling in the Rocky Mountains National Park. And yes, the same fellow that managed to get the Ford Expedition wedged into a snowbank on Sunday (requiring 2 hours of snow shoveling and car pushing to extract) also managed to bury his snowmobile up to the seat in loose powder today. Snowmobiles are heavy! Thank the gods some other snowmobilers came along and with 4 grown men we managed to heft the snowmobile from the powder onto the trail.

I know I am crazy for even considering it but I have been looking at the running calendar near the Orlando area on 29-30 March. Since I am stuck there I may as well donate some money to a charity and do another 5K.

Finally, in this incredibly long update, my Nike+ woes continue. I turned off the sensor for the trip from Norfolk to Lawton last weekend. Now I cannot seem to get it to turn on again. Neither Tuesday nor today could I get the receiver to find the sensor. And this is the NEW sensor that I bought less than two weeks ago. 

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

A third day of 0 miles in a week of very inconsistent mileage. While I can certainly list a long line of excuses the harsh truth is the lack of miles accumulated. Hopefully I will begin to remedy the situation tomorrow evening with a jog in Orlando, Florida.

Looking at the Sight and Sole 5K as a possible activity for 29 March. It is to take place in Altamonte Springs, Fl not far from my hotel. I will try to call the group tomorrow and get more details since some websites list it as a walk while others list it as a run. There are other 5K races that weekend but the Sight and Sole 5K has the advantage of being close to "home".

3.30 miles in 42'12".

Fresh from the airplane trip I arrived at the hotel, tossed on the shorts and shoes for my run. Started out a bit too fast doing 2 miles in 23'47" and had to walk 0.5 miles to let my legs calm down a bit. Finished up the last 0.6 mile jogging at a slower pace to finish the 5K distance. My time for the 5K distance was 39'19.8". Jogged/walked the last 0.2 mi very slowly to cool down.

3.48 miles in 43'13".

1.0 mile in 11'04".
1.5 mile in 16'40". (11'07"/mi)
walked 0.25 mile to recover
Picked up jogging again at 2.75
5K at 36'21". (11'44"/mi)
walked to cool down

So, I definitely think I have a 36 minute 5K in me. I probably could have gotten there today if I hadn't taken the 0.25 mile walk in the middle.

The Sight and Sole 5K I was originally hoping to run on Saturday has been demoted to just a walk so I signed up for the 8th Annual NSBF 5K Run/Walk on Sunday instead. It is associated with a convention so there are lots of people from out of town registered for the event. Hopefully I can get my sub 36 5K done on Sunday!

Location: Orlando, Fl    

4.5 total miles in 1:03:00.

Why do I even try to plan  my workouts? Today was supposed to be a slow 4 mile jog. But for some reason when I run alongside traffic I pick up my pace. Probably fear of the crazy drivers near the University of Central Florida.

So I did my first mile in 12:04. Two miles in 23:45. A quicker pace than I had planned for sure. I then walked 1 mile, ran another 0.5 mile and by then my left knee was complaining. It may be that I have done too much on the sidewalks in the last 3 workouts. I finished up by walking the remaining distance back to the hotel and will take an ibuprofen for dinner hoping it soothes the knee. I may coast tomorrow to give the knee extra rest since I definitely want to be healthy enough to do Sunday's 5K.

Location: Orlando, Fl

3.0 miles of trail running, 2.6 miles wandering lost

Okay, so today's story is not so much about the distance or the pace. It was the adventure.

Figuring that running alongside traffic was keeping me running a bit too fast, I located the Little Big Econ State Forest not too far from the hotel and decided to run on the trails they had there. Trail running slows me down as I have to navigate the twists and turns or the trail as well as whatever flora or fauna may present itself. Dutifully I set the GPS and started off through the tropical wilderness following the orange blaze marks.

Everything went well for the 3 miles I jogged. Around 2.5 miles my legs were feeling the strain of the terrain and I was beginning to stumble a bit more on the exposed tree roots or whatever cropped up in the trail but that was expected. At 3 miles I encountered a water hazard blocking the trail and thought it would be a good point to start back towards the car. I put my GPS on back trace and began following my footsteps on the trail using the GPS to pick the right direction when my memory failed me. After about 15 minutes of this, I found myself in a section of the jungle that I distinctly knew I had not visited before though I was right on top of the GPS plotted track. I wandered a bit further and realized something was quite amiss when my GPS heading read due east but I was walking right into the sun at nearly 7:30pm!

Yes, somehow with an incredibly accurate GPS in hand I had gotten lost. I gave up on the GPS and relied on the ol' internal navigation to pick trails back towards the car while never finding the original route. The orange blazes would occasionally pop up (on more than one occasion on small trees that had been leveled into piles along the trail) yet never consistently. I suffered the bites of huge Florida mosquitoes and was fairly dampened by sweat before I finally reached the car. The GPS said I was about 0.5 mile from where I was. Maybe new batteries are needed? Or maybe just the dense foliage was giving it problems.

One unfortunate result -- I consider the humble pie I must eat a good thing -- was that I ran some stretches in the very silty dirt/sand that passes for soil in this area. It filled my running shoes and socks to the point where it wore some tender spots on my feet. Nasty! It was like running through powder. Not as hard to push through as sand but very fine and hard to get footing on.

Location: Orlando, Fl

4.77 mi in 1:00 for a 12:35/mi pace.

So, I decided to go out an push myself through a full 5K trying to beat 36:00.
1.0 mile - 11:13    (11:13/mi pace)
1.5 mile - 16:25    (10:57/mi pace)
2.0 mile - 22:30    (11:15/mi pace)
3.1 mile - 35:44.3 (11:32/mi pace)
I am definitely happy with those results. A 36:00 or better mark is my gold star goal for Sunday's 5K!

Walked 0.67 miles to recover from the jog and then did another 1.0 mile of slow jogging to work the distance while I felt good from the day's success.

There was definitely some crankiness in the knees however I think that was more the result of yesterday's stumbling trail run than the workout today. My right ankle was also a bit tweaked this morning yet seemed to wear off later in the day. So, tomorrow I am going to rest, keep my adventures to a minimum, maybe go shopping at a running store nearby and get to bed early for the 8th Annual NSBF 5K.

Location: Orlando, Fl

No running today but I believe I may have set a personal record in the sleep category.

Much better results than I expected. Though I am not exactly sure how large the field was it numbered into the 400s with the top overall winner finishing in just over 18 minutes: a 50 year old from Arizona.

Since the start line had timing pads set up I did not worry about getting ahead of anyone and in fact stood for a while after the horn sounded to let a large group of the walkers break up before crossing the line.

The first mile was mostly downhill and I finished it in a very fast 10:11.

The second mile was a slow climb with a flat stretch on top. I was proud of myself for not needing to stop and walk in this stretch. In fact, I used this part of the course to pass quite a few other joggers. Found a young lady who seemed to be keeping a nice pace and followed her for most of this mile.

Third mile was mostly flat looping back near the starting line. We made a turn at what I estimated to be about 2.75 miles and here I picked up my pace passing 5 or 6 folks. Once I got sight of the finish line and the clock I kicked as hard as I could knowing that I had beat the 36 minute mark.

The clock when I crossed the finish line said 34:50. My stopwatch when I remembered to stop it after letting my chip be removed and walking towards the water table read 34:18.9. Somehow my official posted time was 34:53.6. I am guessing the difference between my stopwatch and the official time is the amount of time I waited for the path to clear ahead of me before crossing the start line. BUT, I thought the mats at the start of the race were specifically meant to account for your actual start time. Oh well. It wouldn't have made any difference in my position yet I somehow feel cheated that my official time should have been in the 34:10 to 34:15 range.

So this gives me a good measure of my improvement this month and lets me set my goals for April.

No miles today.

Right ankle is killing me but I think it is just something stretched in the muscles at the top of my foot. No tenderness to the touch, horrible swelling, discoloration, etc. to really give me any indication of major issues. Treating with Ibuprofen and doing my best to rest the foot.