Running in Life's Slow Lane

I have to start the new month with 0 miles as the entire day was chewed up with travel. Working some odd hours the next few days will challenge my dedication to running.

So today was nothing like the slow 45 minute workout I had planned.

Instead I started my jog and felt my calves immediately tighten to the point where they became painful, forcing me to stop 8:09 into my run. I spent the next two minutes or so pacing around, stretching and generally convincing my legs that it was okay to run again. At this point I decided to just run back to the car and if the pain was too much, call it a day. That leg went well but there was still a bit of tightness so I alternated stretching and running one more set of out-and-back.

I was running the part of the Hampton Inn 5K that stays within the park, which measured 0.68 mile one way.

0.68 mi in 8:09 (11:59/mi) * tight and painful
walk and stretch
0.68 mi in 7:25 (10:54/mi) * felt really fluid as the time shows
walk and stretch
0.68 mi in 7:30 (11:02/mi) * starting to really pour the sweat on
walk and stretch
0.68 mi in 9:00 (13:14/mi) * I was feeling the heat and humidity on this one
walk and stretch

The calves were still sore so I didn't run more. Tomorrow I hope to have a bit more sleep and will try to get back to my slow steady runs.

Location: Chesapeake, Virginia

0.86 in 10:06 (11:45/mi)
walk and stretch
0.84 in 10:01 (11:56/mi)
walk and stretch
0.79 in 10:01 (12:41/mi)
look at sore toe
0.81 in 10:08 (12:31/mi)
walk home in sock feet
 
Going back to the run/walk pattern initially to help relieve the stiffness in my calves. Then at the end of my third interval I could tell my left pinky toe was rubbing a blister against my shoe or sock. I took off my shoe and found nothing inside that should have been a problem. Did notice that the seam on my sock could be a problem though I have worn these same style of socks many many time. Turned the sock inside out thinking it might help. Ran another interval and I had to stop there. I wanted to go one more 10:00 interval but no way I wanted to risk a nasty blister. To relieve the irritation I took off my shoes and walked the last 0.50+ mile to the hotel in my sock feet.

I have some "running" socks with me so I will try a pair of those tomorrow and hope for the best.

Hot and sweaty today.

Location: Chesapeake, Virginia

No miles today as I logged 17 hours in the lab. By the time I left the lab at 11pm there was no energy to spend on a workout.

Got to bed around 12:30am and the alarm went off at 5:00am. That is just not enough sleep for an old man.

stretches
0.71 mi in 8:08 (11:27/mi)
walk for 2:00
0.40 mi in 5:00 (12:30/mi) *left calf became painful
walk and stretch
0.76 mi in 10:01 (13:10/mi)
walk for 2:00
0.75 mi in 10:05 (13:27/mi)
walk for 2:00
0.75 mi in 10:02 (13:23/mi)
stretches

I don't know what I have done or what I am continuing to do to aggravate my left calf so much. Today it seemed okay during the first run but as I walked it stiffened considerably and I could only do about half of a leg before I had to stop and hobble to a nearby tree for more stretching. My whole goal in breaking my runs into these intervals was to help add some distance to my workouts but with the calf aches I have had to finish short each time.

Some sleep would definitely help and a somewhat less stressful environment could not hurt.

Location: Chesapeake, Va

Asics Gel-1120:  342.08
 

Much more sleep. Ready to get to a better schedule in a few days.

1 mi in 12:20 (stopped at 5:00 to stretch)
walk 2 minutes
1 mi in 12:38
walk 2 minutes
1 mi in 12:39 (really got into a groove here)
walk 2 minutes
1 mi in 12:50
walked to car

First day in a week or so that my calves weren't the key focus of my workout. Glad to get a full 4 miles in today and look forward to keeping this as my workout standard for a few weeks.

Location: Chesapeake, Va

Off to Orlando, Florida tomorrow ...

No miles today as I flew from Norfolk to Orlando. The plane rides gave me a great chance to nap and begin catching up on the sleep I lost in the last few days.

Exciting to see that everyone on the "team" posted runs on Tuesday.

Something has got to give!

The calves were very tight today feeling as though there were knots in each leg. Left more so than the right. I only made it about 1.75 miles (with breaks too often) before I gave up and walked for quite a long stretch. Finally after feeling the tightness wane at around 30 minutes into the workout I started doing intervals of jogging and walking without too much discomfort.

This is driving me nuts!

Tomorrow I will make a point of doing some very gentle calf stretches throughout the day. I'm also going to look for a multivitamin with an eye towards something to help with the muscles but I have to be careful because salts might up my blood pressure.

Oh well. I got *some* distance covered and burned a few calories.

Location: Orlando, Fl

Slowly catching up on my sleep, finally!

Okay, today's run was done without a GPS in hopes that I would just divorce myself from any concern other than just chewing up time.

Walked to the start of my route.
Jogged for 13:36.
Walked.
Jogged for 5:07.
Walked
Jogged for 9:33.
Walked
Jogged for 9:37.
Walked back to hotel.

Not too bad tonight. Calves were definitely tight and stinging (like they were overworked?) at the end of the first interval. After the 5:07 interval everything seemed much better and the third interval felt pretty good. I would have liked running further in the last interval but I was out of gas by then.

Course: Research Run

Location: Orlando, Fl - 94F, 60% Humidity

Note: When I am running and exploring, I *must* remember that when I am finished with the workout and extremely tired I should be near my hotel.

0.57 mile walk to start point
1.0 mile in 13:07.8
walk
1.0 mile in 13:02.6
walk
1.0 mile in 12:46.1 (calves are not hurting!)
walk
0.5  mile in 6:48.6 (legs are dead)

Definitely excited about this morning's workout. Getting through a mile has been a big hurdle lately. The first mile had plenty of calf tightness while the second was notably less. I completely forgot about the calves until near the end of the third mile when I realized they were not bothering me at all. I had hoped to go one more mile but noticed around the 0.25 mile mark that my legs were getting loose and didn't go farther than the 0.5 mile mark to avoid possible injury.

The big killer was all the miles I then had to walk to get back to the hotel. I just got carried away enjoying the fact that I was actually running miles today and let myself explore a bit too far afield.

And I found a mole cricket! There is a long story behind why seeing my first live mole cricket is a noteworthy event. Perhaps I will put it in my memoirs some day.

Location: Orlando freakishly-hot-and horribly-humid-with-way-too-bright-sun Florida.

Calves seem to be improving.

walk to start point
1.25 mi in 16:00 (12:48/mi)
walk - stopped to watch a Tiger Swallowtail puddling
1.50 mi in 19:50 (13:13/mi)
walk back to hotel

So I increased the length of my intervals today while decreasing the overall length of the workout. Yesterday's goof in being so far from the hotel and having to cover so many miles just killed my legs. My hips and upper thighs were tired. Calves bothered me a bit in the first mile or so but not so severe as to force me to stop.

Going to continuing adding distance back to each interval as long as the calves don't flare up to the intense pain level.

Today I was very thankful for the strong headwind I had on the last interval. I am soooo not ready for summer running.

Location: Orlando, Fl
Course: Research Run

Walked to the start point
jogged for 3.0 miles
- 1.0 mile in 12:18 (12:18/mi)
- 2.0 mile in 24:44 (12:26/mi)
- 3.0 mile in 37:56 (13:12/mi) avg pace was 12:39/mi

Finally! Made it back to a 3 mile workout without too much distress. Not quite up to the blistering pace I was running before the calf pains but almost there. I fully expect tomorrow to be a shorter workout as I can feel some soreness settling in to my legs this evening.

It was a gorgeous night for a run as well with a cool breeze keeping my company.

Location: Orlando, Fl (just 3 more runs in Fl before going home!)

0.56 mile in  6:00  (10:43/mi) way too fast!
1.00 mile in 11:13 (11:13/mi) still too fast!
2.00 mile in 23:20 (11:40/mi) still too fast but getting better
walked a bit
0.50 mile in  6:06 (12:12/mi) more like it
walked a bit
0.25 mile untimed
walked back to hotel

Well my legs were not terribly sore today but they were tired. I'm not sure if the tiredness is from yesterday's run, weird sleep patterns, a stressful day or all of the above.

Also once I get started running at a fast pace I cannot seems to slow myself down. Today is a perfect example where for some reason I bolted to my first checkpoint at a crazy pace and spent the rest of my workout trying to slow myself down. Finally after I saw where I was at the 2.0 mile mark I made myself stop in an effort to break my rhythm. It seemed to help with the pace but also left me feeling how tired the legs were.

I am so ready to go home to Oklahoma. Really feeling homesick today. Kristoffer's final middle school band concert and choir concert were tonight. My kiddo is growing up.

Location: Orlando, Fl (2 more runs in Florida before I go home)

1.08 mi in 12:43 (11:47/mi)
1.00 mi in 11:53 (11:53/mi)
1.00 mi in 12:23 (12:23/mi) avg pace: 12:01/mi

I had no intentions of running that fast but it feels like my body is trying to find a new gear. Maybe that's a good sign of improvement.

Sleep is fine but Bruce (coworker) and I are feeling the effects of the work environment: seems like we are always tired.

Location: Orlando, Fl (1 more run in Orlando before going home)

Last run in Orlando for a while!

1.00 mi in 10:34
1.00 mi in 11:11
0.25 mi in 02:33 avg pace 10:48/mi

Bruce and I had plans to visit The Greek Flame Taverna tonight and since it is a small place didn't want to risk our usual 8:30-9:00pm dinner time as being too late. We cut out of the lab a bit early, got the workouts done and made it to dinner around 7:45pm. This is the reason for only doing the shorter 2.25 miles tonight.

I pushed the tempo pretty hard tonight since I will have tomorrow off and I was going a shorter distance. I would go hard for 2-3 minutes and then ease back for 5-8 minutes. Not sure I could have managed a full 5K at the faster overall pace but if felt good to try.

Still short of the 18:18 time for 2.0 miles that the Army requires.

Location: Orlando, Florida (going home tomorrow!)

No miles today as I flew home from Orlando.

Looks like I need to get 4 miles tomorrow to meet my weekly goal of 22 miles.

1.06 mi in 12:06 (11:25/mi)
0.94 mi in 11:05 (11:48/mi)
walked a bit to rest the calves
~1.50 miles jogged back towards home
walked home

I messed up and didn't notice the distance mark when I started the third leg but I don't believe it could be less than 1.50 miles. The left calf felt like it had a bit of a knot in it at the 2 mile mark so I went ahead and stopped to stretch it out. Nothing like I have experienced after the last two flights though.

Teresa ran with me and she runs a quicker pace so I worked harder to keep up with her. Tomorrow's run definitely needs to be slower.

Sent an email off to get details about a 5K in Wichita Falls, Tx scheduled for 31 May. I'm hoping to squeeze one race in before May finishes so I can keep up my 5K/month average.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma - where the wildflowers and wildlife make me happy!

2.08 mi in 25:00 (12:01/mi) 'downhill leg'
walk for 5 minutes
1.15 mi in 15:00 (13:02/mi) 'uphill leg'
walk for 3 minutes
0.86 mi in 11:00 (12:47/mi) 'homestretch'

Total time: 59:00

Running avg pace: 12:28/mi
Total avg pace: 13:10/mi

Nice run. No major aches or pains. Happy with the pacing too. I really need to see about getting some data off of my GPS and attempting to figure out what sort of grade I am running on. After being in mostly flat Florida and Virginia for a few weeks these hills seem steep.

Started the run at 60F and finished at 78F. Today's high is predicted at 90 but tomorrow is slated for 101F. Guess I had better learn to love morning runs.

Tomorrow I am back to a shorter 35 or 45 minute run.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma (running next to a wheat field)

2.91 mi in 35:00 (12:01/mi)
walk a bit to the house

Nice smooth run. Not too bad for the day after the long run. I think the Nike+ may  be a bit generous as I certainly don't feel like I ran the entire distance at 12:01 pace. The roads I have been running have definite ascents and descents to them so with my poor hill running skills I am skeptical.

No major aches or pains again. At least running related ones. I seem to have stressed a muscle in my left rib cage area sometime during my return home on Friday. Every few hours I have a nasty set of spasms.

Temp at start 70F. At finish 77F. Summertiiiiiime .... and the livin' is ..... eeeeeeasyyyyyy

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma (where the wheat is so golden in the morning sun)

1.63 mi in 20:00 (12:16)
walked 3 minutes
jogged 15:00 (didn't keep track of distance)
walked to the house

We averaged right around 12:00 over the first 2.0 miles. 11:20ish in the last mile which included the downhill leg towards home. Not bad for starting the run less than 30 minutes after finishing the lawn at the office.

Teresa and I are set to run in the Allie Reynolds 5K in Oklahoma City on Saturday. Teresa's goal is 35:30 or less and I am still hoping to best my 34:50ish time from Orlando.

Of course, we are hanging the light fixtures for the upcoming summer musical production at Cameron University on Friday afternoon. So I should have my upper body nice and tired for the race.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma


 

Okay, the last of my "goof off" days and I decided to go run at the Wichita Mtns Wildlife Refuge.

3.14 mi in 38:30 (12:16/mi) *it's cloudy, breezy and wonderful!
walked 15 minutes *clouds go away and it is sunny, hot and breezy
0.87 mi in 11:00 (12:39/mi)
water stop at the Visitor's Center
1.13 mi in 15:00 (13:17/mi) *full of water and tired as heck
walked rest of the way to the car

So I covered a total of 7.0 miles of which I jogged 5+ miles. My total moving time was 1:32:45 which I was happy about.

Wildlife spotted today included 1 yearling deer, 2 elk, herd of buffalo, the back end of a western diamondback rattlesnake (he was leaving and I didn't bother him).

A US Fish and Wildlife Service employee at the Visitor's Center told me I was an inspiration to be out running while a mom with her van full of kids told me I was brave for running by the buffalo herd. I just said "Thank you" but the reality is that I am as wary of the buffalo as anyone else and had watched their behavior as I approached. The herd gave me all the clear signs of "Oh, you are nothing to worry about." so I kept going.

Dale has got me looking at the Ragnar Relay site more than I should. Looking at their training plans for the Texas relay it looks like my current activity matches about midway through their beginner training plan. I might pick up their plan and work my way through it in the weeks ahead.

Enough of this goofing off. People expect me to be writing code.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma (Where the buffalo roam...)

Asics Gel 1120 -- 400.59 - Holy Cow!

Well these are NOT the results I had hoped for in today's race. While I am excited because both Teresa and I placed 3rd in our respective age groups, my time was way too slow.

I have lots of excuses but when I boil it all down, I was just not in the mood to perform better. The last week or so has been a tense one for me personally. It all culminated with a pretty stressful day Friday and it carried into today's race. My anger just got the best of me and I let it ruin my race experience.

Chalk this up to good experience.

On the good side: I survived running on my 42nd birthday. I then went to a running store and got some new shoes and some new shirts.

Location: Bethany, Oklahoma

4.0 miles total - 3 miles ran and 1 mile walking interspersed

0.25 mi at 10:00ish pace to calibrate Nike+ sensors
0.50 mi at 10:00ish pace to test calibration (+0.01 mi error)
0.25 mi walked
0.25 mi sprint at 1:55 (7:40/mi pace)
0.25 mi walked
1.00 mi at 13:00ish pace
0.25 mi walked
1.00 mi at 12:00ish pace
0.25 mi walked

Teresa and I ran on the school track to calibrate her new Nike+ sensor. Very flat run for a change but very hard wind from the south. Sunny, humid and tough on my left calf during the first 2 miles or so.

Teresa is now on the blog at TeresaJ.fastrunningblog.com so stop by and give her some encouragement. But not too much as she already runs faster that me.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

5km of which I think I managed to run 4km and walk 1km.

The left calf is being bellicose once again. Don't know what causes these outbursts of pain but I am beginning to blame sunspots.

Heat was an issue for me today. For some reason my face just felt like it couldn't shed the stale air I was exhaling. Teresa pointed out that as we started uphill the sun escaped from the clouds and the breeze died away so I am sure I was just suffering the temporary effects but it made me miserable.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma - gorgeous day to be outdoors

Asics Gel 1130 - 7

1.00 mi in 10:53
1.00 mi in 11:29
0.50 mi
walked 0.25 mi
0.50 mi
walked to the house

Covered the first 3.1 mi in 36:17 even with the 0.25 mi of walking.

Weather was much nicer. The temps were still in the upper 70s but rain moved through earlier this morning so the air was cooler and clouds completely covered the sky preventing the sun from pounding down on me.

Calf pain was limited to my left leg and not severe. Twinges in my right hip were bothersome so I probably need to stretch some more before running tomorrow.

Did plenty of stretches and a few core exercises after I finished.

Asics Gel 1130 - 10.69
 

Kudos to Teresa for making me run when I really didn't want to.

I think I did about 3.0 miles of which approximately 2.8 was done in 35:18.

We didn't run until 2030 and it was still warm but not as horrible as I had feared.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

2.53 of which I managed to run 2.0 in 24:15 (12:08/mi) the other 0.53 was walking at the start and finish.

I did alright while the sun was behind some clouds but once it came on strong I wilted quickly. It may be that runs in the early morning or after sunset are the only hope for runs during the summer. Today was supposed to be a 4 mile day. Not going to happen.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

0.25 mi walked
1.0 mi in 12:05
2.0 mi in 24:30 (12:15/mi)
3.1 mi in 38:00 (12:15/mi)
3.5 mi in 43:00 (12:30/mi)
4.0 mi in 49:30 (13:00/mi) 12:23 avg pace
0.25 mi walked

I ran along 45th street between Lee Blvd and Bishop Road doing several laps to get my distance. To work on the hills that Teresa loves to run, I ran from Brown to Bishop and back 3 times to get 3 miles going up and down the long slow hill. Finished with 1 lap from Brown to Lee Blvd and back.

I feel like I ran well for the first 5000m and probably could have kicked to finish my last downhill a bit stronger than I did. Yet, that was not my goal for today's run.

Heat did not really bother me too much. I doused my hair in some water before I started and just for safety's sake I stashed water at my midway point (another reason to do laps). Started the run at 75F and finished at 82F with full sun and a strong 15-20mph breeze from SSE.

Tomorrow I need to squeeze in a 3 mile run before it gets too busy.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma - where there is a small snake lying dead alongside the road and I must go get it

Asics Gel 1130 

1.02 in 12:08 (11:54/mi)
2.00 in 24:06 (12:13/mi)
3.10 in 35:38 (10:30/mi) avg pace 11:30/mi
walked a bit to the house

Fastest I have run in a while. I was running without much sleep and the first few miles were hard to make myself go, so in the last mile I ran some faster segments to break up the monotony. It felt good to stretch out my legs. I guess I should focus on doing that in my next race and maybe have a change at getting below that 34:00 mark.


Okay, off to get started on a very busy day.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma - they are starting the spring wheat harvest