Running in Life's Slow Lane

Working through the Couch to 5K schedule very slowly.



5 minutes walk, 5 run, 3 walk, 5 run, 3 walk, 5 run, + cool down walk totaled 30'02".
Pace: 13'10"

Wind was stiff from the north at 15-25mph windchill was roughly 37F but sunny with clear skies.

Health status:
Weight: 179.0
BMI: 28.03
Resting Heart Rate: 57bpm
Blood Pressure: 125/84

5 minutes walk-8r-5w-8r-4w for a total of 30:18.
Distance: 2.34 miles Pace: 12:49
Monthly total: 4.62 miles Monthly target: 35 miles (30.38 remaining)
Location: MacArthur Middle School Track
Weather: sunny 49F winds S at 15mph gusting to 25mph, wind chill 43F

I definitely went into today's run with a bit of trepidation as it was my first attempt at jogging for 8 minutes and the wind has been fierce all day. I'm very proud to say that I completed both 8 minute intervals without any pain or undue stress. The wind definitely kicked me in the head when I had to run north-to-south but then it gave me a big boost going south-to-north.

Today was the second time I really experienced being a bit light headed as I bent to get into the car. Perhaps my period of walking towards the end to cool down needs to taper to a slower pace. I wasn't short of breath or anything serious. Just one of those split-second dizzy spells. Still the doctor told me to let my body guide me in how far to push myself so I will pay attention if this continues or worsens.

The pain I have been experiencing in my left calf did not bother me at all during the run. It seems to be a sporadic stab of pain most often occurring when I stand after sitting for some time. I have been doing some light stretches before and after each trip to the track in an attempt to minimize the stress from the exercise. Again, it's troublesome but unless it increases in frequency or intensity I am going to approach it with a "wait and see" attitude.

This evening will be stretching and a few core strengthening exercises after dinner.

Health status:
Weight: 178.2 (-6.8 net)
BMI: 27.91 yea! shaved one more point off. next point comes off at 172.4
Resting Heart Rate: 52bpm
Blood Pressure: 116/82

Off day from running.

25 minutes of stretching and core strengthening exercises.

Figures that today would be an off day on the schedule since the temperatures climbed near 60F. Tomorrow is another off day but I will be crawling around under the offices replacing some very old electricity feeds that the contractor failed to take care of this summer.

On an unrelated note, learned this morning that a coworker has inoperable liver cancer. Makes my decision to start taking better care of my health just a bit more meaningful.

Off day from running.

Light weight training with 8 lbs.

My entire day was consumed with replacing old electric feeds in my office with newer feeds. The contractor had left about 8 old outlets with 2 wire (no ground). I got all of those replaced which involved a great deal of crawling. As a result, I have a greater respect for the work babies do in moving themselves about before they learn to walk.

Getting better at limiting my intake at meals.

5 minutes walk-8r-5w-8r-5w for a total of 31:37.
Distance: 2.47 miles   Avg Pace: 12:48
Monthly total: 7.09 miles Monthly target: 35 miles (27.91 remaining)
Location: MacArthur Middle School Track
Weather: sunny 70F winds S at 10mph gusting to 15mph
Start Time: 1143
 

Today was our second turn at running the 8 minute intervals. In the first 8 minute interval we averaged a 10:50 pace and Teresa (my wife) felt it was a bit too fast. During the second 8 minute interval I let her set the pace and we averaged 11:10. In the last 30 seconds of the jogging I picked up my pace to 9:40 just to get a feel of what it feels like to run close to a 9:00 pace.  

The left calf did not bother me during the exercise. However, after I had rested a few moments I stepped towards the fence to do my stretches and the calf hurt horribly. I did my stretches but it genuinely hurt to put weight on my left leg.

We are considering adding a small run tomorrow (normally an off day) to let Teresa re-calibrate her Nike+ sensor and start us on the path to more runs per week. 

Walked and jogged so that Teresa could get her Nike+ sensor calibrated. Also wanted to start filling in a few smaller runs between the real effort days. We ran a total or 0.5 miles at an 11:00 average pace and walked the rest.

Good luck to all the Buckeye and Tiger fans out there! 

5 minutes walking - 8r-5w-8r + cool down walk for a total of 30:23.
Covered 2.33 miles at an average pace of 13:00/mi.

Nice and sunny but the temps were down in the 50s with a stiff 10-15mph wind from the south. I wore shorts and long sleeves which kept me warm enough but needed a stocking cap as my ears were numbed in the wind.

The most important thing was my calf pain. Doing stretches afterwards I found a stretch that seemed to land right where I was feeling the pain and eased it a bit. Coming home and looking through the exercise sites as well as staring at a few anatomical diagrams leads me to believe the pain is originating near where the soleus joins to become the calcaneous. In the days ahead I am going to focus on stretching the calves.

So who are you rooting for in this weekend's NFL playoffs?

5 minutes walk - ran until tired - cool down walk resulting in total time of 19:16.
Covered 1.46 miles at an average pace of 13:12.

Nice temperature - 54F - but the wind was 15 mph gusting to 20mph from the south. Learning my lesson from yesterday I wore my stocking cap and felt comfortable throughout the run.

This is part of my ongoing effort to sneak light mileage in between the regularly scheduled run days. There were no mileage or time goals and I ran "around the block" here in the neighborhood rather than bother with driving to the track. There is a nice gentle elevation splitting the circuit so I got to run a bit uphill on one side of the loop and back down on the other.

Did plenty of stretches before and afterward to try to work out the issues with the calf muscle but it is still plenty tender.

Didn't sleep at all last night. For some reason the body refused to shutdown even when my mind was completely wiped out. Finally drifted off on the couch around 0230 and was not ready for the alarm at 0630. I crawled off of the couch enough to get the family out the door and take care of a few email chores before napping a bit. 

5 minutes walk - 10r-5w-10r + cool down walk for a total time of 34:35.
Covered a distance of 2.64 miles for an average pace of 13:11.

 Woot! I actually managed to run two 10 minute intervals. Since this was my first time to try for that length of time I was a bit restrained in my pace dropping as far as 12+ during the runs. When I try this interval next (on Sunday) I will be more confident that I can survive and try to move closer to my 10:50ish pace.

The calf was still a nuisance. I have been stretching the calf muscles and the quadriceps 3-4 times per day including once about 15 minutes before I start the warm up 5 minute walk. Today I paid more attention as to when the pain showed up and it was after the first 10 minute run interval. Is the muscle tightening up while I am doing the 5 minutes of walking? Maybe I should walk a couple of minutes to let my heart come down a bit, pause to stretch a bit and then continue walking until it's time for the next run interval.

In addition to having sleep issues again last night, it now seems as though Dale has somehow infected me with his cold via Internet. Scratchy throat, stuff head, etc. The upper half of my body feels like I've fallen down some stairs. I will push liquids, try to rest and hope the cold front passes.


 

Today was a fun run in the sense that I had no overall time or distance objective.
Ran/walked a total of 2.01 miles in 25:20 for an average pace of 12:33.

Weather was nice: about 60F with winds 0-5mph. I worked up an appreciable sweat but was comfortable throughout the run.

This marks my 6th consecutive day of putting in miles so I consider that an important accomplishment. Tomorrow is a definite off day and then I'll be back to it on Sunday.

Yay! An off day with some excellent sleep. The head cold is still kicking my tail though.

5w-10r-3w-10r+cool down walk for a total time of 33:05.
Covered a distance of 2.6 miles for an average pace of 12:42.

 Toughest challenge today was running through a head full of phlegm. The head cold has not really changed for the better or worse but just seems to be lingering in a steady state.

 Temp 49F sunny wind from NW 0-5 mph.


 

Today was a fun run: no distance or time objectives.
1.59 miles in 20:50 (avg 13:06/mi).

Okay, it started out as a fun run but really turned into an effort as the left calf that has been bothering me really became painful. For lack of a better description it felt like someone had "frogged" me on the inside edge of the left calf about midway between the heel and the knee. I did notice that for some reason I had taken off at a much faster pace than my usual so the calf may have been reacting to my hubris. In any case, I forced myself to intermix short jogs and walks to get at least 1.5 miles in before calling it a day.

 60F, sunny, wind NW 5-10mph gusting 15mph, 18% humidity - gorgeous day

On a note that some will appreciate -
Got definite proof that running is good for us computer programmers. I had spent most of the day trying to find a problem reported by a user, but after being unable to find anything I gave up and went for the run. As I came back into the house the phone was ringing: the same user telling me it was not my software but another program causing the problem. Hence, my new running schedule will now include impromptu runs whenever I get bug reports in hopes that running solves my lack of programming skills.

 

5w-10r-3w-10r + lots of cool down walking for a total of 43:30.
Covered a total of 3.24 miles for an average pace of  13:25/mi.

The wind blowing from the south really seemed to upset my running today. During the first 10 minute cycle I felt like I was breathing all wrong which is a first for me. Generally I just jog along and let the breathing take care of itself. Today I felt like I couldn't get the air all the way into my lungs or something. I kept trying to breathe deep to 'reset' things but basically just plowed through the 10 minutes. The breathing was not a problem during the second 10 minute cycle though I was definitely wore out and my pace really slowed down.

I was feeling a twinge from the lowest right hand part of my back. A little to the top of my tailbone but nearly in line with my spine of the right side. This I attribute to the fact that today was the first in several days during which I tried to sit upright while working. My recent cold had kept me reclined on the couch near tissues and such for a long while.

My left calf was still bothering me so I decided that tomorrow is an off day and I would baby the leg a bit. Having made that decision I went ahead and walked a bit extra at the end of the workout to get a little more distance done. Tonight and tomorrow will see me taking my anti-inflammatory pills and elevating the leg as much as I can.

Sunny, 59F, winds S 15-20 gusting to 25

Oh, and I made it under 175lbs today!

5 minutes walk + 20 minutes jogging + walking for a total of time of 45:31.
Covered 3.32 miles for an average pace of  13:42/mil (dragged down by the long cool down)

The big news here is that I survived jogging for 20 minutes without a break! In October 2007 when I started on this program 20 minutes seemed an impossible goal. Even as recently as yesterday I was expecting that I would have to walk at least a bit of today's 20 minute goal. But I made it. Only in the last 2 or 3 minutes did I really begin feeling it. I covered a distance just shy of 1.75 miles in the 20 miles so my next goal will be to jog for 2 miles.

Of course, my success did meet with a bit of disappointment. My iPod nano lost my workout information. It would have been enough to push me over the 20 mile goal in a challenge with the coworkers as well as possibly contained my best time over a 2 mile distance. I guess that will have to wait for another day.

On to farther and faster goals!

Fun run with no objectives.
Covered 1.21 miles in 15:39 for an average pace of 12:54/mi.

After spending several hours trying to help a friend replace the floor in her bathroom (some people have no business doing basic carpentry) I escaped to run at sundown. Not having time to get into my full cold weather outfit I was limited more by cold as the sun set than my desire. I got about 0.45 miles of walking and the rest was jogging at a nice pace.

I still cannot get my iPod Nano to update the Nike+ website as it did earlier this week. There are two runs totalling 4.53 miles on my iPod but iTunes is not updating the website when it Syncs. Visiting the Nike+ site I have tried a few suggestions from there without success. Guess I will work on it more tomorrow.

So who is everyone picking in Sunday's NFL playoff games?


 

5 minutes walking + 10 minutes running + cool down walk for a total time of 23:00.
Covered 1.74 miles for an average pace of 13:13/mile.

I was definitely feeling the lack of real sleep as it seemed nothing was in synch today. Plowed through it enough to get the 10 minutes done.

Really starting to hate the Nike+ thing. Today I started it up to go on my run only to have it refuse to find the foot sensor. Went with my trusty handheld GPS unit to measure my distance and time. The only measurement I miss in using the GPS is a "current" pace as it only gives me the moving average. But I admit that I really like being able to upload my mileage into the Nike+ site and setting my goals as well as sharing challenges with my coworkers.

 

5 minutes walk + 1 mile run + 0.25 walk + 0.25 run + cool down walk
Total time: 39:37     Total distance: 2.90     Avg pace: 13:37/mi

Here's hoping that today was just a case of poor sleep and a busy Saturday catching up to me. The 20-30mph wind from the SSE was not helping me at all and after pushing myself through the first mile of jogging I had to take a break. My psyche had started asking what in the world I thought I was doing thinking I could run when I was 41, out of shape, my body hurt, my legs were tired, my calf hurt and I was fighting to breathe through so much drainage in my head. Taking 0.25 mile to walk at a quick pace, get some water and get myself I settled I ran the last 0.25 with no major issues. I had intended to walk enough to get 3 miles but somehow came up short.

For some reason the Nike+ found my foot sensor late last night so I was finally able to upload today's run. Unfortunately it appears the prior 3 or 4 days are gone as far as Nike+ is concerned. I'm so glad I got them logged here and in my own records.

Okay, I want to run the Tough Enough 5K on 08 March. When I can run 20 minutes I am covering just short of 1.75 miles. So my first goal is stretch my endurance so that I can cover the 5K distance without regard for my pace. To achieve that my plan is to add 0.25 miles to my range each week. If I can keep that schedule I should be at 5K distance just in time for 08 March.
 

5 minutes walking + 20 minutes running + cool down = 37 minutes
Total Distance: 2.87 miles    Avg Pace: 12:52/mi

This is only the second time I have been able to achieve the full 20 minutes of jogging. While pace is not a critical part of my workout I did pay attention during the first few laps to make sure I was not starting too quick. Right now might comfortable jog pace seems to be about 11:30/mi.

Today should have been a "fun run" but I have to fly tomorrow and do not know that I will have time at my destination to get a full run finished. Also, since I wasn't able to get the 20 minutes done yesterday I needed a bit of a morale booster to tell me that I could get the time done.

Honestly, I was shocked that it didn't kill me to finish this run. I spent about 5 hours working at the theatre today so my shoulders, elbows and wrists were very sore from doing construction work that long.

Look forward to seeing folks in Virginia on Wednesday.

Goal: fun run with no objectives
Achieved: 0.32 miles walk + 1.3 miles running + 0.81 miles walk in 32:44.
Average pace: 13:27/mi

This was the "rush to the hotel and run" workout. After flying most of the day I reached Norfolk and left the airport around 6pm. When I got to the hotel and checked in it was definitely dark along with being a bit misty. I refused to be deterred, dressed for the weather (including my snazzy reflector vest) and covered ground on the roads nearby. My pace during the running distance was a bit slow but I am not going to complain since I sat in airplane seats all day. It felt good to be outdoors and I enjoyed the exercise.

This gives me 3 consecutive days with over 2 miles covered on each which is a first. I'm not sure what my goal will be tomorrow, whether I will do another run without goals or make sure I get another 20 minutes of jogging done.
 

Objective: 5 minutes walk, 20 minutes run, cool down walk
Actual: 5 minutes walk, 2 miles run, cool down walk

Distance: 3.14 mi

Time: 40:13

Avg Pace: 12:48

You read that right, blog fans! I knocked out 2 full miles today.

I really didn't know how far I would go today since my head cold was bothering me most of the day and left me feeling really tired. Since I was going to run I just committed to trying for a 20 minute jog at whatever pace felt good. Once I had made the first mile though I decided to shoot for 2 knowing that if I gave up I could just blame it on the not feeling well. While my pace slowed a bit as I went , I could tell the exercise was clearing my head and I felt stronger so I switched my goal to trying to get 2 full miles. And I did it! Barely. Once I hit the 2 miles I put on the brakes but continued to walk to get the nice 5K distance work. If I had to do the 5K today and I got a 40 minute time I would be happy. Still have over a month to go though before I run the race so plenty of time for improvement.

I chose to celebrate with a small steak dinner from The Outback. While I am sure dinner was more calories than I needed a little morale boost is always a good thing.

Weather
Temp: 42F	Humidity: 95%	Wind: SW 0-5mph

Goal: Run at least a mile and add enough walking to get 3.1 miles total
Achieved: 5 minutes walk, 15 minutes running, walking remainder of my time
Time: 56'08"     Distance: 4.16 mi     Avg Pace: 13'29"/mi

Apparently I needed some quality time in the refrigerator that is Chesapeake, Virginia because I just could not stop myself at 3.1 miles. Instead I got crazy and picked up the pace after my jog to the point where I was walking at a 14'15"/mi pace at the end of the workout. While I'm not sure exactly how far I jogged I maintained a sub 11'00'/mi pace throughout the 15 minutes so that would put in the neighborhood of 1.36 miles. Definitely a decent distance for my off day.

On the weird misery note, an hour or so after I ran as I sat in a restaurant having dinner, I was struck by how cold my hands felt. Looking at my hands, my fingers were that yellow/white color that comes on when they get very cold, were a bit tingly and stiff. I was clearly in a warm place indoors with my coat off but  my fingers seemed to believe otherwise. I don't know if that was some delayed reaction to the chilly temps during my run or what. It took me about 15 minutes to get color back into my fingers.

 WEATHER
Temp: 36F   Humidity: 89%    Wind: NNW 5-10mph    Wind Chill: 30F

Goal: 5 minutes walk, 20 minutes run, and cool down walk
Achieved: 5 minutes walk, 3.14 miles ran, + cool down walk
Distance: 4.12 mi     Time: 52'11"    Avg Pace: 12'39"/mi

I'll just admit that I have no idea how I ran 3.14 miles. I know I ran for 25 minutes and decided to keep going but couldn't believe it myself when I finally punched the button on the iPod to hear that I had gone that far. Coming back to the hotel room and plotting my course on www.mapmywalk.com seems to verify that I should have been a smidge over 3 miles. Holy Cow! Needless to say I freaked. That is almost exactly 5K.

Tomorrow is definitely an off day as I am less than 0.5 mile from getting 20 for the week. I am planning on getting maybe a mile of just moderate pace walking done.

Sunday is back to work as I will be shooting for 2 miles again.

Today was just a nice but chilly stroll along the Virginia Beach Boardwalk - site of the Shamrock Marathon (www.shamrockmarathon.com). Though the wind coming off the water and the cold temps were daunting I was tempted to walk the full 3 mile length of the boardwalk until I reminded myself that today was my off day. No stress on the legs today. I passed 9 joggers and at least that many bicycle riders all braving the weather. If I can ever get the IDSI running crew together in Virginia at one time we may have to consider a group trip to the boardwalk for a nice run together.

Oh, I officially registered for the Tough Enough 5K to be ran on 08 March 2008 in Weatherford, Oklahoma. It's a done deal. Now I have to get my workouts in to be prepared.

Also have to get my FRB shirt ordered so I can show it off during the run. 

Goal:
5 minutes of walking, 2 miles running at less than 11'30"/mi pace, cool down walk

Actual:
5 minutes of walking, 2 miles at approx 10'28" pace, cool down walk

Summary:
Today was a nice change from last week's evening run where everything was done after sunset. Since I was going on a shorter distance for today's workout I set the goal of keeping everything under my customary 11'30"/mi pace. Of course, as always, I way over did things and started off at 10'30" pace and though I tried to tell myself to pull back I don't think I have done enough jogging to really have that level of control. It seems that once I settle into a pace I can only get out of it when fatigue hits at which point the pace falls off drastically. I did remember the Chapstick before I ran today so my lips were happier.

Goal:
5 minutes walking, 2 mi jogging, cool down walk to total 3.1 miles.

Achieved:
5 minutes walking, 2 .16 mi jogging, cool down walk

Goal:
5 minute walk, 2.5 mi jogging < 12'00"/mi pace, cool down walk

Achieved:
5 minute walk, 2.78 mi jogging @ 11'26"/mi pace, cool down walk

Goal:
5 min walk, 2 mi, cool down walk

Achieved:
5 min walk, 2.17 mi at 10'51"/mi pace, cool down walk

Summary:
Following silentDave's reasoning that I should go hard tonight knowing that I have to run tomorrow morning before a day of flying, I decided to run my hardest for 2 miles. I did not try to use the pace feedback from the Nike+ but instead just kept telling myself to keep running as hard as I could. It paid off in Nike+ recording a new PR in the mile at 10'36", reducing my old time by a massive 6 seconds. At least Tiger Woods was nice enough to congratulate me.

After coming back to the hotel and resting a bit my hamstring seemed a bit sore. First time I have had any complaints from there. Probably because of my pushing for the pace. I am doing stretches before and after the run but I have just picked what seemed like a good selection of what I found online to cover most of the major leg muscle groups. Is there anything like a "recommended" or "standard" beginner's set of stretches? Maybe that would be a good post for the forums.

Had more issues with the iTunes/Nike+ not wanting to update the website. I think it may have issues synchronizing with the site if you are already logged in there. For about 30 minutes I was convinced I had lost another workout yet I saw that it eventually appeared at the Nike+ site.

Big car wreck on Portsmouth Blvd at the stoplight where you turn to the hotel. A pair of cars apparently had differing opinions on how to interpret the stop light. Traffic was blocked in all four directions for several minutes. It happened just as I got back to the hotel from running and 30 minutes later when I left for dinner the ambulance, fire trucks and police were still there. Makes me nervous about being so far from home and traveling alone.

Goal:
5 min walk, run, cool down walk

Achieved:
5 min walk, 1.02 mi jogged at 12'02"/mi pace, walk

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.

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. 

No miles for the second day!

Foot was really hurting today. So much so that it woke me up a few times in the night. I tried using pillows to keep it still but inevitably I would move and get a nice sharp pain as a result.

This is driving me nuts as I came off of Sunday's 5K results energized to get out and work on building my distance ahead of the 5K I plan to race at the end of April. Watching my newly constructed workout plan get chewed up because I can't get out on the street is disheartening. Yet I know I can't do something stupid with it hurting this much.

*Sigh* Here's hoping I can get out there in the next few days.
 

Well it appears there is a visit to the doctor in my near future.

I have very little pain from my ankle now and it only gets tender after I have spent quite a bit of time on my feet. However, the swelling that arrived Thursday night is still prominent and while I have no sensitivity to touch I am thinking that several days of this sort should probably be investigated. While I feel as though I could probably run there is no way I am going to do so with confidence until the swelling is gone.

At least an entire week of running has been lost at this point. Arrrrrgh. 

Oh the difference a day makes.

1.0 mile in 11:40
1.5 mile in 18:38
2.0 mile in 24:02
0.25 mile walked
0.25 mile ran
0.25 mile walked
0.25 mile ran (3.00 miles)
0.25 mile walked
0.5 mile ran in 4:30 (9:00/mi pace!)
- walked to house

When I went to bed last night I had plans of calling the doctor just to get an opinion about my week-long ankle tenderness. Waking up this morning though the swelling was minimal and I only had pain when I turned my ankle near its limits. With nothing to really show to the doctor I decided a trip to hear "Stay off of it a while" wasn't worth the effort. Instead I would go for a run and if I experience pain then I would head straight to the doc.

My goal was 5K at a 12:00 pace with the realization that I had not been on my feet for a week. At the two mile mark everything from the hips down were complaining of mistreatment so I started with the walk/run routine that I use so often. I told myself that none of the running could be at less than the 12:00 pace as I want to train my body to the idea that it is my slowest acceptable tempo. Somewhere around the 2.5ish mark I could feel my body loosen up and the 0.25 mile that I ran from 2.75-3.0 felt really good. The next time to run was at the top of a gradual downward slope pointing towards home so I opened it all up and ran through a full 0.5 mile at a 9:00/mi pace. It felt like I was FAST! Far from competitive fast but Kelly levels of fast.

I don't feel any pain or tenderness at the moment but I am headed off to soak the foot in a cold bath just as a precaution.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma
Temp: 73F
Humidity: 61%
Conditions: Dry, Overcast - feels like spring thunderstorm weather
Winds: S steady at ~15mph gusting to ~25mph

Asics Gel 1120 - 256.97

1.0 mile in 11:20 (11:20/mi)
1.5 mile in 17:12 (11:44/mi)
2.0 mile in 23:04 (11:44/mi)
2.5 mile in 28:14 (10:20/mi)
3.1 mile in 34:55 (11:08/mi) (11:16/mi overall)
0.26 mile walk home

Best training run to date. Close in fact to my official race time from my recent 5K. Definitely got a good sweat going and my quads are tired. Developed a knot in the outside of my left calf but it passed. Time to get the boy off to soccer practice.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma
Temp: 68F
Humidity: 43%
Wind: Steady, NNE at ~17mph
Conditions: Dry, Sunny

Asics Gel 1120 - 260.33

No miles today. Too many lightning-rich thunderstorms moving through the area in waves. I will run in rain but lightning scares me.

Just as well since the quads and glutes were very tired. A day of rest will do me good.

1.0 mile in 11:40 (11:40/mi pace)
2.0 mile in 23:44 (12:04/mi pace)
5.0 mile in 1:01:04 (12:13/mi pace)
1.28 mile walk to find the car

1st mile was an attempt to calibrate the latest (3rd) Nike+ sensor. It was along a flat stretch into the howling wind and down a fairly steep hill with the wind at my back. I failed to get a calibration since I had installed the sensor upside down.

2nd mile was another attempt to calibrate the sensor. This mile was up the hill, into the wind and then back along the flat stretch at the top. Got the sensor to calibrate at a distance about 2% shorter than the GPS reading. Good enough.

With the sensor calibrated I set off once more around the track and then into the residential area south of the track. The residential area shaded me from the wind and did not involve the big hill. I figured twice successfully climbing the hill while facing into the wind was enough for one work out. Finished up at the 5 mile mark. Yea!

I am thrilled to see the pace for the entire distance was close to 12:00/mi considering the course and weather.

Location: Elmer Thomas Park, Lawton, Oklahoma
Temp: 73F
Humidity: 33%
Wind: WSW 24mph gusting to 34mph
Conditions: Dry, Overcast

Asics Gel 1120 - 266.61

4.27 in 51:17 (12:01/mi pace)

For the second day in a row I was forced to run shortly after dinner and it showed up in another side stitch. Since I was focused on a nice slow 4.0 mile run without any concern about pace I was able to slow up and focus on some deep breathing to get rid of the pain. A few nagging twinges in the left knee and some soreness in the lower abdomen but nothing that reached the uncomfortable level.

Since I ran with the Nike+ I don't have any mileage splits, however the paces shown on my chart at the website were
11:11/mi at 1.0 mile
12:30/mi at 2.0 mile (my turn around point was at the top of a small hill)
12:17/mi at 3.0 mile
12:17/mi at 4.0 mile

I thank Van Morrison and his laid back music style for keeping me at a nice smooth pace tonight.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma
Temp: 61F falling to 59F
Wind: NW steady at 7-10mph
Conditions: Dry, clear, crisp - a wonderful spring evening


Asics Gel 1120 - 270.88

2.25 mi (12:07/mi)

My scheduled called for another 4 mile run today so I took my running stuff along with me to Norman, Oklahoma where I was helping the MacArthur Middle School academic team as they challenged for the state title in Class D (whatever that means). I got through about half of the run before Kristoffer called letting me know they had lost the round and were finished, taking home the 3rd place trophy. The guys were a little down but they had a good chuckle watching me run up to them with sweat dripping off of me.

The distance is an estimate since my latest Nike+ sensor and my iPod were not talking. That is the 3rd sensor so I am really skeptical that the sensors are the source of my problem. I am going to try other pieces of the system and see if my receiver or perhaps the iPod itself are causing my technological distress.

Location: Norman, Oklahoma
Temp: 61F
Humidity: 43%
Wind: NW 10-15mph
Conditions: Dry, partly cloudy

Asics Gel 1120 - 273.13

1.0 mile at    11:51 (11:51/mi)
2.0 mile at    25:00 (13:09/mi)
2.5 mile at    31:40 (13:20/mi)
3.0 mile at    39:00 (14:40/mi)
3.5 mile at    45:50 (13:40/mi)
4.0 mile at    52:10 (12:40/mi)
4.5 mile at    59:21 (14:22/mi)
5.0 mile at 1:06:00 (14:22/mi) -- 13:12/mi average

This was one of those workouts where I knew even as I tied my shoes that it was going to be rough. The busy weekend that resulted in not getting to bed until 0130 today left my legs lifeless and me without much excitement about running. Lack of energy and sleep showed in my very slow pace. In the entire scheme of things the slow pace is no problem because I got the distance done which burns calories and endurance but wow, it was tough.

If I get to run my planned 3.1 miles tomorrow once I arrive in Virginia, it should feel like a vacation after today's run.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma
Temp: 59F
Humidity: 24%
Wind: NW 15-20mph
Conditions: Dry, clear -- beautiful view of the Wichita Mtn range after the turn around pt

Asics Gel 1120 - 278.13
 

2.25 miles in 27:10 (12:05/mi pace)

My "schedule" called for 3.1 miles today but I wimped out. Nice run though with no major aches or pains and while my mind was on work frustrations it was not busy telling me how much I didn't want to run. I got through it and at a pace nice enough to work my heart and lungs.

I plan to sleep well tonight and eat well tomorrow so here's hoping I get to a full 30 minutes or more on the next workout.

Location: Chesapeake, Virginia

3.63 miles in 42:34 (11:44/mi)

Today's goal was a 45:00 run but I got back to the car before the time was up. Just as well since I was definitely tired. Trying not to focus on distance or pace and instead just focus on getting good workout time. Around 0.5 mile I got the side stitch again so that makes a full week of runs bothered with pains in the right side. Did my best to relax, breathe deep and take my mind off the pain. I don't remember when it stopped so clearly it didn't turn into a huge factor.

Location: Chesapeake, Va

2.66 miles in 31:14 (11:45 pace)

Ran through the park and down the road towards a residential neighborhood. I really need to get a new route since this one is becoming a bit too familiar. This weekend is supposed to be really nice so I am flirting with a run along the promenade at Virginia Beach and perhaps scouting some other runs in the area. Some of the routes that I have scouted thus far would be okay except they are really heavy with traffic around the times I like to do my jogging.

Really need to get me a running hat. The balding head does not want sunburned and with my hair thinning there is nothing to keep the torrents of sweat from reaching my eyes or ears.

Location: Chesapeake, Virginia

Asics Gel 1120 - 286.67

3.34 miles in 44:55 (13:24/mi)
6 strides of about 0.05 mile in length (19+, 20+, 18+, 18+, 19+, 17+ seconds)

One of the first runs I have done in full sun and warm temps so my body reacted accordingly. I walked a few times and about 0.5 mile was spent running on the grass along the baseball fields. No real objective to this run other than get my workout in and enjoy it as much as I could.

Today I tried out the notion of running strides. The parking area between the dog park and the kids' playground seemed about the right length and I ran through there going one direction before walking back as part of the recovery. I felt very fluid but didn't feel how hard I was working until I got to the end of each rep and could feel how hard I was breathing.

Location: Chesapeake, Va

Asics Gel 1120 - 290.31

1.0 mile @ 10:03
2.0 mile @ 22:17 (11:09/mi)
3.1 mile @ 35:04 (11:19/mi)

On a lark I went out to the City Center of Newport News, Virginia and ran the 7th Annual Junior League of Hampton Roads 5K this morning. The area was beautiful and the race seemed well organized. Many people like myself registered this morning and I was happy to take bib #190.

Walked and jogged a bit before finding the start line. Lots and lots of serious runners in the crowd. Made me feel a bit trollish to have my slowness in such a fast looking group. No shame in being in the back of the pack though. Someone has to be there.

The first mile was WAY too fast. I have no business running anything close to a 10:00 pace if I am going the distance. If it had been a long downhill perhaps but since this was a flat course I was not being helped by gravity. Even running too fast I was at the far end of the pack by the first mile mark. I must say though, it is a remarkably enjoyable site to see a long line of folks outfitted in bright running gear trodding along together in the bright morning sun. You probably don't get to take in that site when you are running up front.

My second mile was where I needed it to be but the nagging side stitch showed up again. I applied all my old tricks of deep breathing, stretching, etc. and couldn't shake it. So when I hit the 2 mile mark I stopped and walked past the water table just focusing on letting everything settle down. I estimate that I had to walk about 0.2 mile. Picking up my stride from there it was amazing how relaxed I felt.

The last 1.1 mile was probably at my usual 11:30ish pace or perhaps slower. A nice young woman that stood about 6' tall came along and I used her to maintain my pacing. I felt bad when about 0.25 from the finish I kicked into high gear for the finish. It's not as though you are trying to best them at that point but ... ya know? Anyhow I got my pace up to about 9:30/mi as I crossed the line. It was all I had in that short distance and I quickly found a nice planting behind the edge of a building in case my feeling of nausea turned into something more serious.

After I had gained my breath I stood at the finish line and applauded some of the later finishers. I think that is the best part really, getting to see people crossing the line with "I did the whole thing!" or shouts of "We did it!" Makes you remember that not every run has to be a race against something. Instead some races are FOR something.

Did another lap through the area to enjoy the morning followed by some long stretches before climbing back in the car.

Location: Newport News, Va

Asics Gel 1120 - 294.51

0.93 mile in 10:00 (10:46/mi)
0.83 mile in 10:00 (12:03/mi)
0.75 mile in 10:00 (13:20/mi)
0.98 mile in 10:00 (10:12/mi)

Okay, so today I took my camera and ran along the Noland Trail that adjoins the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, Virginia. It is a winding, hilly trail that follows the banks of Lake Maury through a gorgeous mix of forest plants including dogwood, pine, elm, maple, magnolia and the fascinating little may apple. The squirrels and ducks along the trail are obviously accustomed to human activity as they rarely did more than get out the trail when they saw me coming.

Anyway, my strategy was to run as hard as I could for 10 minutes before stopping to snap a picture or two and walk a bit. The hills here are not the gradual slopes of the road but the up and down calf-killers you find on scenic trails. To add to the degree of difficulty, the people maintaining the trail used timbers across the trail to prevent erosion. Good idea unless you are trying to run along the trail and constantly having to adjust your stride to step on or over the timber. A newbie like me finds that quite a challenge.

The last 10 minute segment was along The Meadow Trail which is mostly flat and I gave it all I had left.

Felt good and with the moisture hanging in the air between rain showers I sweat enough to get the bottom of the ring within about 4 inches of my belly button. The tough downhill stretches still get me though as the soreness in my groin returned. Maybe I am not striding right when going downhill?

Location: Newport News, Virginia

1.75 miles @ 20:00 (11:26/mi)
3.10 miles @ 36:43 (11:51/mi)

This is one of those days when guilt made me run. It had rained all day and was raining when I left the lab so I decided to skip a workout. Instead I chose to get an early dinner and get plenty of sleep. While those were my plans, when I came out of the restaurant the skies had started to clear and I immediately felt guilty about not running. So I waited an hour and then got out on the streets.

I ran the first 1.75 miles in 20:00 and then took a 2 minute break to walk before finishing up my 3.1 miles in 36:43. Glad I did it when I was finished.

The rest of the mileage was my walk back to the hotel through the many parking lots around here.

Location: Chesapeake, Virginia

0.77 mile  in 10:00 (12:59/mile)
1.55 miles in 20:00 (12:49/mile)
2.35 miles in 30:00 (12:30/mile)
3.15 miles in 40:00 (12:30/mile)
3.93 miles in 50:00 (12:49/mile)
4.79 miles in 60:07 (11:46/mile) 12:33 avg pace

So I have switched around my focus to be on time rather than distance. As a result today's "long run" that was originally slated for 5 miles was converted into a 60 minute workout. Also, finally listening to everyone who has been reminding me that running 5Ks was just a secondary product of my effort to improve my health and that running faster is less important than getting in long slow runs to burn fat.

Very happy with the results. Fairly consistent pace once I got rolling and still plenty of energy to pick up the pace in the last 10 minutes. Never felt the need to take a walk break.

Tomorrow it's a shorter run!

Location: Chesapeake, Va
 

0.80 mile at 10:00 (12:30/mi)
1.60 mile at 20:00 (12:30/mi)
2.40 mile at 30:00 (12:30/mi)
3.20 mile at 40:00 (12:30/mi)
3.61 mile at 45:00 (12:12/mi) 12:28/mi avg

Well, clearly I was Mr. Consistent today.

It was pure effort to keep going for the full 45 minutes as my legs were so dead from yesterday's long run. I told myself that I was going to quit at 30 minutes but then guilted myself into going the full 45 as I had originally planned.

Hopefully I will sleep better tonight, eat better tomorrow and get a nice 5K test run in the evening so that I can set goals for Sunday's 5K run in Oklahoma City.

Location: Newport News, Virginia (streets around the Mariner's Museum)

5K in 36:03 (12:01/mi)
walked to the car

I didn't bother to note the split times today so I don't have good measurements. Nike+ tells me my pace at the mile marks were 11:44/mi, 11:17/mi and 11:04/mi. Since the average pace was at 12:01 I clearly lacked the consistency I generated yesterday.

Given today's results and the conditions I expect on Sunday's run, I am going to hope for a 34:45 - 35:15.

Location: Hampton Inn 5K

No miles today as I traveled from Chesapeake back to Lawton and I am resting my legs ahead of Sunday's Oklahoma City Memorial 5K Walk/Run.

No miles today. Attended OFMC state vocal competition and then picked up registration packet for tomorrow's 5K.

A noncompetitive 5K Walk/Run event is held along with the Marathon and Half-Marathon events. Teresa and I chose to run the 5K along with thousands of others. Before the race it was announced that over 16,000 people were participating in one of the day's events.

Everything that I might dislike about a race start was rolled into this one event. It was too early, too dark, too cold, too wet and way too many people. From the time the clock started for the competitive marathon and half marathon it was almost 16:00 before Teresa and I got across the start line.

Walkers are dangerous. Significantly dangerous when massed together and turned loose as cattle.

My main focus for the first mile was too keep Teresa safe from all that was going on around her since this was her first race. She was timid about maneuvering around the walkers so I took the lead and would put my shoulder to good use if my shouts of "Runner on your left" or "Traffic on your right" was not heeded. Entire families had lined up 5-6 across and apparently did not understand the notion that they had to share the asphalt with others. I saw more than one runner chase up the heels of a walker that chose to change direction without warning. Luckily Teresa and I avoided those issues.

I have no idea what our split times were but tried to keep myself at 11:00/mile (by estimating with my watch since I had stashed the iPod away in my pocket) or under as long as I didn't feel any strain on the legs. Definitely made an effort to push on the long hills including the one at the 2.5 mile mark. Really felt smooth running and knew my pace was better than usual ...

...until I charged ahead and crossed the finish line.

 
When I looked at my watch it said 35:15! That was unbelievable given the way I had been running and the long sprint I made at the end. Teresa finished about 20-30 seconds behind me and commented that it sure felt longer than the 5K that she had been running at home. Looking at my iPod it said the distance was 3.26 miles so I am not sure if the course was long (my guess since it was a noncompetitive event) or all the weaving cost us the extra distance. If I accept the 3.26 distance then my pace was 10:48/mi which matched what I was feeling and had estimated with my watch during the race.

No official times of course so I will go with the 35:15 as my time for the event and believe that I may have run something less.

I talked to lots of folks that did the 5-person relay marathon and am committed to having a team that runs that event next year with me on the middle 12K leg.

Slow 45 minute trail run with a bit of walking at the midway point. Plenty of hills, soft footing, and tired legs kept me from worrying about the pace and just focused on burning calories.

Location: Wichita Mtns Wildlife Refuge

0.85 mile in 10:00  (11:46/mi)
1.69 mile in 20:00  (11:54/mi)
2.48 mile in 30:00  (12:40/mi)
2.89 mile in 35:00  (12:12/mi) 12:07/mi average
- walk back to the car

Ran the dirt trails at Elmer Thomas Park. First time I have tried those and will use them more in the future. They are a good alternative to the concrete trails in that same park.

My ankles were a bit cranky after yesterday's trail run and I had to stop and walk from 22:30 to 25:00. The fact that I still had a 12:40/mi pace in that phase of the workout shows that my pace was too fast throughout. Right now a 12:15+ pace feels less strained and is my target for my easy days.

Tomorrow's goal is a 45 minute easy jog so I need to remember as I start to ease up just a bit to maintain a good pace throughout the entire workout.

0.83 mi in 10:00 (12:03/mi)
1.63 mi in 20:00 (12:30/mi)
2.41 mi in 30:00 (12:46/mi)
3.17 mi in 40:00 (13:09/mi)
3.58 mi in 45:23 (12:12/mi) 12:34/mi avg pace

Course: S Flowermound Out and Back

I had forgotten how much of this run involves a long gradual incline on the return leg of the loop. It really shows up when looking at the paces I ran today. Significantly so when combined with the 20-25mph winds. My legs felt like rubber trying to get over the last bit of the climb.

I notice that the course tool apparently does not have access to the elevation data for my area or else I'm doing something wrong when I tried to analyze the course.

Calves were a bit cranky today. And I seem to notice that my ankles are bothered when I run several days of hills in a row (e.g. Sun, Mon, Tue, and Wed of this week). Could it be that I am pitching a bit too far forward as I struggle up the slope, putting strain at the area right where my ankle connects in the flat surface of my foot? Suddenly I realize I know almost nothing about the anatomy of my feet.

Wildflowers are gorgeous!

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma.

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

Finished the 5 mile run today while visiting my parents.

Mile splits ---
- 11:43
- 11:29
- 12:17
- 12:35
- 11:16
5.0 miles in 59:19 for an average pace of 11:52!

Max HR: 153bpm

Collected all this information from the new Garmin Forerunner 405 that my wonderful family provided as a birthday present. Everything seems to work very well, EXCEPT that I cannot seem to get the Forerunner to synch with my laptop. I am going to spend some time going through the troubleshooting guide and hopefully get this issue resolved.

Location: Wilburton, Oklahoma

3.24 miles of which 3.0 was jogging.

Mile splits ---
11:12.06 130bpm
11:46.19 140bpm
11:35.38 148bpm
3.0 miles in 34:37.38 (11:32/mi) and avg 139 bpm

Sweaty running this morning with tired legs. For some reason my quads and my glutes feel tired after today's run. Maybe they are just complaining about yesterday's long run.

We're heading back home today in time to make tonight's dress rehearsal at the Cameron University Threater so Teresa and I can work backstage. Then tomorrow it is back to the work grind.

Location: Wilburton, Oklahoma

Asics Gel 1120

 

2.62 mi in 30:00 for an 11:27/mi avg pace

Splits ---
1.00 mile in 12:18
1.00 mile in 11:20
0.62 mile in 06:17 (10:08/mi pace)

Crawled right out of bed around 6ish and went for a run. Not used to that schedule but it was a nice temperature which made for a nice run. We were slated for a 3.0 mile day however the housekeeper comes today so we could only run about 30:00 and still have time to get everyone out of the house on time.

Tomorrow is back to 4 miles.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

1.00 mi in 11:45
1.00 mi in 11:38
1.00 mi in 11:30
*stopped to walk numbness out of my right foot and take off shirt
1.00 mi in 12:28 *slowing down to let foot recover
1.00 mi in 17:37 *walking since 4 miles was today's goal
0.54 mi in 11:19 *running the downhill stretch towards home

So I met my goal of 4.0 miles today and then tacked on another half for fun. It was toasty in the sun even at 8:18am with a heat index of 81F. The wind blowing at 20-30mph from the south was refreshing when it was in my face but I still had a hard time shedding some of the heat that got built up so at 3 miles I took off the shirt.

Tomorrow's goal is 3 miles.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

No miles today. Instead I had a visit with Dr for a bit of bloodwork early in the day. By the time I was at home the weather had turned hot and very windy.

Good time for a day off.

1.0 mi in 11:00
1.0 mi in 11:33
1.0 mi in 11:11
---------------
3.0 mi at avg pace of 11:15/mi

Nice cool morning follow last night's strong thunderstorms. This pace is very close to my PR in the 5K I ran way back in March. Here's hoping I can keep it up.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

1.00 mi in 11:58
1.00 mi in 13:32 *includes 5:00 of walking
1.00 mi in 10:50 *trying to catch Teresa
0.75 mi in 12:40
----------------------
3.75 mi at 12:13/mi pace

I intended today to be a 4 mile day. For some reason I woke up in the early morning with very tight hamstrings and was afraid I might be hobbled but Teresa kicked me out of bed at 0615 so I had to run. Once I got loosened up I was able to run well enough. Legs were really tired though.

Tomorrow is slated to be 6 miles. Not sure if that will happen because the family schedule is awfully tight tomorrow.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

2.0 miles walked. The hamstrings that were tight yesterday morning were a problem all day Saturday and into Sunday. As a result, what was to be a 6.0 mile run turned into a walk through the neighborhood.

Splits were ---
12:09
11:45
11:52
11:58
11:12
11:38
02:25 (last 0.21 miles)

So my first 10,000m run took 1:12:59 for an average pace of 11:45/mi. Amazing.

Thankfully I am back to just 4.0 miles tomorrow, IF my hamstrings will allow me that much distance.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

Asics Gel 1130 

Splits were ---
11:11
11:19
11:36
11:50
------------------
Avg Pace: 11:28/mi

Ran this evening rather than the morning. Unfortunately while the sun is not shining it is still plenty hot outdoors.

My legs were feeling the effects of yesterday's 6 miles. And I have to run another 4 miles tomorrow. Ugh!

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma
 

1.00 mile ran in 12:16
0.50 mile ran in 06:04
0.25 mile walked in 05:15
1.00 mile ran in 12:13
0.25 mile ran in 03:09
-----------------------
Average pace: 12:59/mi

Realistically I had no business trying to run again this morning. I did not finish yesterday's 4 mile workout until 9:30pm and was out before 6:30am this morning trying to run. Right now I think I can feel every major muscle below my hips. Or maybe just a few minor muscles hurting enough to feel major. My intended 4 mile workout turned into a 3 mile grunt-it-out which required a 0.25 mile walk in the middle.

No more evening runs. My run schedule is for mornings and if it gets changed by circumstances I just need to face the fact that trying to get back on track by running twice in 24 hours is not going to work at my level of fitness.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

My 1.0 mile splits were ---
12:06
11:31
11:21
11:26
----------------------
Avg pace of 11:36/mi

Much better today on rested legs. My pace seems to have settled around the 11:30ish mark when I am feeling okay. Occasionally I catch myself under 11:00 and can get to 10:00 with a lot of effort so I can see where the increased distance is resulting in an improvement in pace.

Sadly I must report that my much beloved '93 Isuzu Rodeo has reached the point where major repairs are needed. Since the family has been after me to replace the beast for several years now I guess it's time to shop for a new car. The end of an era for the Pendergraft clan.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

 

These are NOT running miles!

Today was the annual butterfly count at the Wichita Mtns Wildlife Refuge and though I had told myself I was not going to participate, I found myself going. I tromped through 4.2 miles of the prairie in 4 hours 17 minutes trying desperately to identify butterflies as they blew past me in the 20-25mph winds. I could definitely tell that my fitness level is much improved over previous years as the 4.2 miles did not really tire me while I was active. Once I got off the trail though I felt like I had been hit by a bus. There's a big difference in running on asphalt and spending 4 hours walking across prairie pastures and granite boulders.


Obviously, I did not run on top of the hiking. THAT would have killed me.

1.0 mile splits-----
10:49 avg HR 126
11:18 avg HR 134
11:51 avg HR 136
11:03 avg HR 145
---------------------
4.0 mi in 45:18 at 11:17/mi avg pace

Today's splits ---
12:20 115bpm
11:44 123bpm
12:00 126bpm
12:28 129bpm
11:55 138bpm
11:16 148bpm
02:42 152bpm (10:49/mi pace)
--------------------------------
6.25mi in 1:14:25 -- avg pace of 11:55/mi -- approx 782 cal

We survived our second 10K run. It was a tough run for about 4 miles and then I got my second wind. Thankfully some high clouds hid the sun making it bearable as I am not sure we could have done the entire distance in the strong rays of the morning.

Location: Lawton, Ok

Today's splits ---
12:01 118bpm
11:23 126bpm
11:23 132bpm
11:40 132bpm
--------------------
4.0 miles in 46:43 -- avg pace 11:38 -- 510 cal

Well I've once again survived the 4 miles after the 6 miles. Tomorrow will be a challenge to run the scheduled 5 miles. Increasing the weekly mileage total while a being a great goal is also a bit daunting.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

Today's splits ----
11:48
11:01
11:33
11:38
09:32
---------------------
5.0 miles -- avg pace 11:07/mi -- 631 cal

Got out ahead of the thunderstorms for a nice cool run to start my day. This marks 15 miles in 3 days and my quads are a little sore from the last mile of today's run where I pushed the pace. My heart and lungs don't seem to have any problem with the faster pace as I don't seem to be labored in my breathing. It's just the legs that need to work up to the speed. No rush though as I have the rest of my life to let my legs catch up.

On a completely unrelated note: I survived my first piano lesson after 25+ years away.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

Today's splits ---
11:52
11:16
11:27
11:07
------------------
4.0 miles -- 11:26/mi avg pace -- 518 cal

Nice and cool but the humidity was above 90% after yesterday's thunderstorms so it was a sweat-fest. Legs were stiff and tired so I tried to keep my pace nice and slow.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

Today's splits ---
11:48
11:18
11:31
10:55
11:32
--------------------------------
5.0 miles -- 11:16/mi avg pace -- 646 cal

A new sweat-fest record: the sweat in my shirt reached to within 1/2" (and I measured to be sure) of the bottom hem.

Because of an early appointment with my physician I could not get my run in until 11:00 am. 83F with 60% humidity and calm winds (the winds are NEVER calm here) left me plenty sweaty. Thankfully the clouds kept the sun hidden and made the run possible.

My blood work came back "fine" according to the Dr. Here are my other numbers so I can find them when I go back in 6 months.
Cholesterol: 159 (<200 is desired)
LDL: 101 (<100 is optimal)
HDL: 35 (<40 is considered "low")
Triglycerides: 139 (<150 is normal)
Uric Acid: 8.9 (definitely on the higher end)
BP: 101/60 (seems way too low to me!)
Pulse: 52
So if anything I guess I need to see about boosting some HDL.

Today's splits ---
12:04
11:58
11:43
10:53
------------------
4.0 miles -- 11:40/mi avg pace -- 531 cal

When the alarm went off at 6:00am I was definitely NOT in the mood to run. Somehow though I made it onto the streets and through today's workout.

The sun was in full force and we had no wind but the temperature was a nice 69F at the start. Very humid so there was plenty of sweating. I measured before and after the run and there was a 0.9lb difference. Most of which seemed to be saturated in my workout clothes. Ick!

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

Today' splits -------------
11:29
11:41
11:58
11:17
---------------------------
4 miles -- 11:37/mi avg pace -- 523 cal

To celebrate our 20th anniversary Teresa and I woke and found Lake Hefner Park in Oklahoma City so we could run at 6:30am. There are a few challenging hills on the course and my calves were being cranky for some reason. As a result the pace was off a bit in a few places.

Not a bad run and I was so glad to be finished.

Location: Lake Hefner Park, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Today's splits ---
11:57
12:23
12:32
12:27
12:26
12:39
01:15 (0.1 mi)
------------------------------
6.1 miles - 12:24/mi avg pace -- 735 cal

Yesterday was Parents' Day at Kristoffer's camp AND our 20th wedding anniversary, so Teresa and I slept a little late in the hotel this morning. We were still on the trail at Lake Hefner Park before 8 am and managed to push ourselves for 6 miles. My calves were a big problem and I used them as an excuse to stop and walk about 0.1 mile at the beginning of each mile segment. Hence all the splits are much slower than usual.

In addition to the calves, I had cramps in my left foot and a stitch in my right side. Then, as if that was not enough, I of course had both feet going numb around the 2.50 mile mark. That is becoming a regular problem with my left foot going numb first, then the right foot and slowly over a mile or more it passes. Consistently it seems to start in the 2.25-2.50 mile area. Annoying as heck.

Got the distance done though it may have been done in a furious waddle to the finish line.

Location: Lake Hefner Park, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Today's splits ---
11:34
11:56
13:10 *walked about 0.25 mi
--------------------
3.0 mile -- 12:17/mi avg pace -- 373 cal

Somebody send me a dose of motivation!

This is the third day in a row that I have just not wanted to run. Even while I am running I try to turn every bit of discomfort into an excuse to stop. I have no idea why I am feeling this way after having a great start to last week and finishing with a mileage PR. If I were to guess I would say that I am not loving the 6am wake up times. I've just got to get to bed early enough to get a full 7.5 hours and face the day with a rested mind.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

Today's splits ---
10:58 (What! This is a crazy pace. Slow down.)
11:18
12:02 (Paying for that first mile)
11:25
------------------------------
4.0 miles -- 11:26/mi avg pace -- 509 cal

Finally, a run that didn't feel too tortuous. I was feeling the calves and the numb feet enough that I considered stopping around the 2.75 mark (probably why the pace was so slow) but told myself I needed at least 3 miles for a decent workout. Once I got to the 3 mile mark there was no way I was going to stop. Amazing the tricks we play in our own minds.

Janis Joplin was not much to look at but that woman could sing some serious soulful tunes. She accompanied my run today and I actually had to join along on a few choruses. Not that my breathless mumbling could be identified as singing by a passerby.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

Today's splits ---
11:31
11:46
12:02
1:06
-------------------------
3.1 miles -- 11:45/mi avg pace -- 379 cal

Today was scheduled for 5 miles but I decided to cut it short. I just didn't feel "the love" this morning and rather than push through I wimped out. My goal is to cut back the mileage a bit this week, try to get plenty of sleep, eat well, in general do all the right things. Definitely going to take Saturday off.

Hope all this helps as we are drawing close to our next 5K on July 5th.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

Today's splits ---
10:45
11:14
10:57 (stopped to rest at 2.25 mi)
11:10 (stopped to rest at 3.25 mi)
08:59 (0.5mi - took a break and walked)
10:33 (yay! almost home)
4:07 (0.25mi - walk to the house)
----------------------------------
5.75 mi -- 11:48/mi avg pace -- 721 cal

Because of stomach discomfort I did not get to start my run until after 9am which meant it was HOT! As a result I ran when I felt like it and rested when I needed. Luckily there are a few places (very few) along the route where a tree is close enough to the edge of the road to provide shade. I picked those as my rest points and stopped at each for a minute or two to wipe myself down with the damp towel I carried along.

Though I was a bit worried about the stomach it feels okay after the run which means I had better get showered and into the office.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma

Today's splits ---
12:06
11:43
12:01
12:08
07:11 (*walked 0.35 mi to the house)
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4.35 mi -- 12:41/mi avg pace -- 517 cal

The legs were tired but once I had made it to 2.75 mi I knew I could finish the entire 4 miles. I really think I am outrunning what my legs are ready to do on some days. If I were smarter I would probably try to keep myself in the 11:30-11:45/mi range for most of my miles. Big IF.

Gorgeous morning to run through. The scissor-tailed flycatchers and western kingbirds seemed very active during my run, flying from fences and overhead wires as we ran past.

Location: Lawton, Oklahoma