Where's the Donuts?

Missed my New Year's Day run (slept in and then had to rush to a birthday party and head north), but made up for it on Jan. 2. Met Krissy and a few guys at a trailhead off N. Lake Samish Road on a cold and clear morning. We cross the street and ran up to private forest land with a ton of trails, most pretty short, windy and connecting. The first hour was a pretty slow pace, went through some snowy areas and hiked a bit up slick hills. Then the second hour we really got going and ran 7 miles in just over an hour on lower elevation trails and the logging roads. It really was a great run, everything felt great though my feet were a little sore at the end. Nothing serious, I just think I'm not used to that time yet. 2:28 total

brooks cascadia 10-- 95

Easy run from my parents house to the SVC trail, but not too long because we had to get to church and it was co-o-old outside (in the 20s, and most of the run was before sunrise). Hoping to get the mileage up some this week, the last two were short of where I'd like to be. 25:40 

brooks cascadia 10 -- 98

About 45 minutes of 2-on-2, and when we finished I ran two miles at a brisk pace on the Y's indoor track. No watch. 

supernova glide 

Four on the Y treadmill, between work and a night meeting. 7:40 pace

Small workout, but the first one in awhile nonetheless. On the Y treadmill in the evening, 1.5 easy (7:45 or so) then 3 miles of tempo (6:53 pace). Then 800 back at 8/min. Felt really good, heart rate stayed right under 160 the whole tempo, and I was pushed a little (in my head) by a few girls doing a 400s workout next to me. 36:00

supernova glide -- 279

11th-Shore Drive in the early morning dark. Felt really springy and strong, which seems good the morning after a tempo run.  I could feel my fitness has improved from a few weeks ago. 

brooks cascadia -- 101

The sun came out midday, it was one of our really mild January days the PNW gets every once in awhile. The clouds rolled in just as I was getting going though, so it wasn't quite as warm as I would have liked. But still, a shorts run in winter is always nice. 

Out to Tracyton boat launch and back, heading down to Shore Drive on the way in to add a little extra. Out in a little over 36 minutes, then a slightly better pace coming in. 1:14 total, with a stop at the turnaround to look at the mountains. 

My left knee is bothering me a bit, nothing major but I felt soreness yesterday afternoon and evening, and tonight just a slight ache. Could be the shoes, I'm due to start weaning off this pair. But a good week overall, considering I got some tempo and increased mileage and felt good on this run. I'd probably like 1-2 more weeks of training than what's left but I'll do with what we've got. 

supernova glide -- 289

Slightly icy roads for a pre-dawn run, but I got done before the ice-rain started, which was nice. 11th-Shore Drive. On the return on Jacobson my left achilles tightened up quite a bit, enough to concern me. Stretched and massaged some, and it didn't bother me during the day once I got warm. Maybe something to do with me tip-toeing some on the slick roads. At least I'll hope so. 

brooks cascadia -- 105 

Bad night. I had planned a tempo run on the treadmill, but a mile into it my left achilles got sore. Pretty sore too, by mile 2 I needed to quit. So I stretched well and then iced at home. Hoping this can be solved quickly, I was hoping for a better week here. 

supernova glide

No better on the left achilles today, I walked a bit then tried to run slowly on the treadmill. Didn't hurt much until about a mile in, then it was bad enough that I needed to stop. Not sharp pain, but a deep ache that's exacerbated on every step. I stepped off then rode the exercise bike for 6 miles (about 25 mins, heart rate got up to about 135). I'll take it easy another day, keep massaging/icing/ibuprofen, and hope this is just a strain or inflammation. 

Rode the recumbent bike at the Y again, 12 miles this time in about 48 minutes. Stretched, did core, then went over to the indoor track. Walked two laps, then decided to try and run a bit. Made about 4 steps and that was it. Too painful on every step. 

I'm fairly certain this is achilles tendinitis on my left leg. The achilles itself has felt "thick" or a little hard, and now the pain is gradually moving lower, toward my ankle. I'll shut it down a bit and focus on icing/stretching/rest, see how this goes. Keeping somehat fit will be a priority, since I do still have a plane ticket purchased for Japan. I'll reassess the "best case scenario" in a week or so. 

Six miles on the bike at lower pressure, so not to stress my achilles too much (though that keeps my heart rate way down). Then a hike on the backside of Green Mountain for the holiday (they're logging near the top and Vista Loop trail was closed, which is too bad because the sun finally came out a bit). 

I could feel my achilles during the hike, but nothing too painful. I can tell the achilles is loosening somewhat as I ice/stretch/massage. It doesn't have the firm "knot" that was there earlier this week. I hope that's a good sign. 

I didn't get much exercise this week, just rest/ice/stretch for the achilles. Saturday morning I went to the Y for a light recumbent bike ride, and after a few miles everything was feeling fine. Some guys were playing basketball and needed one, so they asked if I'd jump in. I was a little cautious, but decided I'd play slow, and if there was any pain I'd step off right then. I jogged up and down the court without pain, then played 25 or 30 minutes without any problem at all, progressively going a little harder. I tried not to jump much or do anything really abrupt, but my leg really felt fine. Incredibly encouraging. 

Really light, slow run on the Illahee Forest trails, and once again I could go without pain or discomfort (other than in my left foot a bit, but that's a different issue and I think doing nothing for a week has something to do with it). I won't say I'm out of the woods for my achilles, but I'm much more positive about my status now. 

I won't rush anything, right now I'll go with simply running easy and staying healthy for a month before the race. We'll see how long of a run I can get, but right now I'd take 13-15 and feel good about it. I talked to Mike, he's interested in running a slow pace as well. So hopefully I can show up in Toyko with a healthy leg, enough fitness to get through, and just enjoy the experience. 

supernnova glide (blue) -- 2.5

Another easy run, just about 25 minutes on the Y treadmill. Everything felt fine, but there's no reason to rush back and risk aggravating my achilles. I'll slowly build up this week, see how it goes. And I can feel a little lethargy from the week away, which creates a little stress in my legs. 

After the run, stretched thoroughly and did calf raises, squats with the 10-pound med ball, and clam shells (20xeach side) for my hip flexors. Trying to make sure I keep the other areas strong so additional strain doesn't head to my calves. 

My throat starting bothering me at work today, but I thought I'd take a chance to sweat out a potential cold, since those have been going around. Ran 3.5 at the Y, at which point I was pretty tired and my achilles a little tight. Stretched thoroughly then picked up tea/lemons etc. and crashed on the couch. 

Thursday morning I was much worse, however, and the doctor diagnosed a nasty case of strep throat. So I'm out for a few more days, I can't catch a break this month... 

Pretty encouraging run this morning, in light of the past two weeks. It's a sunny, dry, mild day here, one of the Pacific Northwest January days that feels like April. I ran out Trenton to Iallhee State Park, did a loop down to the beach then back up and through the campground, out and back a one-way street near the entrance then back on Trenton. I cut west on 22nd to Perry, then down to Shore Drive and back my usual route. Ran an easy pace, tried to keep my heart rate really low (other than climbing the trail up from the beach, and then on Shore I strided out a bit). 

No achilles pain, which is great, and just a slight tiredness in my left hip flexor, which I've been a little worried about. And my overall energy level was fine, which was a worry after a few days flat on my back. So even though 8 is about half what I'd planned to be doing today, I'll take it. If I can get two more solid runs like this the next two weeks, at least I'll know I can get through Tokyo. 

supernova glide blue -- 17