Where's the Donuts?

I was really sore last night from the Green Mountain run, enough that I had trouble getting to sleep. So I started out from home very slowly this morning, and at the Lower Wheaton/Homer Jones intersection I ran into Josh Farley, one of my favorite people to talk to. So we ran very easily together up the hill and past the YMCA, then up another few blocks to Callahan, then turned around and went down to his house. He invited me in for coffee, so there was an extended break at 25 minutes in. Stood around talking with him and his father-in-law for 30-40 minutes, then I left to complete the run, winding through Manette past the school and down to 11th, then home. The second half felt great, I definitely worked the soreness out of my legs and was refreshed by the finish. And no pain in my ankle or hip flexor, which was great. 41:20. 

Y treadmill. Felt great, no pain in ankle. Cut it a little short becasue it was late and it's been a long week already. 31:00

A.M.: 4-on-4 hoops, a few new guys and actually the best run we've had in awhile. Wore me out. 

P.M.: Legs still a little tired, but a nice three on the treadmill to shake out because I moved the big run to tomorrow. No ankle pain, which is good. 

I had planned to take the day off and get a long run on Green Mountain. But there was work left undone, so I planned to work until noon, then go run Green Mountain. But that never works, and so I was hopeful to get out by 2. At just after 3 I was still at my desk when the rain stopped and the sun came out. For the next hour I sat there, waiting on someone to finish one easy task for me, staring at the sun and completely mentally checked out other than the thought I wanted to go run. I think this is how drug addicts feel, the frustration was that intense. 

I finally left, a few sprinkles had returned but no shower, and I got in almost an hour at Illahee Preserve. It was very neccessary for me physically and mentally, the week at work really taxed my emotions and I'm finally getting hooked on a few more weekly miles. And the run felt good, I could feel the stress melting away after a half hour and I ran light and easy the rest of the way. A wonderful accomplishment to end the week. I won't get a Green Mountain run, but I hope to get a longer road run in tomorrow after a trail work party in the morning to round out a good week. 56:30 

Manette Hills loop, absolute downpour. I have some ideas on how to alter this route to get a little more distance and add two short urban trails. 

Frustrating to have missed three days, Sunday was intentional but Monday-Tuesday work just got completely out of control and overwhelmed everything. (Actually one day i forgot my shoes, so it was my brain's fault too.) 

Anyway, back to it today, Y treadmill after another 12-hour work marathon. But I felt good, my ankle isn't having any problems. Left hamstring is still a little tight and i feel the occasional pinch. 39:00

A few easy miles before work. Maybe a touch over three, but ultimately a disappointing week. 

Green Mountain to cap off the week. I ended up playing bump w/Josh at the YMCA for about an hour in the morning, then did yard work a bit before heading to the trailhead. By then the sun was out and it was very comfortable, probably 55 degrees. A little cloudy up there, but still nice. Ran in shirtsleeves. 

I started faster than 2 weeks ago on the same run, made it to the horse camp at 20:35 (22:00 last time out). So feeling a little gassed there was understandable. But I got my wind back when I hit Beaver Dam and ran a nice, comfortable pace until the junction with Plummer. In fact, I was breezing along so well that I missed the switch to Plummer and ended up heading up Beaver Dam. It's steeper that way, but shorter, that's why I figure this run was less than 12. I was a little tired on this uphill, but then ran into a group of runnes coming down and that was energizing, ran really strong from the Gold Creek junction to the vista, rested quickly at the summit (1:00 exactly) and then headed down on Wildcat.

Started to push the pace on the way back, although around 1:12 I started feeling my left hip flexor. That's later in the run than I felt it last time, but this is an issue to keep an eye on. I definitely felt better fitness-wise over the last 40 minutes of the run than two weeks ago and was able to keep the pace up all the way through the end (ended up passing that group of runners too). I arrived at the parking lot about 7 minutes faster than last time out, and contemplated hitting the road for another few miles. But then the hip flexor pain really hit me, along with a very tight left hamstring. So I decided to play it safe (and I had played bball already today, for what that's worth). 1:39:40 

This was not what I expected, miles-wise, out of the week, which I'm a little disappointed in. But I'll draw some confidence from feeling a fitness improvement compared to two weeks ago, and hopefully playing it safe helps this minor injury improve. 

Shake-out run after feeling pretty fatigued last night. Absolutely beautiful morning for it, saw a lot of runners on the bridge-to-bridge route. Started plenty slow and my legs warmed up within a few miles, but the hip flexor/hammy pain was pretty good this morning after two miles or so. Stopped twice to stretch and try to loosen it up, then did plenty of stretching/icing and a few exercises when I got home. 

No watch. 

Another beautiful day, but despite that and a holiday I worked the majority of it. I was determined to mow the lawn and get a run, however, and I got out around 3. Mowed the lawn and headed out sometime after 4, it was really quiet and peaceful outside, like everyone was just basking in a slow, sunny holiday. I wound around Shore Drive, people were finishing their yardwork or taking walks. I stopped and stretched at the park that faces downtown, and kind of watched the sun descend behind the city skyline. Then up a part of Lower Wheaton Way to add a little hill to the run, then down Trenton and home on Jacobson. 37:10 

No hip flexor pain while running, but during stretching it was getting "caught," for lack of a better word. I haven't felt that since therapy last fall, so I'm not happy to feel it. I finished out the stretching and a few hip exercises without pain, then iced 20 minutes. Keeping this healthy is the main goal right now. 

Two very long days at work getting ready for a trip to Utah, fortunately left Wednesday with enough time to visit the Y. Four easy miles (7:50) on the treadmill, watching Duke-UNC. I finished the entire run during only 9 minutes of basketball. Everything feels good, a little pain on the point of my hip while stretching and walking afterward though. Not the hip flexor. 

31:45

Good run of 4-on-4 this morning at the Y. Felt a little tired even getting up and down the court! 

After flying to Salt Lake I had a little time before dinner, and since it's already late spring in Utah I put the shorts and t-shirt on at dusk for a few. From Jeremy's house around 700 East up the hill to the UofU, then north through the Avenues to a cemetary, and ran the border back down to 700 East-ish and back south to his house. Probably a bit longer than 3, but whatever. Felt good to start a ski weekend with that. 

Back to Bremerton after two days of skiing and one day of rest/travel. Didn't get hurt, so it's a success. 

Evening run at the Y, 5 nice miles at 7:47 pace, everything felt great. Stretching and some core afterward. 

Not a good week, and there's nothing I can do about it now. I'm frustrated becasue work took over my life, and six days of 11 to 13-hour shifts stripped my energy to run. By last night, leaving at 8 p.m. again, I was very frustrated with myself. I put too much pressure on myself as well by signing up for Chuckanut, a race I know I'm not ready to run. 

So today I went out and tried to run just to enjoy it. Not to stress about whether it's long enough, or what my mileage will be, or anything else. I needed to run to remind myself that I liked it, and clear my head, and, well, figure it out. 

It was a beautiful sunny morning, and I ran through Manette, into downtown, through Evergreen Park and across the bridge to Lions Park, then up through Stephenson Canyon to Callahan and then through the Madrona trails, which are actually a little more extensive than I thought. I need to explore in there some more. Then back through Manette, sat at the Hill Climb for a bit to watch a ferry go through the inlet, then home. My left hip flexor still gets painful after an hour or so, and my glute/hip is not completely healthy. But at least I ran, and felt good about that. 1:09:02 

I'm not sure what I'll do for Chuckanut. I'm not ready for it, I know that. And as much as I say that next week will be more in control at work, there's simply too much going on and too many demands on me there. So I can't promise I'll be more consistent in running, though I'll try, because it's so much more important to my physical and mental health than I realize. The other idea is that there's supposed to be an inaugural Bremerton marathon in late April. I don't need to win it, but I'd like to run it if that happens. I could run 22-25 miles at Chuckanut more as a training run and fellowship time, drop at that point and save some of that wear and tear and see if I can get a good month before that marathon. I'm not sure, and I don't like going into something thinking about a drop, but that may be the answer.