Going Long (again) in 2024

Decided to run 1 mile on the indoor track.  Then did some leg work with weights, followed by 40 laps (2 km) in the pool.

The left knee is still not healed.  However, I still plan on running that 10 km on Saturday; then I`ll decide where to go from there.

Ran on the treadmill at a 10 minute/mile pace.

The left knee was quite painful for the first few minutes, and then the pain went away, although I could feel it throughout the workout.

Icing now; will see later today how it reacts to the run before I decide my next move.

Okay, ran 2 miles on an indoor track, then leg curls and pushes, and then 1 mile swimming in the pool.  Tonight, more strength work on my quads and lots of stretching.

Ran a 10 min/mile pace on the treadmill, with one tempo quarter mile at a 7:00 min/mile pace (just to see how it affected the knee).

The left knee was tight (not painful) throughout the run.  I'll take tomorrow off and see how the 10 km race goes on Saturday.

Well, I just got home from Hamilton (6 hour drive) and I feel great!  I did stop along the way to stretch.  I had a good run, especially considering I could not train properly the last 2 weeks due to my injury.

As indicated, I finished 39th (from a field of 591) and 3rd in my division (field of 18).  I ran a 4:28/km pace - 7:11/mile pace - which is a bit slower (9 seconds/mile) than I ran in Collingwood for my PR 4 weeks ago, but I'm very happy with this result, given my injury.

My splits (per km) were:   4:03   4:19   4:22   4:31   4:37   4:33   4:31   4:35   4:35   4:28

As is obvious, I made the mistake of going out too fast, and I paid for it later on!  I actually clocked a 3:32/km pace in that first split.  I knew it too, but couldn't resist.  Dumb me.

I was also hungry!  Dummy - the race started at 11am, and all I ate was a protein bar and a bagel.  By the time I realized I was so hungry, it was too late to eat anything else.

There was a major wind/rain storm through Southern Ontario the day before, but today was not quite that bad.  It was 6 degrees Celcius (43 degrees F.), and raining - at times heavy.  I opted to run in shorts, long sleeves and no gloves.  It was the right decision, but I finished soaked to the skin.

The night before, I massaged with a rolling stick the heck out of my quads; I'm now convinced that my injury is NOT my knee (runner's knee), but a Quad strain.  I see my massage therapist on Monday and I will ask her to see if she can pinpoint the pain and help me to determine my next move.  It really was not an issue today, although driving home, my left groin and my right glute were especially tight.

Anyway, I AM hoping this will be my marathon event for 2014, so this was all a learning experience for me.  It's organized well enough, and I'm grateful for the experience.

Okay, the race.  It is run on a mostly paved walking trail, with some unpaved sections (with potholes) and a wooden bridge.  Given the rain, it was slippery, and that was an issue a couple of times, where the course took sharp turns, and over that wooden bridge.  It is a 5km double loop, with a turn around pillon which meant turning on a dime (twice).

It was quite windy off Lake Ontario.  I figured I ran into the wind for almost 4 km, and had the wind at my back the same amount of time.  Although a flat course, there are a few small hills.  Combined with the headwind, it did sap a bit of energy.  And on the second 5km loop, there was the additional challenge of passing the slower runner/walkers, as well as meeting the others coming the other way.  It made running the tangents (fair bit of curves) more difficult.

I ran my first 5km in 21:51.  I knew I was slowing down, and I could feel the hunger and the lack of 'umph' in my legs.  Even digging deep, I was surprised at my second half splits - I thought I was running faster than I actually was.  My final km kick was only at a 4:28/km pace, which was slower than my 1st three kilometers. 

Lesson learned:  don't go out so fast, and make sure you eat more, especially for a run starting later in the morning than usual.

Anyway, my take away is this:  I ran a PR just 4 weeks ago.  It obviously was not a fluke, as my run today was my 2nd fastest 10km.  And this after 2 weeks of cutting back on running in a big way.  So, this is a confidence booster for me.  I will now focus on running between 33 and 40 miles/week, and will introduce hills and speedwork as I progress.  I plan on running a Half Marathon in Grimsby in February, and then in Cleveland in May.