Psalm 91:1 NKJV He who dwells in the secret place

This morning it was 18 degrees with wind blowing between 25 to 30 mph from Southwest, but really stronger from the West. I ran 13.2 miles at an overall 6:56 pace in 1:32. This run did feel really tough considering over half was uphill and the wind was blowing. I did my standard Satterfield course, but added extra uphill miles to it. I ran one mile that was under a 6:30 pace and some just above that. The wind would push against me at times and just straighten me right up, it was downright nasty. I'm really getting tired of running in the wind, maybe I should stick to the treadmill in the mornings "NOT".

I was fatigued by the last mile and was glad to be done. Very poor traction through the run nothing to where I could have done consistent MP miles. I felt weak waking up this morning and didn't feel in the best shape to run this morning. This is two days in a row where I've felt really weak in the mornings. I think next we I will do a step back week in mileage maybe 50-60 to see if that helps. Maybe it's might be contributed to my diet? I feel I'm getting enough carbs, but who knows.

I will probably do a Treadmill run on my Lunch hour at home, and maybe stick around a 7:30 pace to get more aerobic miles.

Lunch:

Ran 4.6 miles on the Home treadmill felt fatigued the first mile but warmed up and seem to finish the run well.  I did the last .62 at 5:45 to 5:30 pace.  I watched some lifetime movie where the guy met a girl and they lived happily ever after. Mushy Mushy stuff.

That (6:45, 6:35, 6:19, 6:20 "here's where the fall occurred", 6:24).   Then I decided to pick it up even more  

6: 09 - Felt good, but the snow was starting to come down harder.                      

This morning there was a light snowfall, but the wind was calm so that was excellent.  My plan for today was to get a few faster miles in since I'm feeling like I need to increase my fitness in that area.  I feel like I've done  a lot of aerobic training, but probably the pace could still be slower for that which I need to improve on.  I was very surprised to see that the roads were not too slick, even though I fell on one of the back roads that I've never ran on before.  

                         ut I thought my fitness should feel better for this speed.6:20 -  I ran into a slick stretch so I had to slow the horses down a bit to not fall.  No way of picking the speed up.

5:56 - Felt pretty good b

6:00 - Picked it up in spots where it wasn't slick, but I was cautious.  Did find some good sections that I had traction to move faster.

6:28 - Slick couldn't really go any faster.  There was an uphill on this section.

Then I did some slower miles, and the snow was really coming down at

this point.  What was nice was there was no wind at all for the first time all week.

cool-down miles: 6:39, 6:41, 6:43

 First 10.5 miles I did at an overall pace of 6:23

Total miles: 14.1 at an overall 6:28 pace in 1:31.

(Ohana Racers 223)

Good solid week even though I've felt fatigue quick a bit this week.

This morning we were buried by snow so I had to shovel, "well I have a 7hp five geared snow thrower, some areas I still had to shovel", rather than run outside. After I shoveled there was not time to get ready and run outside so I went downstairs and ran on the home Treadmill. I did 9.1 miles in 60 minutes. I picked up the pace each mile with tons of sweat dripping off of me. I'll have to stay a little bit after work today, because I came in a little late.

Watched the football highlights from the game last night and all the interviews from some of the players while I was running. Good job Giants beating the cheating Patriots.

Lunch:

The weather was sunny and everything was melting outside, but the wind gusts were terrible, and I had to run inside today anyway on the home treadmill. I did 6.23 miles on the TM. I don't remember the time, because I forgot to look before I shut the treadmill off. I did the first mile in 6:39, then the next mile in 6:17, then I did three miles under 6 minute pace. 5:56, 5:49, 5:45.  The effort felt pretty hard, but I really haven't done any tempo work.. Then did the last mile at 6:40.

My right Achillies tendon is sore ever since my fall on Saturday. I twisted my right foot when it happened, and its been sore from right when I got up from the fall. I might reduce my running to once a day until the soreness heals. I will incorporate more stretching when I head out in the mornings, and try to apply ice when I can.

My Right Achilles Tendon was really sore today, but I decided to test the waters. The temperature was 15 degrees with a 12 mph wind so it wasn't to cold except for that wonderful wind that I love. Pocatello is the windiest city in Idaho because were the gateway that leads into the eastern area.

The first couple of miles my Achilles hurt and I almost turned around and went back home, but as I kept running the pain decreased but I could still feel it.. I actually ran 11.1 miles at an 6:50 overall pace in 1:16. I'm going to try and run on the home treadmill on the lunch hour to see how things feel, but at a very slow pace. I've never been injuried before so I don't know what to think. Maybe I need to take a month off? I know I need to do some stretching and maybe that will help. But God can heal it and I have the faith and believe he can. It might just be something that will go away in a couple of days. Whatever I did on my fall Saturday cause some issue.

 Lunch:

I debated whether to run on the home treadmill today, and I decided to test out the Achilles and see how it reacts.  It felt a little soreness but much much better than this morning.  I ran 5 miles.  The first mile I did in 7:10.  Then I dropped the rest to 6:40 - 6:35, then the last .75 of the last mile I ran 5:30 as fast as my treadmill will go.   The Achilles doesn't feel sore after the run, but will see tomorrow.

Temperature this morning was 15 degrees with a 16 mph wind blowing SouthWest. But it really felt warm, but of course there was snow everywhere again. I looked at my Achilles Tendon before I left this morning and its swollen, and it hurt the first mile and then the pain completely went away but that doesn't mean much.

I ran 11.23 miles at a 6:41 pace in 1:15. Last few splits I picked it up a bit (6:32,6:30, 6:36, 6:14, 6:37). No more running until the rest of the day.

 Lunch:

No running and it was kind of nice.  I've done so many doubles the last few months that I didn't feel like I had to rush on my lunch hour.  Sometimes its nice to step back and let life slow down.  I actually installed memory in one of my clients PC's on my lunch hour, and that will put a few extra bucks in my pocket. 

All I can say about this morning is I should have ran inside.  With the snow and 37mph wind hitting me in the face most of the run  it wasn't fun.  The temperature was 20 degrees, but the wind hitting me in the face even with a ski mask on made it difficult to see.  You really have to love the drifting snow ( I want to run in that beautiful scenic view Clyde was talking about in St George).   A couple of the miles I ran were uphill and they were torture with the wind and drifting snow.  I learned my lesson today that sometimes running inside is better.  I ran 11.12 miles at an overall 7:01 pace in 1:18.  I did manage two miles in 6:30 range, but that was it.

Achilles update:

My Achilles is still swollen and sore, but I seem to be able to run on it.  I don't know if its a good idea to keep running and see if it will heal on its own, or maybe take a week off.  I also thought about making a doctor's appointment to get an opinion.  I'm still going to stick to just running once a day so no running on the lunch hour at least for this week.

Well, today the wind was so strong that there was no way I was going to have a repeat of yesterday.   Okay so I'm a whip, but its hard to get any good training in with drifting snow and when the wind doesn't allow you to see the road while your running.  This is the first time I haven't braved the outside weather conditions all year.  The wind this morning was blowing 35 to 40mph.  Yesterday at work the wind was blowing up to 60mph, and it grabbed our work's entrance door and ripped it off  the hedges.

I decided to do my long run on the home treadmill, and believe me it felt long.  I have to work again tonight to install security patches, and I didn't want to be tired for a long run tomorrow.  I bought the movie Silent Hill last night to watch it on my run this morning, and it's not the type of movie that I would watch again.  It wasn't what I was expecting.  I ran 20.7 miles in 6:45 overall pace.   I was very hot and sweaty at the end.  My treadmill said I burned 2600 calories, and I believe it.  I probably consumed about 100 calories of honey during the run, and about 8oz of water.  

My Achilles Tendon did hurt towards the end of the run, and is still swollen so I might have to take action on that.  I have two doctors that I trust that I might give a call just to have it looked at 

Today I wanted to simulate one of the Del Sol Relay downhill legs that I will be doing.  This was a good test because I got off work this morning at 5am and got up at 9am to do this run.   We had  problems at work with Sun's security patches so that led to the late morning.  I was tired so this would be a good experience because of the different times the relay legs are run on limited sleep.

I ran about 75 to 80% probably to get a good workout.   Most of the course was downhill so the pace is definitely tainted. My wife drove me up to Rapid Creek which is past Buckskin Rd. in Pocatello for the downward decent.  What a great wife I have to do this for me.  She even followed me the first three miles, because she was concerned how tired I was.  To tell you the truth I was wiped out from being up all night.

Mile 1:  6:08  Warming up and tired ( only really 3 hours of sleep) :-}

Mile 2:  6:01  Warming up and still feeling tired but a little better.

Mile 3:  5:54   Decided to pick the pace up just a bit not really pushing it.

Mile 4:  5:39   Still just cruising along feeling like I'm starting to wake up a bit.

Mile 5:  5:44    Feeling same as last mile. 

Mile 6:  5:30    Some uphill in this mile and its kind of funny that its my fastest mile in the run

Mile 7;  5:56    More uphill and not really pushing the uphill hard.

Mile 8:  6:01    Started to cool down a bit and two more miles the same way just dropping the pace each mile.

I ran 10.23 miles at a overall 6:00 pace in 1:01time.  I ran the first 8 in 5:50.  My achilles did start hurting on the last mile.  I going to take two days off and get my Achilles check Monday.

I sure the doctor will tell me to stay off of it for at least a week.  But at least that will make my legs fresh. I'm hoping it's just a strain.

Elevation Graph

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4938830# 

Sick today, and resting my swollen or sore achilles.  Going to try to get in to the doctor today about my leg.

Still not feeling the best I decided to run. I had a sore throat and felt weak and was spitting up the fun yellow stuff. The funny thing is I never struggled on the run and my legs felt real fresh. I ran 9 miles at a 6:45 pace and even ran a few in the 6:30 range. I never looked at my Garmin until after the run because I didn't care what my pace would be. I've always been able to run pretty well when I'm sick.

Although my achilles/ankle whatever it is started really hurting after mile 8. I felt it on the whole run, but not really a pain just it was there. Mile 8 it was a pain. I have a doctors appointment today at 1:50 to determine what the issue is.

I went to the doctor and as I expected I have some Achilles Tendonitis in my right leg. He said I could take a week off and that could heal it totally, or maybe see if cutting the miles back each day might do the same thing.

What's everyone's opinion on this what I should do? ( I should post this in the forum discussion).

One good note is my resting heart rate was 39, and the nurse couldn't believe that so she checked it on the heart rate machine and by hand.

Today, I ran 9.25 miles at an overall 6:46 pace in 1:02. The Temperature was 43 degrees outside, but with a 20 mph wind. I could have and should have wore shorts. My Achilles really didn't hurt today, but I've read you can have good and bad days. Although ,it's really sore now after a few hours after the run, but not really during the run. I didn't look at my garmin again just running how I feel. To keep things simple I ran a flat course the whole way on the old side of town in Pocatello. I did again today run a couple miles in the 6:30 range.

I think if I can run at least 8 to 9 miles a day this will cut back my miles and may be enough for the achilles to heal since I won't be doing doubles. If this doesn't work than I'll take a week off and do cross training. Time will tell.

PM.

No running my achilles is swollen and I could feel sharp pains in it this evening.. My wife bought me an achilles wrap and an ice gel wrap to help the healing process. 

My plan tomorrow is to run 3 miles, ice 20 minutes three times a day, and tons of stretching.  Then I think I will not run Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  I'll see if a three day rest heals the swollen achilles.

This morning I ran on the home Treadmill for 4.2 miles, because we got dumped on yesterday with about 4 to 5 inches of snow.  I was going to run on the treadmill anyway, because the impace is less on the achilles which is still bothering me.    I took the pace slow  running the first mile in 7:42, and the rest as followed 7:38, 7:30, and 7:15.

My plan for the rest of the week is to run 3 or 4 miles tomorrow and take Saturday, Sunday, and  Monday off hoping that will heal Mr. Achilles. 

I'm furious about what happen this morning, right during the end of my run my treadmill frame or structure underneath broke and it sent me flying..  I hit my head against the ground and my elbow hit the end cap of the treadmill belt and it broke off.  This cut my elbow open and it's sore.  This Treadmill is suppose to support over 450 pounds.  Luckily, I have a lifetime warranty on every part, but it didn't help my achilles any because I kind of twisted it when I fell.  I guess this is one way to keep me from running to rest my achilles

Anyway I ran 4.5 miles in 33 minutes.   This is probably my last run for 5 days to rest the achilles.  It's time to heal it totally.   Now I'm currently on hold at customer service for my Treadmill.

This hasn't been a good week, oh well God is Good all the time.

No running.  I'm resting my achilles.  I did go to the gym this morning and did some weights.

3 sets of 20 reps of each below.

hamstrings curl  90 pounds
quad press        70-90 pounds  ( trying to not put a lot of resistance on my legs)
Pullups 
Ab Crunches using 90 pounds
Ab twist  130 pounds
Different set of Ab crunches  20 pounds
 

No running, just eating and eating today.  I did core workouts sit-ups and push-ups just to do some exercise.  I'll probably take three more rest days just before I try to run again.  I've been sick the last couple of days with a head cold and sore throat, but that will pass.  Once I get back to running I'll feel great.



 

Another rest day and my Achilles isn't swollen anymore and has no pain. I'm still going to take an additional two days off and starting running again on Thursday. My wife has surgery on her hand on Wednesday so I thought Thursday would be a good day to see how the rest has helped.

I really feel like I'll be alright, but will see. My shape probably won't be in the best condition or in racing form but what can you do when the body needs to recover.

 PM.

Did 600 sit-ups and 200 push-ups tonight.  I used to do over a 1000 situps a day until I started running regularly.  I  stopped doing that many about four years ago.  I needed to do something today, because I ate like a pig.  I seem to eat more for some reason when I'm not running.  I can't wait to run again.  I bet I've gained about 3 or 4 pounds.

No running today, still resting the achilles (this sounds like a repeating record). Last night I had major stomach issues where I had to vomit in the middle of the night. I think my problem was I ate quite a big dinner, and I started exercising right after that and it just upset my stomach. I felt awful when I first went to bed. My son got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and I helped him, and that just triggered my stomach and I rushed to the toilet and you know the rest. My stomach was hurting in the middle of the night and I struggled to not have to vomit, but what can you do. I had a horrible nights sleep.

Anyway, I went to the gym this morning and did 35 minutes on the bike and 11 minutes on the Elipitical machine which I absolutely hate. I also did 3 x 20 reps of pull ups.  I'll say I did an effort of 5 miles total.

No running again today for the last time. Tomorrow will be the test on my achilles, and I believe it will be fine because I have absolutely no pain. But I haven't put a lot of stress on it either so will see.

I did 38 minutes on the arc trainer doing hill intervals which was a good workout.  Over 3 miles according to the machine. This is the first time I've ever used the arc trainer before. I got interrupted at the 38 minute mark by one of the Gold Gym employee's letting me know that my wife called and they moved her surgery up to right now, so I had to rush out of there and take her to the Rocky Mountain Surgery Center. She had a cyst removed off the back of her hand. Everything went okay, the cyst was pretty large, but she did have inflammation in the joints below the cyst so hopefully that will clear up.

In a hurry I ran out of the gym to the parking lot and didn't experience any pain. I'm excited to run tomorrow.

Well I can at least today call myself a runner again. It was 7 degrees outside and the fog was so heavy you couldn't see 6 feet in front of you. I ran 8.1 miles at an overall 6:56 pace in 56:16 minutes. My achilles felt fine in the run and really didn't experience any pain, but I do have a little soreness and crackling of the tendon now. I think maybe for the first run back I should have run a little less, but I really wanted to test it out. The first mile I kept it slow at 7:20 pace and felt like I really didn't push anything hard on the achilles. The fastest mile I ran was 6:41 and that was because I had a meeting I needed to be at (that I forgot about at work) so I had to rush back home the last mile just so I could prepare for the meeting.

Tomorrow I think I will run 4 miles on the treadmill and then workout on the arc trainer at the gym. I don't want to go full blown back to where I was running before, but gradually work back into some type of training.

I do feel if I take it easy the next couple days then my progress by Monday should be great. Any suggestions on what I should run the next couple of days? Like I said I was thinking 4-6 miles tomorrow and then Saturday 6 miles. Sunday rest, Monday try 6 -8 miles. I might decide to do all these runs on the treadmill since it's a softer surface.

Del Sol Relay, I don't know yet. I don't know if the achilles will handle going all out. By Monday I should have a good idea if its possible. I think my achilles right now could handle the three fast legs, but Monday will be a better evaluation. Like I said during the run today everything went well, but I could have dropped my pace a little bit coming back from the sore achilles.

I'll update my blog today to let you know the progress of how the achilles feels the rest of the day.

Update.

 Achilles is still sore, I'm going to have acupuncture done tomorrow on the tendon just to see if that will help.  At least I know by giving my leg rest it heals so that should give me time to be ready for Del Sol relay.  I might just crosstrain tomorrow.  The 8 miles felt really easy with no fitness issues at all.
 

Easy miles on the treadmill this morning 5. 3 miles at a 8:00 minute mile pace. My achilles is still crackling. but didn't get that sore today, but I'm sure it will be later because that's what happened yesterday. My plan is to have acupuncture done today, and then just cross-train for the next 5 days. Acupuncture could help to release more blood flow in the tendon. I will also get a massage done.

Also at the gym I did 20 pull-ups, 200 sit-ups and 8 minutes on the bike.

 Lunch

Went to get acupuncture done from a local Chiropactor which is a good friend of the family so I get a good discount.  He said my tissue is so hard with all the crackling going on when you move the tendon that acupuncture would not be good right now, because it would hurt.  The needles would have a hard time penetrating in the tissue.  He didn't think my tendon would be as bad as it is, and was worried about it.  We are going to try to do the acupuncture on Monday.  He would like me to take 3 or 4 weeks off from running.  

I think my plan is to cross-train all the way till next Friday or Thursday before the Del-Sol Relay.  At least this will give me a week to heal for the race and maintain fitness with the cross-training.

I 'm really using my Gold Gym membership this week, and that's where I went this morning.
I did 6.3 miles on the Arc Trainer and did the hill interval program. I was on this machine for 1 hour and 10 minutes. The max heart rate I got up to was 135. Then I did 80 situps with 10 pounds of resistance, 45 pull-ups, 40 bicep curls, 40 triceps pull-downs, 40 on the Butterfly machine, 60 on the chest resistance machine, 40 ab twists, and finished off with 11 minutes on the Elliptical machine. I was trying to simulate the same effort as doing a long run that I would normally do today. I really felt like I did something today. It's funny each morning I wake up my achilles doesn't hurt after one day of rest, or minimum exercise.

Interesting note my x-rays from the Chiropractor showed I have a bigger heart than the normal size, which didn't shock me since I've always been an athlete since birth. My back and my neck all looked in great conditions. He did do some adjustments to my hips and back and neck and it felt real good.

 PM

Did 500 sit-ups and 200 push-ups tonight trying to keep the cardio up.  Although, I could be eating better.

Did 400 sit-ups and 200 push-ups tonight, and still resting the achilles.   I'll have acupuncture done tomorrow and really don't know what to expect.

This morning at the gym I did 7.1 miles on the Arc Trainer doing the hill interval program which I modified. I set the incline to 20% and the downhill (well if you call it a downhill) was set at 2% to 4%. If I run Del Sol my legs are uphill and downhill so since I didn't run to rest the achilles I simulated this on the Arc Trainer. I did the Arc Trainer for 1 hour and 5 minutes. It was a good workout. The resistance was set to 10 which wasn't too difficult.

What I really heard that works to heal the Achilles is massage, heat, ultrasound.

 PM

40 one handed push-ups total of 100 push-ups.

400 sit-ups. 

Didn't get the acupuncture done tonight instead just did an adjustment at the chiropractor. 
 

I couldn't stand it any longer not to run. I went to the gym this morning intending on running 3 miles on the Treadmill and I ended up running 7.3 miles but nothing under a 7:30 pace.  I ran most of the run at a 7:50 to 7:40 pace.  The last two miles I ran at a 2% grade.  My achilles felt good but it's still early in the day.  I'll give an update later on with the  condition of the achilles.

This morning I wanted to press the pace (not to any major extreme) since I haven't ran at a marathon pace or tempo pace or even LT pace in three weeks. I really wanted to test my achilles on some faster miles. I started out at a 7:10 and that felt good, then picked it up more 6:40 that felt very comfortable. I was trying to monitoring my achilles at this point to get a sense if everything was all a go to lower the pace even more. The next mile was 6:22 and my legs felt really fresh then I dropped the last two miles to 6:08, and 5:44. Now the 5:44 the last bit took a lot more effort, but all in all a good run. The achilles seem fine I did feel it a little and some after, but that's not bad. It's not a 100% by any means but good enough to try and have fun in Del Sol and that's what it's all about.

Most of the route was flat with some hills, but nothing extreme. This morning when I started running it was 23 degrees with a 7 mph wind.

 Lunch Update:

Do have some crackling in my achilles a bit doesn't seem to hurt though.  I really stretched it out good.  I'll just take it easy till the race Friday.  I'm going to do sit-ups and push-ups in my office today just to get some sort of exercise this afternoon.

This morning Jeff, Steve, and I made it to Provo, (not to far for Steve).  We stayed at Ted's house after the short trip here.  This morning Ted, Josse, Steve, Jeff and I ran 6.11 miles in 48.11 minutes around the BYU campus and around Ted's neighborhood.  Very fun and easy.

Josse thanks for coming and it was nice meeting you> 

Well Del Sol Relay has come and gone and now it’s time to tell the excitement that was experienced.

Going into the Del Sol about two months away when I was selected to go I was pumped up
and wanted to perform my best. Leading up to the event for the last three weeks I was dealing with Achilles Tendonitis and it affected my training which was frustrating because I was putting in some good mileage before that. I could only pretty-much do cross-training
other than a couple runs a week for the last two weeks. I felt coming into the event that I wasn't where I needed to be and my
fitness would be an issue. I really didn’t want to let the team down, and was going to run hard even if my leg fell off. Well, the aftermath of the relay I thought I did okay, but definitely
felt I could have improved if I was totally healthy. The achilles really didn't bother me too much so I was happy about making it through the event with no issues only some tightness in the achilles and crackling.

James W. and Lybi allowed Ted, Steve, Jeff, Sasha, and Walter and I to stay at their house when we got to Mesa Arizona. They
were like family. Both of them were wonderful always caring about our needs, and what
they could do for us to make us comfortable. The food they prepared was wonderful.
James W. sorry I didn't drink the regular Vault soda.

Before we got to James and Lybi's house Ted, Steve, Walter and I ran a 4 mile warm-up, and that felt good.

Leg 9 - 41.21 Minutes 6:09 Pace 6.74 Miles

I was very anxious to get started on this Leg right when I saw Ted head my way to the exchange. I started out feeling good, although I had a decent head
wind (10 to 15mph) so I knew I was in for an interesting fun run. The first mile I did a 5:27 on a flat but gradual uphill.
Then the next mile 5:36 again flat with a slight gradual uphill. Okay here's where on knew it would be tough, the last 4 miles were a continuous gradual uphill
to the end (314 gain), in some pretty nasty wind. Normally this would be great with no wind, but running in the pitch black made it interesting when you didn’t know what pace you where running. At least being pitch black made it so I couldn't see the gradual incline. Mile 3 James W. yelled from the van cheering me on (what a great guy) I finished this mile at 6:14. I knew
with the wind and gradual uphill and not changing directions that the next three miles I just wanted to be under 6:30 at least. Mile four - 6:25, Mile five - 6:29, Mile six I really felt like I was running good but I couldn't believe I was only running near a 6:25 to 6:30 pace very disappointing. I finished Mile six at a 6:31 and the last .72 I did
4:37 trying to give everything I had. Average pace was 6:09 according to the garmin which is what my projected pace needed to be at. I did past five runner in the leg, and a few were scared coming up behind them fast in the Arizona pitch black desert. The Temperature around this time was in the 50’s so it felt good.

That was the excitement for leg 1 of the relay, and two more to go. I did a 1.5 mile total for warm-up and cool-down.