How Much Discomfort Can I Tolerate?!

Weather - 68 degrees, sunny.

Returned to a more normal easy-distance, running 4.5 miles on the usual park/woods route. My foot was normal today, 100% healed, which is a relief. Being injured now, even though the race season is just about over for me, would have been an obvious blow to my fitness and enjoyment of daily running.

I am unable to run any hard workouts these days because my allergies are depleting my normal energy levels. I feel groggy and heavy while running, and my respiration is poor. So I have to plod along for the next 2 months, resting up for the winter base build and a new year of running.

After my run 3 sets of strength exercises, stretching, and 35 minute walk home.

#296

Weather - 67 degrees, raining.

This was the first day since Door County where I felt energetic and healthy. I decided to run how I felt and did a 5 mile tempo run at 7:15 pace. It was raining so it was more exciting than usual. I hope my energy continues to be good during the next few weeks.

After the run I did 3 sets of strength exercises, stretching, and 15 minute walk home.

#297

Weather - 64 degrees, sunny.

I woke at 4:30am due to my allergies, so I was dragging all day. Ran 4.5 easy miles in the afternoon which seemed more difficult than it should have been. 

#298

Weather -63 degrees, sunny.

Was planning to do some hills today, but my allergies did not allow me to get sufficient sleep last night, so I settled for 5 easy miles. 

#299

Weather - 73 degrees, humid, raining.

Running with allergies and asthma is a day to day roller coaster. Yesterday I was hoping run some hard hills, but lack of sleep due to allergies drained my energy so I ran 5 easy miles instead.

Today I was planning to run easy but when I got to the woods I started to feel a boost in energy, so I decided to do my favorite workout - hard loops on the trails. Although my respiration was only about 80% due to congestion, I was still able to run at a good speed, and finished with 4 intervals of 1200, 1200, 1600, 1200, and then ran 200m at top sprinting speed.

Now at home I feel great, energy high and my spirits are up. Tomorrow it may be back down into the dark valley of allergies, so I will enjoy this respite.

After the run 4 sets of strength exercises, stretching, and 40 minute walk home.

#300

Weather - 75 degrees, raining.

4.5 easy miles, with 1 mile barefoot on the golf course.

Unfortunately I won't be able to run on the golf course any time soon because the course manager saw me running on his fairways in my bare feet and got pissed off. He came after me in his golf cart in the rain, flagged me down, and told me to get the hell off his course. I asked him if I could run 600 yards down the fairway to the cemetery because that was where my shoes were. He emphatically stated no. The only way off the course was to go onto a busy road with no sidewalks, so I decided to pay no heed to the man. If he wanted to chase me down in his cart, good luck to him, because I was determined to turn it into a race and I was confident he would feel like a fool for chasing a skinny barefoot runner in the rain. I took off running down the fairway without looking back. When I made the turn onto the fairway adjacent the cemetery I saw him driving his cart a few hundred yards away. He must have decided that chasing me down was not worth the effort. 

So the golf course is no longer a training option, but I did not run there very often anyways. I still have the park/woods route and the arboretum for my training runs.

After the run I did 4 sets of strength exercises, stretching, and 35 minute walk home.

#301

Weather - 76 degrees, cloudy, humid.

Wanted to go long this morning, so ended up running 3 hours around Urbana. I imagined myself running the 33 miler, so I kept the pace conservative and slow. I did run 7:30 pace at miles 5-7, but the other miles were between 8:30-9:15 pace. Running slow allowed me to not go over the edge, I actually felt pretty good at the 3 hour mark, other than my legs being tired.

I am still having trouble imagining myself running at the 5 hour mark. I realize there is a chance I will have to stop before finishing the race. That does not bother me, because what excites me is the chance to run as far as I can in a beautiful environment.

#302