A Good Week Afterall

Earlier in the week, I was fairly concerned about my knee. The pain was similar to the pain I experienced after the injury after the Vegas race. Well, I lived up to my expectations and really was conscientious about my stretching and icing. It paid off since I was able to log 52 miles, my best week ever, culminating in a 20 mile long run this past Sunday. Excellent.

I'm off to a good start this week. My knee was definitely not as sore after the 20 miler this weekend, and it feels good now. I've already run 15 miles this week, everything feels good. I should take a cutback week, but I'm in a running game on Runners World, and our team really needs the miles. Depending on how I feel, I may try to push it a little.

2010 Leprechaun Chase 10k

Details Coming...

Now I've Done It

The knee hurts pretty badly today. I did go to the gym and managed about 2.5 miles on the treadmill, doing a combination of a shuffle and the circular motion that I discovered yesterday. I've iced my knee, and am back on Aleve for awhile, and plan to stretch the ITB and hamstring like crazy. May even get the ultrasound unit back out. This is ridiculous. Stupid tight ITB. 2 steps forward, 1 step back. Feels like that's been my mantra for my entire running career.

Now My Blisters Have Blisters

Using the combination of athletic tape and moleskin taped over my arch blisters worked out very well. On my 18.2 mile run today, my arches did not hurt at all thankfully. However, now I have blisters on my right foot where the tape seams were located. So I have blisters as a result of my blisters. Ei Yi Yi! What next? On the bright side, the blister on top of my toe did OK. I managed to paint it with a few layers of liquid bandage last night, which helped to seal it tight, and I also managed to get a corn pad to stick this morning before putting on my shoe. It may have bled a drop or two, but overall, did great.

I can't say the same for my knee though. Last week after my 16 mile long run, I had a lot of knee pain the next couple of days. It was the same old pain that I had during the Vegas Marathon. I think I've reached my limit of combining speed workouts and increasing my distance. I'm on the verge of breaking myself again, likely a result of a tight ITB. I've been stretching really well, and the mid week runs felt great though. But, near the end of my 18.2 mile run today, I knew I had pushed it too far. I ran 15 of the 18.2 at marathon pace, (it feels better during the run if I run faster), but I'll pay for it after the run. The last 3 miles were kind of a death march, so I definitely went "too" far. Ugh. I did find a way to swing my leg in a circular motion though to help prevent the pain, but I fear the damage has been done.

On a bright note, even though I may have "broken" my knee again, I did manage to break my weekly mileage personal record with 51 miles. Yay me? Hmm.

Streaking - 28 Days

I've done it, I've run for the last 28 days, straight, without a break. A running friend has been doing it since the beginning of the year and inspired me to give it a try too. At first, I didn't think I could do it, but found that the easy runs on my scheduled rest days weren't actually that bad. A couple of miles at a very slow, easy pace without barely breaking a sweat wasn't as hard as I thought. Mostly, I think it was a mental thing, that my mind made me think I "needed" a rest day. In fact, these very easy runs aren't that taxing, and it's just like a rest day anyhow. For what it's worth, 28 days down, weeks and months to go.

My Lucky Day??

On my run last night, near the end, in the last mile, I found a $1 bill in the gutter, soaking wet. We've had a lot of snow melt over the last couple of days, and I'm guessing it must have fallen out of a snowbank. Today, I ran the same route, and in the same exact spot, I found a $10 bill, soaking wet, floating in the gutter. Seriously? I looked around for more money, but that was it. Either someone lost some money earlier in the year and it just finally melted free, or I'm now part of some kid's science or psychology experiment. Either way, I've got $11 in my pocket right now. Although, I certainly don't need the money, so I'll try to pay it forward at some point by giving it to a homeless person on a street corner.

A Bloody Blister

Ok, this is getting out of control. The blister that I got yesterday broke open tonight on my 9.5 mile run, which then soaked the top of my shoe with blood. I didn't even realize it during the run since it was dark, and the run was going so well. In fact, I was very surprised to see the blood, since my foot didn't hurt much at all after the first mile or so. Se la vi, this may turn out to be a very troublesome spot.

Yet Another Blister

The new shoes have given me another blister, this time, on the top of my middle toe on my right foot. I was able to solve the arch blister problem by getting some moleskin and using athletic tape to tape the moleskin over them, which worked OK. But, the top of my middle toe rubbed on the shoe, and new blister developed. Hmm. Can a running shoe be defective?

The Love/Hate Relationship with New Shoes

I decided to break in a new pair of shoes today since my current shoes have about 500 miles on them, and my knees were starting to hurt during the runs with them. A few months ago, I bought a couple more pair of my current shoe when they went on clearance, and they've been sitting on the shelf in storage. Today was the day to break out a new pair.

The shoes are Wave Rider 12s. This will be 4th pair of this same model of shoe, so in theory, there shouldn't have been a problem. Same shoe, and it should have worked out perfectly. But, after a 16 mile run today in the new shoes, I've got huge blisters on both feet on my arch. So, was it the shoes, or was it the combination of running on a snow/ice covered trail which changed my running gait, and also that my feet got soaked since I stepped in some fairly deep puddles toward the end of the run when I was tired and making stupid mistakes. I'm not sure, but they're fairly painful. This should be fun.

Streaking

Ok, I'm not talking about taking your clothes off and running through the neighborhood. I'm talking about consecutive days of running at least 1 mile or more. Up to this point, I never really considered streaking as I like my rest days. Typically, I run 5 days a week, and would take a full day of rest on the off days, possibly with some cross training thrown in. After the recommendation of an online running friend, I decided to give streaking a try, running just a couple of very easy miles on my off days. These very easy runs are run at recovery pace (or slower), and primarily just flush your legs with a healthy supply of blood, and provide no other real benefits as far as I know.

I have to say, I'm on day 18 of my running streak, and everything is feeling great. My legs are feeling strong, my knees don't hurt, and overall, I'm excited about the next run. My friend has been streaking since the beginning of the year. To become officially recognized, you have to streak for an entire year. Wow, that seems like a long time. I envision at some point, life will get in the way, and I may not have the time or the desire to continue the streak. But surely, I can find 10 minutes each day to get er done. I don't have a treadmill at home, so it could prove to be a challenge on some days where I truly don't have the time. Hmm, maybe that's my excuse to get a treadmill afterall. Ha.

Two Banner Weeks

I feel like my running has really moved to the next level over the last couple of weeks, and it's a good feeling. Two weeks ago, I managed to run 39 miles, which was a huge personal achievement for me, considering my injury back in December, and especially since it was the week after my hard half at Surf City. That was a huge momentum shift for me, and I carried it through this week and managed to run 45 miles. This week has been my second best week ever for running, and I'm feeling great. I've done a couple of doubles this week, a couple of medium long runs, and a good long run that was hard, but a good morale booster for me.

Do I have a new personal mileage record in my legs for this coming week? We'll see. 48 miles in early September of last year is my PR, and I think I've got a legitimate shot at meeting or exceeding that this week.

Running is hard, and finding the time to run this many miles is sometimes harder. But it's so worth it. I love running, and the more I run, the more I want to run. I've joked that running for me is quite possibly an obsession, and literally a borderline addiction. My speeds are improving now that I'm healthy, and it's a good feeling, so I see no reason to hold back now. Distance is king dong, and as long as I can continue to put up good numbers and remain injury free, life is good.

Did a New Type of Run Today, and a Double

After the half marathon race on Sunday, I've felt strong. I did an easy 2 mile recovery run on Monday, and a nice 4 mile tempo run yesterday, and everything is feeling good. Today, I did a progression run, where I gradually increase my pace during the run. I started at a pace around 9:05, and ended 6 miles later around 8:05. It was a fairly hard run for me, but in the end, I felt terrific. And tonight, I opted to do an easy run with my local running club for the weekly Wednesday night run, making this my first double day since last September. Total for the day was 10.6, and again, I feel great. Hopefully, I'll get many more days like this in, which should help me to get closer to a 1:50 half. 1:50 is the time I need to get into a seeded corral at the Chicago marathon this fall, so I'm going to try as hard as I can to make it. Ahh, I love running. I absolutely love it.

2010 Surf City Half Marathon

I ran the Surf City Half Marathon today in Huntington Beach, CA, with my old college roommate from 20 years ago. I ran a strong race (for me, considering my weak knee), with a chip time of 1:56:40, which is just 5 seconds away from a PR. 5 seconds!! Ahh, so close, yet so far. Still I'm super happy with that though.

Simply put, It was an awesome run. The scenery along the pacific coast was amazing, probably the most scenic race I've ever done. The rolling ocean waves were on one side, snow capped mountains on the other, under a clear blue sky, with a light breeze, and temps in the 50s, running amidst palm trees. Perfect!  After 10 miles, I was getting a little tired though, but also was able to find a second wind.  At mile 11, I decided to take a gamble and opened up the throttle full tilt to see what I had left in the tank.  I found out that I had a lot to give, and found myself consistently lengthening my stride, steadily increasing pace, and reached a flat out sprint the last 1/3 mile. (check my splits below).  I felt like a thoroughbred, passing other runners left and right. In fact, the faster I ran, the better my knee felt.  I think it could be related to the increased stride length.  If only I had let the reins loose 5 seconds sooner, I could have bagged that PR!!  Ahh, that will have to wait for another day.

Even though I was 5 seconds off my PR (which was a downer at first knowing that I barely missed it), this race has given me so much confidence and makes me want to run even harder and faster. And I know Ive definitely got more to give. I finished the race strong, and wanted to keep going, and now have a large source of pride to build on from here. It was an awesome day and a spectacular run for me!

Now, the only problem, I had to face going back to cold and snowy Nebraska running when I've been spoiled by sunny and warm California running. Yeah, it's going to suck.

Splits/Pace:
1  9:02
2  8:56
3  8:59
4  9:07
5  8:58
6  8:38
7  8:56
8  8:55
9  9:00
10  9:09
11  9:14 - getting tired, but found a second wind.
12  8:22 - holy moly this almost feels good.
13  8:15 - oh my god, what am I doing?!?
 .1  6:38  - OK, this is very hard. I've never run this fast. Ever.



My college roommate Matt (on the left) and I after the race.  Note the palm trees.  It was a beautiful day for running. Couldn't have asked for better weather.

The race bling (shirt and medal, on the left).  I have to say, this is one of the coolest medals I've ever received.  Very unique, a signature item.

As a side bonus, apparently, while I was traveling in beautiful CA, somehow my CC number was lifted, and several bogus charges made it through.  Thankfully, my CC company puts a hold on my account because I've had this happen in the past, but the account has now been closed down.  Oh well. Se la vi, I know the routine, I think this is about the 4th time this has happened to us in the last 3 years.

That's 4 states completed and 46 to go...

OMG, I've Lost It

Well, I've committed myself to running a few more races this year.  I've been thinking about these for awhile, and after looking at the calendar, decided to stop hemming and hawing and just signed up.  Yes, I may have lost it, but what else is new?

So, for right now, I signed up for the Eisenhower Half Marathon in early April.  This fits into my training schedule quite nicely, and fits into my personal schedule even better.  This will also help check off another state, and will give me a good tune up race before my Marathon in early May.  Plus, they have a free pancake feed after the race, so how could I pass that up? :))

The next race that I signed up for is the Swan Lake Christian Camp Half Marathon in Viborg, SD.  Again, this fits nicely into my personal schedule, and should be a good stepping stone for starting my formal training for the Chicago Marathon later this year.  And, it checks off another state!  Do you see a pattern.

Regarding Marathon, Yes, I did officially register for the Chicago Marathon, on 10/10/10.  While that's still many, many months away, I didn't want to pass up this opportunity.  I'm in!

Other races that I'm thinking about include the San Francisco Half Marathon in late July.  I'm trying to convince my wife to run this with me, as it would be her first race back after having Haglund's surgery on both feet last year. Plus, how could we pass up the chance to run on the Golden Gate Bridge.  Hmm, could be an expensive weekend, but it's only money, right? Ha.

And finally, if I do run the San Francisco half, I'd be a fool to not run the Long Beach half marathon in mid October, to complete the California Dreamin Race series.  While it's only 1 week after Chicago, I'd love the chance to earn a free jacket and a cool limited edition medal, just to say why not. 

That should about cover it.  I don't think I'd have any money to do any more running the rest of the year. Oops.

Overnight Heart Rate Monitoring

As a fun experiment, I decided to use my Garmin heart rate strap to monitor my heart rate while I slept.  Mainly, I just wanted to get a more-accurate read on what my resting heart rate might be.  I originally thought it might be about 59, after taking some measurements.  But, by using the heart rate monitor while sitting on the couch doing nothing, I thought it might be about 52.  To get a longer read, I used the monitor while I slept through the night.

Below is about a 6-hour period from last night.  I believe I can draw an imaginary "rolling" trend line in the lower/mid 50s, maybe around 53 or 54.  It's also interesting to see the highs/lows of my heart rate, likely responding to various dream states, REM sleep, etc.