Art, Rich: Yes, taking time to heal/recover from any injury is the smart thing to do so we can continue to run years from now. Yes, I can save $$ too for, possibly two HMs, in October. I actually assess an injury and take the time accordingly to heal. This injury says: "a few days to a week." So I may not (uncertain) race the trail HM this Saturday (21st) ..........or treat it as a 'training run' per DH .........My impatience may be taking over too, or depression setting in. Anyway, ankle feeling okay, icing/resting since Thursday. Walking not a problem, but staying off it as much as I can. Was bored so I rode my harley for a couple of hours earlier today, then 6 miles on mtn bike, whew!! It was a rainy day yesterday into the night but today is gorgeous, cooler temps, light breeze. Will try a short run tomorrow. Told DH to tell me, "I told you so," IF I get hurt in the HM IF I decide to run ..........maybe I should place a bet instead, LOL!! Getting older may suck but don't we get so obnoxiously more stubborn?!? Sometimes it's more scary when you get to sound like your parents, LOL!! Sincerely, I do appreciate all your advice and know it comes from you all being concern, we all need to take care of each other.
Crazy Diamond
Art~You are getting in some great miles!
Rich~LOVE the Disney medal!!! So happy to read you had a pain free run, and sounds like a wise plan going forward.
Dan~So sorry for the lost of you uncle. Safe travels to/from St. Louis. You've done the miles, trust your training. When race day arrives you are going to blow the doors off your previous time! Sent PM.
AZ~*ouch* about the ankle. Keep up RICE and enjoy your family time while you heal. Re: 50 relay. Begins at the tip of the Door Peninsula (thumb of land that sticks out into Lake Michigan) along the western shore of Green Bay to the base of the peninsula. My team is YOUNG, all in their 20s & 30s, including DS1. I guess I'm their Mother Hen! Team name is "Dr. K & and IT Band". Dr K. is a mathematics professor, and a dear friend who encouraged me to begin running 3 years ago. A fun group!
I see the LAT at the Runner's Clinic today. The knee pain has diminished, but flexibility is poor. We'll see what he has to say. I haven't run since last week Thursday when I did 6 miles on the cushioned indoor track. My parents with us since Wednesday, lots of "running" around with them, but I guess that doesn't count ... right?
Run strong and safe friends!
Quo Vadis?
justrundan
Debra- hope you got good advice from the LAT today. Hang in there!
AZ- how is the ankle coming? More RICE??
4 slow miles today, rest tomorrow & another 4-5 Thursday, leave for StL Friday, back for race SunStart starting to anticipate it.
Dan
Having trouble posting ...........will try again.
Yesterday: 6.5 miles, 1:10; ankle is fine, slow and easy on the mtn bike trail, not running on X-country ski trails anymore, path mostly covered by grass/foliage making it too uncertain what/where I am stepping. RICE afterwards to be safe and out of habit.
Today: Ankle feeling good; 4.2 miles recovery run, 40 min; on paved/dirt road around neighborhood/frontage road; last 2 miles into headwind, cloudy, nice.
Deb: oh bummer!! Hope you get good news about the knee! I wear knee support for stability all the time except for short runs on paved road. Good to hear from you! Relay sounds fun but you'll probably outlast them!! Do us proud, LOL!
Dan: so excited about your Sunday race. I'm still not sure if I'm going to run Saturday, DH is thinking of visiting his dad in ND, will know for sure on Friday, can still register on race morning ...........
AZ~Glad the knee is holding up. I'll take a cue from you and RICE after every run from now on for safe measure!
Dan~Taper time! Early weather reports are looking great for Sunday's HM. Oh, how I wish I could run it with you. Safe home from St. Louis.
Good news from the LAT yesterday. Okay to run, but low miles to start. Hamstring and ITB extremely tight, due to weak quads causing the knee to become unstable. Demonstrated 5 exercises/stretches to add to the 8 I do every day and suggested foam rolling ITB 2x/daily. Some fluid surrounding the right patella that needs to dissipate. He showed me how to gently massage area surrounding the patella. I didn't know this, thought it had to be extracted. Continue RICE, fitted a knee brace and stressed keeping.the.mileage.low! He said, "I know runners. They start feeling better, and then ramp up the miles too soon. I don't want to see you back here!"
After clinic visit I took the opportunity to stop at the LRS for some new shoes. It was time to say "farewell " to my 4th pair of original Brooks PureFlow. Last year, Brooks modified the design of the shoe by curving the laces and sewing in the outside of the tongue. It is a nice improvement, because the tongue had a tendency to shift on the right shoe which is the foot I under pronate. Tried it out at the store on the treadmill and the indoor track. Salesperson mentioned I have excellent running form. Who knew? Bought 2 pairs in Blk/Neon Yellow and Purple. Took them home and ran 2 miles. Felt great!
Wednesday (today): had to run errands and my run started HOURS later than planned. Finished 7 miles, 1:05; 4 miles on paved and 3 miles on dirt road by state park. Legs/feet sure take a beating on flat paved roads, they HURT!! And running on flat paved terrain gets hypnotic!! Glad this "path" got some dirt or I would be bored out of my mind. Cloudy all day, 90% humidity, about 70 degrees, started to mist and fog setting in around mile 5. Drenched when done but overall, it was a nice day to run. Evenings are in the 40s//50s but the mugginess lingers. Rain/thunderstorm predicted tomorrow. It's all good, 3 days of running, yay!! Rest day tomorrow!!
Deb: That is such a relief!!! you can still get short runs in ........and how true what your Dr. says about runners!! I think we are all guilty of that in many instances. I read articles on post-recovery stretches and eating. The benefit comes from doing the 'proper' way in a certain time-frame (when you finish your run) which is critical in less recovery time and staying injury free. Easier said than done, right? It has made a huge difference for me. I love Brooks Cascadia (neutral type for me) for trail running and have been thinking of a different road shoe, haven't tried Brooks for some odd reason ...... but will check some out when back in AZ. Always feel like Christmas when you get a great deal on shoes!! Hope they work for you!!
Dan: thanks for letting me know!! Again, get some rest!!
earlier post disappeared
no run today, lightning made it seem 'inadvisable'!! So I'm getting all the rest you all are recommending! It'll be 4 straight no run days by the HM on Sunday.
Deb- glad to hear the knee won't keep you down any longer. You should have time to get ready for the relay. Sounds like a blast! I always have a hard time doing the foam roll thingy soon after I run; I don't like it, and I usually have to get ready for work right away. I know, it doesn't take long.
AZ- your training pace is great! Wish I had those kind of times. Good luck if you decide to register and run Saturday.
AZ~WTG on your 3 day streak! We got the "muggies" in SE Wisconsin today, too.
Another easy 2.5 miles today. It took more time to stretch after than it took to run! Icing and elevating as I post. I'll be doing a lot of fast walking at DS2's XC meet this afternoon trying to catch photo opportunities at several spots on the course.
Run strong friends!
Dan~Sorry, I didn't see your post. Your training has prepared you well for Sunday's race. Any runs you've missed this week will not change the fact that you are ready! Enjoy running your 60th birthday HM with you son -- it'll be sweet!
Hello, quiet in here ...
Dan~The suspense is intense! How did it go? The weather was perfect. I read the HM winner set a course record. Hope your race and birthday celebration was great!
AZ~HM on Saturday???
Saturday four mile run/walk on the dirt bike trail. Yesterday 6 very easy miles on the paved bike path. No pain and felt great to be out on the most perfect of autumn days! Lots of cyclists enjoying the lovely weather, too. Made sure to RICE at home and roll, roll & roll the ITB - *ouch* and a few choice words!
Happy Monday (that just doesn't sound right) Friends!
Dan - Like Debra, I'm looking forward to your HM race report. Hope you had a good race and a happy birthday.
AZ - Glad the ankle is getting better. Wish I had trails to run that are more accessible to my home.
Debra - Sounds like the knee is healing nicely- good for you!
Been limiting my runs to 3 miles since starting back a week ago. Still no pain in the Achilles, so this week I'll bump up to 4 mile runs. I want to be smart about the road back, so I plan to add a mile each week until I get back to the distances I was running before the injury. Still thinking the 10k on Thanksgiving will be a good race for the first one post-Achilles. It's a mix of paved road and dirt trails with one long and fairly steep hill at about mile 5. Enjoyed this one last year, and DW (5k) particularly enjoyed the free Karl Strauss beer post race.
Rich
PRs: 9/1/2012 Disneyland 5K 27:08, 01/06/2013 Resolution 15K 1:30:17, 03/10/2013 San Diego HM 2:18:05, 04/19/2014 ACT! Today 10K 51:54
Deb: yay, running more miles!! RICE is my post recovery no matter what. Lots of stretching post run than pre run sure helps alot too. You'll be speedy soon enough.
Rich: glad your injury is getting some slow days of recovery runs; smart plan of adding a mile each week, I've done that before and it really made a difference in the healing process. Plenty of time to train for the 10k in Nov.
Dan: anxiously waiting for a detailed RR!!!
Art and Ray: hope all is well.
So, no, I didn't run the HM trail race on Saturday. The day was 'planned' but it unraveled within hours. DH and I were getting ready to leave to visit FIL in ND Saturday morning but he called and insisted we not come. FIL got hurt on the job Friday, nothing too "serious," he says, sounded like a 'whiplash' type of incident which to me, IMO, can be serious. He still works at 70 yrs old, good for him but he kinda exerts himself more than he should. He drives an excavator for a company, a 'young man's job' but he's the most competent and reliable. Anyway, he was just gonna stay home, can't do much, was feeling very sore/achy, and not in the mood for company. He needed rest and to heal.
So, we didn't go and it was too late to head to get to the race (still about an hour's drive). Registration closed at 8 am. The change in plans pretty much messed up my morning ritual for races by that time. I'm okay with it. Honestly, I rather save the $70 for a 19k (11.8 miles) technical trail race and a HM in Oct. back in AZ. So what to do for the day? DH had seen a flyer for a cancer benefit harley ride (a poker run) and we took off to meet them before 'kickstands go up.' Can't believe we made it there on time. The meet up was at a very small town southwest of us. It was about 50 degrees when we left, partly cloudy, sunny in spots later in the day, and high temp was around 65 degrees, gorgeous day for a ride!! We rode about 200 miles, about 50 riders, dinner/raffle/band, we left around 6 pm as it was getting cold and dark. It turned out to be a great day. Sunday (yesterday): Went for a short 3 mile run on the mtn bike trail. Like Deb: nice autumn day here too so too many bikers on the trail and the constant stopping to let them pass .........well, lucky I ran the 3 miles!! It was good though, nice and cool and breezy.
Fox Cities HM RR
DS, his friend and I didn't get there as early as I'd hoped, just had chance to use porta-potty and get to the edge of corral B as the gun went off. It was a GLORIOUS morning, 40 degrees and sunny, but never got hot. We headed out into the rising sun @ 0700.
I had planned to start out a little slower than goal pace, then pick it up in the second third of the race, then try to push faster than goal pace for the last 3-4 miles. It's a very flat course, just 3 overpassess or bridges that have usual gentle rise/fall. The largest was in mile 3, and I pushed it harder and passed a number of folks. DS wondered what I was doing, going faster up the hill! At about mile 10, when I needed to start pushing, my left hip/piriformis/butt cheek started to ache badly, felt like it might start cramping. Wasn't sure I would be able to pick up the pace, but managed a small push, as you can see.
Here are the split paces:
mile 1-10:35
mile 2-10:23
mile 3-9:54 (pushing it up/down the overpass)
4-10:16
5-10:25
6-10:12
7-10:18
8-10:19
9-10:15
10-10:16
11-9:58
12-10:06
13-9:49
& 8:08 for the last 0.12
12/41 for 60-64 men, 744/1107 for men, 1564/2773 total finishers
chip time 2:13:46, just about 5 minutes faster than Door County HM. Pace was 10:13. Very happy with that.
Debra- yes, the winning time was freakin' 1:05:41 Can you believe that! The marathon winner was just about 2:30. OshCat from the "My Last Run Was..." forum finished steps ahead of him. And you're right, the weather was absolutely gorgeous!
DS stayed with me every step of the way! As we finished I grabbed his hand and we held our arms overhead as we crossed the mat together. Our times were exactly the same, but they gave me the place before him; age has it's privileges I guess. So proud of him, able to do that with minimal training. After the race he kept saying "and Dad kept going faster at the end of the race", like what does he thing he's doing!
DW, DD & son's DW drove around to various points to cheer us on, and were there at the finish. The cheers really do help!
There were a fair number of residents out on their driveways cheering us on, and a few people playing loud music to pump us up. There was also a geriatric jazz band, that's what they called themselves! DW got me a special shirt; the front read "THIS IS WHAT 60 LOOKS LIKE" and the back read "Wish me Happy Birthday!". So I got a lot of 'happy birthday' wishes from those passing me, and encouragement from spectators who read the front of the shirt. Those that staffed the water stops were often dressed in theme attire; my favorite was the last, when they were all dressed like hippies! They gave the 60 year old lots of cheers.
After all the miles DW & I drove Friday and SAturday, to get from BAraboo to St Louis then back to Appleton, I'm very satisfied with the race. I'm not sure I could have done much better if I'd been at home those days; the last 3 miles seemed tougher than the last 3 at Door County.
Afterward I did have a nice BD lunch with DW, DD, DS and his wife. DDIL made a great carrot cake, one of my favorites. Sure was nice to get home Sunday evening and relax; DW & I spent a little extra time the the hot tub Sunday night!!
Rich-glad the Achilles is behaving; wise choice on the slow increase.
AZ- nice cycle miles!!! Planning a trip around Lake Michigan first weekend in October. (well, not all the way; we're going to take the high speed ferry from Michigan back to WI to avoid Chicago)
Debra- glad the knee is letting you run. You go girl!!
Hope to get back out on the road Thursday, I've been resting/catching up on work the last few mornings.
Have a great week friends.
Boy, what a difference a few days make. Left Arizona Friday morning. Weather forecasted low 100s and still some humidity. Thursday mornings run was 8 miles in the lower 80s and humid. Returned home Monday late afternoon and the high was 92 and dry. Tuesday mornings run was 5 miles with temps in the upper 60s. Finally!
Florida trip
Got in Friday late afternoon, checked into hotel and went to dinner. Was anxious to stretch my legs and eat after being on a 4 hour + flight, hurry up to next flight and fly another 75 minutes, then 30 minute ride to hotel. After dinner went to pool for a little swim and then the hot tub.
Saturday was trying. Got ready to run as the weather looked like the rain would hold off. Got downstairs and it started raining. went back to room and waited a few hours while rain tapered. Looked OK to run, went downstairs and started raining again. Went back to room. Waited again and looked OK. Got downstairs and about 10 minutes later started drizzling. I thought what the heck, I'm already soaked as it was 85 degrees and total humid. So I kept running, It drizzled, stopped, drizzled, rained, stopped the whole time I was out. While I got in about 7 miles running around the water I was drenched. You would of thought I went swimming in the Gulf.
Sunday was raining so no running.
Monday morning got in about 3 miles running over a long bridge over the bay and then back to the hotel to get ready to come home.
This morning got in a 5 mile run. Weather was beautiful compared to the last few days. Morning temp was in the upper 60s and dry. If felt nice to have regular sweat from running instead of the humid stuff.
Debra - See the knee is feeling better. And new shoes also.
Dan - Nice race report and congratulations on beating your guess time of 2:15.
Rich - Good news that your getting Achilles is better. The 10K for Thanksgiving is doable. Plenty of time. Any race that ends in free beer is a good race.
AZ - See your injury is better also. Sounds like a nice "bike" ride. What half were you looking at in Oct.? I was looking at the Peoria Halloween half on 10/26. Looks like it is mostly dirt along the wash. Let me know.
Art in AZ
Mesa, AZ
Congratulations Dan on a new HM PR!!!
Excellent race report and your splits were great. Did you use a pace group? Loved the birthday t-shirt and the description of you and DS at the finish! Enjoy the post race rest days and a nice easy run tomorrow.