Thursday, 6/1... can't believe it's June already, wow! Wasn't sure about running so soon after starting the exercises meant to fix my heel, but the P.T. said it should be ok. So, down the railtrail I went for 7 miles of running with walk breaks thrown in. The first 4 miles went reasonably well, but things went downhill a little after that. Nothing serious, just more discomfort in my heel than you'd think would be ok. I run at a decent clip when I'm running and that's probably the problem, so I'll probably not run like this again for a while and tend to the business of getting healthy again first. I can still ride, so that's a plus...
az... guess I told you, eh? Excellent run yesterday!
Runs in the rain
Hello everybody! I've been busy, so I have not posted lately. I'll just catch up with my own reports and will later send another post with my comments on what you all are doing. Sorry, I have no new photos this time. I had the second week of May off and used it to do work on my garden, mowing the lawn and setting up my swimming pool, a small round one about 12 ft diameter. My garden has two raised beds, each 4 ft wide and 40 ft long all surrounded by a deer fence. It only took one day to spade and overturn the soil since it was so moist from the rain, usually it gets dry and hard and that makes it more difficult. I then got plants and planted them. Tomatoes - mostly Brandywine, a heirloom variety, Bell, Cayenne and Ghost peppers, Swiss Chard, Lettuce, Sugar Peas, Cucumbers, Yellow Squash, Zucchini and some herbs. I also did flowers for my flowerbeds. I save the fall leaves after running over them with the mower and now used them and grass clipping to mulch the whole garden. All this took up time, so I only did 4 runs totaling 30 and a half for the week. A fail of my ambitious 50 plus training schedule but I had to get the yard work done. Third week of May I did better, about 12 Monday, 10 Tuesday, 8 Thursday, 16 1/2 Friday and 4 Sunday to total over 51 miles for the week! I found a smartphone on the roadside on Wednesday's run with the case, credit cards and driver's licence. I returned to a young fellow who wanted to reward me with $23, which I first refused, but he begged me to take it because he was freaking out to have lost it and he said he was travelling to Greece in a few days. On Sunday I found a Driver's licence, but this time I flagged down a sheriff's car and gave it to him to return. He thanked me and said he would take care of it. I also went to look at a used car on Friday, my current vehicle has less than 72 thousand miles, but the frame is rusted away underneath. Me and girlfriend went the the Lilac Festival in Rochester on Saturday. It is in Highland Park and there are hundreds of varieties of lilacs, also lots of vendors and live music in another part of the park. Unfortunately one evening one of my crowns broke off and the next day I saw a dental assistant, my dentist being away right now. Fourth week of May - more yard work done. Did some weeding and edging of the flowerbeds on a drizzly day, good to do when the ground is moist and the weeds pull out easier. I also was mandated to work a double shift on Saturday. I work the day shifts weekend with Thursdays and Fridays being days off. Again, another low millage week with just 3 runs totaling under 33 miles. This Monday I did 8 and then 10 miles on Tuesday to end up my month of May. Yesterday I went for a root canal for that tooth. The Dentist wanted me to get implants, but I can't afford to spend several thousand dollars, so hopefully they will be able to put a new crown on what's left of this tooth. After getting up early for the root canal I did not feel like running Wednesday. No word yet on the used car, which the dealer discovered he needs to put in a catalytic converter. I may need to look for something else. Today I did more mowing and cleaning up in the yard. Some low areas had not been mowed yet due to mud or water from all the rain. I also needed to rake and pick up twigs and branches near the woods. I did go in the pool for the first time today, not for long the water was cold! It has been on the cooler side lately. Now I hate to bring up negative issues but smartphones and licences are not the only things I have been finding by the side of the roads. I spoke today to a police officer who was parked near my house regarding the hypodermic syringes I have been seeing, more than half a dozen along the various routes I run! I would hate to have one go through my running shoes. He said I could call 911 when I see them and someone would come to pick them up. I have been running many years in this area and this is the first time I have seen these, a sad trend in drug use. To summarize my plans to run increasing millage every week has broken down with the need to take time for other things that needed doing. I was very sore after that 51 mile week and I hope that these shorter mile weeks have had recovery benefits. Good news is that most of my yard work needs to be done in early spring, once everything is planted and with a thick mulch on the beds I just have to wait for the vegetables. So I hope I can get back to my plans. I continue to do some steep hills and run short sections of my runs at race pace or faster. I still have a ways to go before I feel I could run the full marathon at the 9:20 pace I need. My running pace is averaging 10 1/2 to a bit over 12 for most of my runs which mostly are 10 to 12 miles with a few short or longer runs. I have plans to do a 5K on my 66th birthday June 18th, that is if I get approval to swap pass days at work. I also registered today for the Oak Tree Half Marathon on Sept. 3rd, today was the first day registration was open. The full Marathon is in October, hope I will be ready!
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?Get up, get out, get out of the door!
Friday, 6/2... 8.5 mile mtn bike ride, lots of hand mowing on the lawn and 180 of the eccentric heel drops that are going to fix my heel.
Altair5... you've been a busy man lately, eh? It's frustrating to have a training plan you can't stick with, but I think if you're close most of the time, the training should take hold. And with your marathon not 'til October, you're still 4 months out, with plenty of time to get ready. Fresh veggies out of the garden are the best, aren't they?
Rich: road to recovery will test your patience and discipline but each day of 180 heel drops will definitely reap benefits ...... WOW!! If anything, you'll be showing off incredible calf muscles That's what gymnasts do and say. Maybe 180 is the magic number, LOL! So how many reps do you do to get that count? You mentioned that you find yourself running at your 'normal clip' during this healing stage ...... when I started to run again, I was only jogging (and i mean JOGGING) for about maybe 1 lap, walk maybe 1/2 lap, etc till I reached a mile or two the first week. It was so frustrating but I made up my mind to start easy and slow b/c I knew it doesn't do any good to push it .........since I was doing that for 1/2 year and kept getting a relapse. I regret I didn't take care of it and went about the healing as slow/easy as I did these last few months. One thing I need to do is to get on my bike and go cycling. The traffic keeps me away and I don't have a bike rack to take it to the park which would be a nicer scenic place to get a good workout. i know, excuses, excuses ..........
Altair: good to hear from you! And you have been quite busy .....you know, life happens and the garden needs to get going.
It sounds like you enjoy that and I'm jealous that you (and others) are such green thumbs. I've neglected any planting for this year (again) although I keep telling DH I would at least try to plant some grape tomatoes .......but it says it will take over 3 months before i get to enjoy them! We may be moving then. Anyway, glad you got your priorities in order at least. Keeping up w/ your training plan's mileage is quite another.........that's alot to remember. What I hear alot, from articles, etc. on reaching your goal is to run more..........that's tough when other stuff need your attention. Time-management is critical but not easy to find time for those long runs.
How is the weather there in the summer? We deal w/ heat/humidity combo here .......and for the last 3 yrs, I've been testing the theory of running in the heat/humidity combo to train my body to cool itself more efficiently. I wear long sleeve tech shirts/capris and only run 1 hr to 1.5 hrs. Then come race day, I wear running skirt/shorts/ short sleeve/sleeveless and body seems to acclimate much better to the heat/humidity. Anyway, there are alot of articles on that topic.
I think running shorter miles w/ intention/purpose of making them more quality miles outweigh slogging through junk miles just because it's on the plan. I think your body suffers for it and it really does more damage than we realize.
Your plan for hill running is what I do ......which I do for speed/stamina/strength. I agree w/ Rich, 4 months is still alot of time to reach your pace goal, and running the HM before will certainly provide some insight to what it will feel like. I find it tough to do intervals/speed pace workouts so I tend to use shorter races to make me work on speed/stamina. Your plan sounds very thought out.
You were a life-saver with turning in those wallets/ID. DH left his tablet in one of the shuttle buses while we were in D.C. and reported it, contacted the shuttle company but no news of it.....yet. The only bummer of an otherwise fun trip. He called Verizon so it can't be accessed by anyone but he feels crummy about losing all his photos. My conscious would not let me sleep if I found someone's stuff and not do my best to return it. It's sad that there are people who really don't feel to do the 'right thing.'
Hope you post more photos .......I love seeing where other runners run.
My 10.1 miler on Wed kinda left my right knee a bit inflamed/swollen .........I think it's more from running in trail shoes that need to be retired. It's one of my older Brooks Cascadia, and my favorite which is discontinued. Post-run, I did R-I-C-E plus foam rolling/stretching.
Thurs: it was SUNNY and a high of 84 degrees!! Another day of R-I-C-E, plus foam rolling/stretching.
Friday (yesterday): Another gorgeous day, SUNNY, breezy, a high of 88 degrees!! So I decided to run when it's at its hottest .........wore white long sleeved tech shirt/capris......didn't bring any water b/c it should take about an hour, was hydrating all day as preparation. Ran closer to home. I decided to use the trees along the road to the lake as shade, and w/ the breeze, it wasn't bad at all. I tell myself that it's mostly mental toughness, "to embrace the heat," LOL!! My plan was to run 4-6 miles, which would take about an hour, took one 15 second walk/stretch break at midway, good steady pace. Finished 5.2 miles, YAY!! Knee felt so much better w/ different trail shoes. Had dinner out w/ some friends!
Today: REST day. Predicted rain showers but so far not a cloud in the sky!
Sunday: planning on a 12 miler. Another sunny day predicted but wanna bet it will rain? ha!
Everyone, have a great weekend!!
Saturday, 6/3... 8 mile tryke ride on the railtrail. Uneventful, just windy and cool with temp in the 50's.
Altair5... seeing az's post reminded me I forgot to comment on your honesty concerning the lost wallets. It's what we do when no-one's looking that counts, really nice of you to do what's right...
az... I absolutely over-did it in my last run. It's hard not to when you wait so long and watch as your fitness disappears due to inactivity...lol Thanks for reminding me what I'm supposed to be doing, I MAY try something easy tomorrow, but we'll see. EZ does it, that's my new moto... Eccentric heel drops are performed in 3 sets of 15 reps, first to work the gastrocnemius with a straight leg, then 3 sets of 15 reps to work the Soleus with a slightly bent leg. I do that twice a day, so 90 reps in the morning and another 90 in the evening. It's only my right leg, so I expect I'll be a little lopsided before this is over...lol Ok, so ask DH to get you a bike rack, I think I've read enough about him to know you just have to ask... And congrats on the 5.2 miler, good to hear your knee's doing better...
altair5 You have been busy with all the gardening and running. You still seem on track for your fall marathon.
NH Runner Sounded like a "too good to be true run." Sorry that you had to pay for it the next day. I hope the exercises help you out.
yesterday did yard work.
today walked for 1 hour outside. Both hands are sore from yard work.
This year might possibly be the last FM's for me. Too much arthritis pain. It is difficult to accept that this may be the case.
"dancing on the path and singing, now you got away,
you can reach the goals you set from now on, every day"
Sonata Arctica
Sunday, 6/4... a bit of a test run for me today, to see what my heel will tolerate for a run. Ran an easy 2 miles on the railtrail with no walk breaks, but think I started out trying to run TOO slow. It gets to the point where if you go too slow, you lose form and that's probably as bad as running too fast...lol Anyway, the second mile was better once I got going quick enough to maintain form and my heel seems fine, so we'll see...
Chantilly... I hate to hear you're struggling with Arthritis, some forms can be really bad. It's not over yet though, with new drugs hitting the market constantly, maybe they'll come up with a medication that'll allow you to continue to run. At least we can hope, eh? If you can walk, maybe you can find a group that race walks, anything to keep moving. Hang in there!!
Chantilly: Really?!? I'm so sorry to hear that the arthritis is such a nuisance ......year is not over yet! I'm sure you have some good runs left in you. What about shorter races? You've been so busy w/ your yard/garden.
Rich: I guess running 'too slow' can be a just as bad as running too fast while recovering. It didn't bother me but I guess it depends on the injury? good effort just the same, it'll probably be a trial and error for awhile. My PT showed me those exercises too and it has helped alot w/ strengthening my calves.
So ......my long run didn't happen!! Because I joined a bunch of motorcycle riders (over 300) instead .....DH thought it was next weekend and he already made plans to meet w/ his dad at a car show in ND, he left very early this morning.......so I rode my bike to the meet up place, registered, fueled up and visited w/ a couple of other riders I knew from last time. It was the "Ride For The Troops" and benefits the families of current military and veterans. The ride total about 130 miles, w/ two stops along the way, and a dinner/raffle in the end. The day was absolutely gorgeous, partly cloudy, breezy and made the ride so much more enjoyable!!
So.......will go for my long run tomorrow.
Misty/foggy morning. Drove to State Park, about 65 degrees, slight breeze, 60% humidity. Ran both dirt trail/road and paved trail through the park. First 4 miles were such an effort especially on hard-dirt packed/gravel road that I hadn't run on since a couple of yrs ago. Finished 10.1 miles, finally got into a steady good pace last 6 miles even on the nice gradual X-country ski slopes. It was 70 degrees when I finished. Knee/calf area felt good the whole run. Predicted higher temps rest of week, summer is here!
NH RunnerI hope the exercises will help you. Too bad about the heating pad not helping.
I appreciate that you are trying to be nice and encouraging. I have had arthritis for almost 30 years and suffered complications from arthritis meds 20 years ago, so now I only take the odd aspirin, otherwise, I just try to ignore the pain.(or drink a beer ) The orthopaedic surgeon said I have the feet of a 90 yr. old woman and that the neck arthritis may cause paralysis in the future. It is an invisible disease, which means that people think I look great...how can I be sick?
az2mntrail Nice run for you in the State park. And a great bike ride! I saw several Harleys out and about last weekend.
I really would like to get NM on my marathon maniac page. The Roswell race page seems like they are not having it. It would be a bit of a drive from ALBQ to Roswell to see the museum, but manageable and October may be good weather for driving and running. Duke City has a generous finishing time (7 hrs.) which is better for me nowadays.
Yesterday walked for an hour
Ran 3 miles outside and did 2 hrs. of yard work.
Monday, 6/5... rain was in the forecast today and with my knack for getting caught in the rain lately, I decided to live life on the edge and go for a mtn bike ride on the trail anyway...lol You wouldn't call what I was riding in 'dry', but it wasn't rain either, so 7 miles in 'semi' dry conditions.. I've eased up on the intensity of my workouts to give my heel a break and with rain forecast for tomorrow, a day off won't hurt me either...
az... sounds like a good time on the Harley and a solid 10 mile run to finish the weekend. No issues with your injury area after a tough 10 miler is good news, good for you. Did you end up doing the eccentric heel drops? I didn't get to 90 reps the first time I tried, but each time since I have. I expect to have a calf muscle the size of Rhode Island before this ordeal's over...lol And I agree,an injury's location would play a role in how slow we can run and still be ok. With my heel, I need a little bounce to my step to be light on my feet...lol
Chantilly... I've been shut down from running due to an injury way too many times not to relate when another runner's going through it. It's frustrating! So yes, I try to be encouraging. People in my family have dealt with Arthritis, my mother and a nephew in particular had it really bad. All we can do is keep plugging and take our inspirations where we find 'em, eh? lol Like this woman... https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2017/06/04/94-year-old-oldest-woman-finish-half-marathon/102492406/
NH Runner Good ride out in the "non-rain" ? Your garden must be coming along with all the moisture. I liked your video.
3 mile run and 30 minute walk outside.
Had to take care of some business so have been gone for a few days. I did manage to get some running in. It helped me relax and take things in stride. No pun intended. Well, maybe a little. Glad that everyone is getting their exercise in and getting things done.
Art in AZ
Mesa, AZ