On the road again...
Last week's totals, with Mike back on top after a one week absence. Nice to see the list getting a little longer, too!
old-runner: For finishing 5th overall out of 515 runners in his 5k Saturday. That's impressive.
I write. I read. I run. One time, I ran a lot on my 50th birthday.
Paul
Got in a nice one hour easy run this morning. A little over 6 miles.
under a rock
I'm glad to be back to consistent running again. (hope I didn't just jinx myself) I've got more than a full week of running 3 miles at a time pain free, but not paranoia free. I get to start adding some more distance to my base this week, only about 5% instead of the standard 10%. I'm not in a hurry to do any long races so I'm fine with having to take extra time to build my base back up. All I have committed to this year is the Blue Ridge Relay so no need for lots of long runs.
I've had a lot of time to think about where I want to go with my running since I've felt the need to re-evaluate my goals due to the constant battle with IT band. It is clear my body doesn't want me to do the long distances. At first I was pretty frustrated with that since with trail running most of the focus of the glory is on the long races. Also with my 40th birthday next year I was hoping to do a 40 miler to celebrate. But I don't want to beat my head against a wall over and over trying to do distances that my body can't hold up for. So, I've decided once I'm solid I will focus on my speed on trails and roads. I think it would be nice to enter my first year in the master's division having my speed back up to where it was before or even faster. I've got the marathon out of the way, something I'd wanted to do since 2002, and feel like I can stop obsessing over it now. I feel like I've got decent speed inside me that I've been ignoring and I want to get it back.
Fingers crossed that my ITB will stay a thing of the past this time!
That's great news, Ashley. Glad you're feeling better.
No run yet today, but I wrote a race report if anyone's bored.
They built a bridge. I ran over it.
Ashley, that sounds like a great plan! Ever since I cut my mileage down 20% or so I've felt great and am running about as well as I ever have. You definitely don't have anything to prove with more and more miles. Hope you can make it back out to run with the Gaston County Runners group tomorrow at the park. I think we've got several new people coming this week.
Shashi and I ran with the speed work clinic today over at South Point HS led by Michael Heafner. It was good. I think we had 7 or 8 people.
Richard Hefner Past Race Results (Athlinks)
Ashely, wise approach. You've got to work with what you've got.
I think you'll like rediscovering that speed.
"I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."
-- Dick LeBeau
Thanks, guys! I'm pretty excited about my new plan for my running glory!
Richard, glad to hear the clinic was good. I hope he'll do it again so I can check it out. I plan on being at Martha Rivers tonight. I'm going to add a whopping .25 mile to my 3 miles tonight!
Clive, who is the dog in your avatar?
Some random Rhodesian Ridgeback I found an image of. An homage to my dear-departed friend.
(The longer story: we (I, really) have been trolling Petfinder.com and other sites for a rescue dog. Finally got one a couple weeks ago, Gallowalk'ed with her twice, bonded ... and had some aggression issues that ultimately made it a poor fit for our family. Which made me miss my old boy even more, hence the RR tribute avatar.)
Your old boy was a handsome dog. Sorry the rescue dog didn't work out. Hopefully it won't take long to find a good fit for your family.
Cliff/Clive,
sorry about your departed friend and you'll no doubt have good look finding a new friend. I see that you've come back from injured reserve. I was reading your log entry today...so wait until when you work up to six or eight minutes straight w/regard to "evaluating your fitness level". I think it was when I got to eight minutes straight and felt I was "panting" for the last two minutes of each segment that I re-evaluated my fitness level! Also, have you considered taping your Achilles (it helped me in terms of adding more stability & support).
Rob
Clive - good to see you back at it. Sorry to read about your dog.
Did an hour run on Tuesday with 3 miles of speedwork in the middle and put in a little over 7 miles this morning. Best week so far that I've had in awhile.
Getting excited and nervous about Race fest, which is a good thing I guess. That predicted rain is going to be the wild card, don't do so well if I am cold. A very easy run today and some Strides tomorrow.
Sounds like a good approach Ashley and good luck. I've made a similar decision for now also regarding mileage, and have really worked to get rid of my issues. I've spent a lot more time stretching, strengthening, rolling and very important to me, using Active Release techniques on my own. I've noticed that as I significantly open my hip flexors and psoas mucscles, I saw a big improvement in decreasing the stress on my IT bands and calf muscles.
Shashi, this Saturday looks rough. Should be interesting.
I don't know about everybody else, but if it's stormy enough Saturday morning I'm sleeping in. I'll just chalk up my $44.50 registration fee up to experience.
I guess mostly everybody knows about the contingency plan for RaceFest Saturday, but if not, here it is from the race director...
The following contingency plan is in place for Saturday's 2011 Charlotte RaceFest Half Marathon and 10K. The race will go rain or shine, but in the event of lightning and thunder, we are required by theCharlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) to delay the start for at least 30 minutes after the most recent lightning strike. We will delay the start as long as we can based on that stipulation. If the race ends up being delayed to the point that we will surpass the time that CMPD allows us to have the roads closed, then the race organizers will shorten the Half Marathon to a 10K, and one race will be run. Unfortunately, because of the hard costs involved in police coverage for Saturday, the involvement of over 100 volunteers who have given up their time to be present on race day, and the lack of an open date on the Charlotte running calendar, it is not possible to reschedule the event should it have to be cancelled altogether. If the Half Marathon is shortened to a 10K, all Half Marathoners will receive a $10 discount on the 2012 Charlotte RaceFest. We will make every effort to run both races off as long as it's a safe environment for everyone involved. We appreciate your understanding.
The weather turned out to be "beautiful", chip time is 1:40:45, PR'ed about 11 minutues.
Scheduled Races:
Tokyo Marathon (March 2020)
Boston Marathon (April 2020)