Tuesday

Monday was a rest day, but Tuesday I was back at it. 3 miles for the rest of the week until next Sunday when I run 6 for the first time in my life. Good run today. Started off slower than usual to get warmed up, then picked up the pace in Mile 2 and really poured it on in the last half mile. Ran the 3 mile circuit in 32 minutes. I can see how this training program is gradual and good for me. A few weeks ago a 3 mile run would have taken me close to 40 minutes or so. I am now able to hold an 11 min./mile pace over multiple miles. This is what I want for my half-marathon. Started raining in mile 2 and it felt nice and cool. Summer in LA has yet to really begin, so I will soak up as much cool as I can until then.

One thing I have noticed--I need more sleep. In the past I could get by with 6 hours, but I must have at least 7 before any running day!

I cannot wait until mid-June. I am driving about 100 miles to a Fleet Feet Sports for a gait analysis and shoe fitting. I think I am flat footed, mild supinator. My feet kind of curl in ward while lifting off the ground, but when I strike, I strike on the outside of the heel and roll inward, but I am not sure if they roll all the way to a neutral position. And I can tell you it is difficult to analyze your own gait while on a run. Most definitely NOT a pronator. I have been running in neutral shoes: Asics Gel Nimbus VII, which are recommended for feet and weight like mine: flat feet, neutral, heavier runner. They are a good shoe, but I want someone who knows what they are talking about to analyze me.

That's more like it.

After a couple of days away from running, I returned on Sunday morning with a 5 mile run. Rest week was over, and I had been exercising the muscles around my shins to cut down on the tightness and to stave off the onset of shin splints. I was a little nervous, but I had a geat run. 4.85 miles in 54 minutes. Nice and steady. No back pain, no shin tightness. Only IT band stiffness in the fifth mile, the result of neglecting my IT strecthes while obsessing on my shins. It is odd, but by mile 5, I always get left knee stiffness. I go to 6 miles next Sunday, so we'll see how that goes.

I felt great and was glad to be back in the saddle.

Dead legs!

It has been a while since my last post, when I was on the high of running with some really nice guys. Two weeks have past and I have had some nice runs with them, but I need to back off a bit from the group runs. While running with them has pushed me to a faster pace, I also feel that it is pushing me too far to a faster pace than I should follow at this time. They are good runners, who have been at it for a long time. I, on the other hand, am I a novice still getting his "sea legs" in running, if you will. Sunday was tough. We met at 7 and ran into a couple of triathletes who wanted to run with us and take us through some trails near our health club. Although the triathletes said they wanted to run slow, they set a quick pace and I found it hard to keep up. I was overstriding and running faster than I should have and I turned around and left them after about 2 miles. I ran the two mikes back to the car at a much slower pace. I was also suffering from a very tight right shin, the product of overstriding and a strength imbalance between my calves and my shins. This hurt me all week, which was supposed to be an easy week on my marathon training plan, of nothing more than 3 miles. My shins did not hurt, mind you, but the muscle around the right shin felt very very tight and it was hard to stride properly. I felt like I had dead legs all week. Three miles felt like 6, and I struggled all week to complete them. My pace has been the same, but my body has fought just to keep up.

That said, I am laying off running for the rest of the week (I am writing this on Wed.) and will start back on my miles on Sunday with a 5 miler. In the meantime, I'll do some non-running cardio, such as spin or elliptical, and work the weights, which I haven't been on in about two weeks.

I am now five weeks into my marathon training and can run 4 miles easily. 5 with a little effort, and feel encouraged by my progress and need to stop comparing myself to others. I run MY race, MY pace, MY time. That's the new motto--or one of them at least. I run a six-miler in another week. We'll see how that goes.

Tempo! Tempo!

I have become acquainted with a group of very nice guys who run in all the local races. They also run together several days a week from our local Health club. These are "fellowship runs" as one called them, but make no mistake, these guys are good. One of them always ranks in the top three in the masters division in local races. Well, they invited me to run with them--I had seen them at a several races and they offered an invitation. I got up early this morning and met them at 5:30, where it was already 95% humidity and almost 70 degrees.

I struggled to keep up. They have longer strides, are much better runners than I, and have been doing it much longer. I, on the other hand, am a plodder. I work my way down the road at a slow pace. Running with a group forces us slow-pokes to elevate our game. We did the first 2 miles in about 18:00. That is the fastest 2-mile pace I have done in this short return to running--in short, this is my "race pace." At the 2 mile turnaround we started back at a pretty good pace again. I was winded, not able to carry on a full conversation, as many coaches recommend. But I pushed on and they went a bit a farther, but I completed the entire 4 mile run in 44 minutes, including a short walk break and back-stretch. I was spent. These were nice guys and I'll run with them once a week for my "quality miles."

But it felt good to achieve that pace and to work my fanny off.

Sunday's run

My wife returned to town last night. She had been gone all week and the Kids and I were home alone. We had a great week, but we were ALL glad to see mommy back. My reward was a Sunday morning alone, running for an hour. I had decided a few days ago I would skip church and run for an hour atop one of our many levies here. I measured the distance afterwards and had run 4.7 miles in about 55 min. Nice, slow, easy and long. The only problem was that my right arch started giving me pain halfway in, but only on unstable ground. When I transferred to road, the arch was fine. My left knee started stiffening about 48 minutes into the run, but that is normal for me. It was warmer than I expected but I enjoyed every stride and feel refreshed.

As I was drafting this entry, I received one of the regular update emails from my buddy Richard, who is in Iraq. He is a major in the Army reserve, a trained Army Ranger, and the most gentle and decent guy you'll ever meet. He often writes long updates, including pictures, and puts them in Word files and emails them to us. This update was short and sweet and his last sentence was the best news I have heard in a long time. Here it is: "The good news is, my replacement is here. Send no more mail. It won’t be long now." Richard will be home soon. Time to kill the fatted calf. I think I'll go dry my eyes now.

Easy Week

Given my heavy activity last weekend, including a 5K, I took this week easy. My wife was out of town as well, which meant I had full responsibility for my boys, which reduced the amount of time I could run. I had two 3 mile runs, mixed with one day of weights for lower body. On Wednesday I ran for 38 minutes, then measured the distance. Just over 3 miles at 3.2. My friend Lisa said it is easier for beginners to run based on time, rather than distance. She is exactly right. Not worrying about how far I have left to run allows me to enjoy the run more.

Friday, a day after nasty weather, forced me inside on the treadmill. I ran a quick 3 miles, then hurried to be with my son at a Dad's Day BBQ at his magnet school.

I'll make a nice long run on Sunday (Today is Saturday), since my wife returns tonight and I can get some alone time.

I am still 20 pounds down from Christmas. Currently at 223. I have hovered here for a few weeks. One reason is that reffing soccer has taken me out of my running routine. The other is that I have had more than a few end-of-the-year luncheons (I am a professor) and some job search candidate dinners. So, I am finally back to normal, schedule-wise and will get back to my yogurt and granola lunches. My goal is to reach 220 by end of May, and 215 by end of June. I weighed 243 in December. My long-term goal is 190. I'll have a party when I reach 200, though. Things I've lost: two waist sizes, the need to wear XXL shirts, knee pain, and the list keeps growing.

Here is a shout out to my dear friend, Richard, who is in his last month stationed in Iraq. I miss him dearly and pray for him a lot. He should be home soon and I plan to, as he is oft heard saying, "to kill the fatted calf" when I see him again. He is the most noble man I have ever met, and loyal to the core. To know Richard is a unique privilege. His only flaw is his North Carolina BBQ elitism, which runs rampant through his blood.