Setbacks

After having a relatively successful race over the weekend, I hit not one but two significant speedbumps during the previous week. First, on the next day that I was supposed to run (Tuesday), I got sick and stayed home from work. It was simply a cold, but since I'm in the middle of a production at school right now, I was hesitant to try running until I felt 100% better -- rested, without a sore throat, with minimal congestion.

The weekend was looking good for this. I felt pretty well rested on Friday and was planning to probably have a nice long run on Saturday to make up for missing an entire week. That's when my clutziness struck. While talking on the phone with my wife and walking around the house, I kicked a table leg very, very hard. I'm quite certain that I broke the toe next to my big toe on my right foot. I guess this means I'll have to hit cross-training extra hard on my run days and lay off of running for the immediate future. At the moment, it hurts even to put weight on that foot, so I'm not sure even an elliptical machine would work for me at the moment.

In the end, it MIGHT be a blessing in disguise of sorts. While it throws a serious monkeywrench into my plans for the half-marathon, it does allow me to focus without feeling guilty on the high school play I'm directing that opens in less than two weeks. As for the half-marathon, I figure even if I can't train for two weeks due to my toe, I will still have enough time to get into reasonable shape to finish the race. In order to finish before the route closes, I need to do something like an 18 minute mile throughout. Even without training for two weeks, I'd hope that I'd be able to at least accomplish that.

Still, it really stinks being held up like this.

Race Day

This has to be a purpose-driven entry as I am visiting family and would like to see them as much as possible.

Today was race day for me, specifically the Run for the Orphans 5k on the University of St. Thomas campus in Minneapolis. It was a pretty cool day, particularly given the balmy weather we've had lately. I don't think it got above freezing for the entire race, and during my warm-up I found myself missing my new, warmer pair of gloves.

I ran about one warm-up mile (judged off of running for twelve and a half minutes rather than actually knowing the distance). The race itself was great. There were maybe a hundred runners or so, and as the race director said, the race was very informal...so informal, in fact, that there seemed to be some confusion as to the turn-around point. My brother-in-law, who ran the race with....er.....far ahead of me, consulted his Garmin and determined that the race was actually a little longer than 3.1. My official time for the entire course was 32:18, but if we assume that the GPS was accurate, my time was closer to 30:51 for the 5k, which puts me at a sub-10:00 mile, which was the goal at the beginning.

And that's about all there is to say about the race. It was cold, it went well, I felt strong throughout, I actually found a kick for the last tenth of a mile, and....well, really, that's all. A photo will be coming soon.

I think I'm going to give myself a break on the last two miles of the day (although I really appreciate the input on the comment on my previous post!) and try to wrap them up in the next few runs I do to get my total mileage back up to par.

Fuzzy Headed

Once again, I've discovered several things from today's run.

The first is that when planning a run, I should really concentrate. Today was my first tempo run of this training plan. Essentially (and runners, correct me or add on to me if I'm wrong or too simple here) a tempo run is a run where you run faster than your normal, easy pace for a sustained period of time. In other words, when I do "easy" long runs, I run slower than I do on tempo runs. During my first half-marathon training program two years ago, I developed a system for tempo and speedwork runs: write the route in Sharpie on my hand so I know when to check my actual time against my planned time. It's actually a pretty great system. The Sharpie doesn't run too much while I'm running but comes off pretty easily in the shower, and I don't need to drop several hundred dollars on a Garmin. Today, though, I was foiled by two things. First, I didn't pay close enough attention while writing down my mile markers. I missed a middle one entirely and I accidently wrote down the same landmark for two different miles. This of course made pacing difficult. Secondly, while on my run I was too blurry-headed to remember what the heck some of my notes meant. Oh well...it should get easier again.

So that basically brings me to the stats that I could figure out. My first mile, which was supposed to be a warm-up mile, was finished in 11:45 (my tempo time was supposed to be 11:27, so this was a fairly fast warmup). My first tempo mile was finished in around the same time. My second two tempo miles, however, were fast. How fast, I don't really know due to the reasons I listed above. But I was definitely somewhere around two minutes below my target time at that point. By the end of the run I had gone 5.27 miles in 62:18 for an average per mile time of 11:49. Considering that includes my warm-up and cool-down miles, plus that slower first tempo mile, this is a pretty good number.

And this was also my last run before the 5k on Saturday. Hopefully the two days of rest I've bought will help me out. I don't have a time goal in mind. The first and only 5k I ran was 31:30, a slow time but not terrible for me. When I ran my half-marathon, I had splits under 10 minutes, so I'm hoping that somehow I'll PR (such as it is), but I'm not holding my breath.

Sunshine, Robins, and Puppies

I had an easy two mile run today. I had to do it around the school where I teach, which once again was interesting for a few reasons on which I'll elaborate later. It was a beautiful day for a run, and it turned out to be a beautiful run, too.

First, I've got to gripe about running shorts briefly. Who invented the key pocket inside the front liner? I've got a dilemma here -- although there are a few other areas for keys (pockets, velcro pouches, etc.) on my shorts, that inside pouch feels the safest. My keys surely can't bounce out there! The problem is when you get back from a run and need to retrieve the keys. There's something about digging around in the front of my shorts outside a door to the school building where I work that just seems like a bad idea. I'm going to have to keep this mind and find a better solution for next time I run at school.

It was the first run of the year where I could wear shorts and a short-sleeve T-shirt. I ended up with a stocking cap on because I forgot my billed cap, but otherwise it was beautiful. My legs felt a little leaden again at the beginning, but they loosened up. I haven't really experienced this before, and I'm wondering if it's because I stopped stretching before runs. I read that in a book that I'll talk more about on later posts. I don't know the reason, and frankly I'm not sure that I'm sold on not stretching beforehand yet.

I also saw several more signs of spring, an occurance I'm sure will be repeating itself ad nauseum over the next few weeks. I saw two robins on my run and one incredibly cute litter of puppies playing in a front yard. Not just any puppies. Fit-in-the-palm-of-your-hand-with-giant-paw puppies. It's a good thing I'm broke or else we'd have a dog right now.

The nitty gritty of the run works out really well. I ran 2.31 miles in a total time of 25:15. My first half was run in a time of 12:50, which means I negative split by around 25 seconds. Yay! What's more, my average mileage was around 10:56 and the second half alone was 10:47. If you look back at my previous posts, you'll know that this is practically a blur for me.

I can see why runners are advised not to recite these types of statistics to uninterested parties. It can be addictive doing the math for how fast each stretch was!

I've got some training problems up and coming. First, I'm supposed to do 5 miles on Thursday. Unless I do them at 5:30 a.m., an idea that's not unheard of but also not likely, they won't get done that day. My other option is to do that run tomorrow night since I "only" ran two miles today. That means running two days in a row, which makes me nervous, but it seems like the more likely option for me actually doing it.

Second, I'm still trying to figure out how to get to my total of 6 miles on my weekend long run with the 5k on Saturday. Double up afterwards? Run twice in the day? Assume that a race pace will get me the extra exercise I need and call it a day? Who knows (besides the Shadow, that is.......)

Springing Realizations

Today I had three epiphanies about myself and my habits as a runner.

First and most importantly, I am not a runner. Well, perhaps that's a little harsh -- maybe I'm a runner but with an asterisk and a footnote. I discovered this full force today. It was the most beautiful day of the year so far; the fog had lifted, the temperatures were about twenty degrees above normal and hovered in the mid-50s all day, the sun was out, I had nothing to do all day, church was good, and it was my birthday. I'm assuming that a true runner would have looked at all those things and found an incredible amount of motivation to get out and run because a regular runner wants to run for the sake of running. I did not. I was perfectly content to watch my wife napping next to me while playing Civilization IV on our laptop. Unlike a "normal" runner, I discovered that I want to run for the sake of training for a half marathon and eventually for a full marathon by the time I'm 30. So for me, the end is the goal, while I'm assuming that the journey is the goal for most "normal" runners.

Second, I discovered that even with 547 songs on shuffle on my iPod nano, I am still getting sick of listening to the same music. I guess there's not really much more to say about that other than to think out loud that maybe I need to take another look at Podrunner or just learn to run without music.

Third, I discovered that even if I wear shorts on a day like today, I won't regret doubling up on my upper layers, particularly if I'm running close to dusk and it's windy out. That's true even if I'm sweating and questioning my sanity on the first part of the run.

I guess that's about all. For some reason I thought I had a lot more to say, but now, five hours after I finished my run, I don't remember any of it. So on to the details.

I did 5.26 miles today with a total time of 64:20. I thought I was making better time on the way back despite some knee pain that I ran through (left knee....again), but I had a positive split by about 40 seconds. On the upside, my mile pace was around 12:15 for the run as a whole, which is great, especially considering that it's the longest run I've done on this training plan so far.

I've got some tough runs this week, not in terms of mileage or speed, but in terms of time. I've got a really, really busy week, plus a race on Saturday; I can't afford to miss a day this week.

By the way, for interested parties, the race I'm doing is Run for the Orphans (I think) in Minneapolis. My brother-in-law found it.

Epic Battles

Apparently the only trace of wind in Wisconsin for the past three days was in my face on the way back from my 3.18 mile out-and-back; visibility has been under a quarter mile for literally the past 72 hours and counting. Although this makes for lousy driving, in the right frame of mind, this can make for great running.

Imagination is the key to this attitude. I could just be myself -- a nearly-29 year old, un-athletic teacher.....or I could be William Wallace, King Arthur, Aragorn, etc., etc., etc., running through the fog and mist towards my next battle.

The latter option drove me toward a just-negative split on today's run. I took 18:30 for the first 1.59 miles and 18:25(.2) for the second 1.59 miles. I tried to focus on lengthening my strides, lifting my knees, and kicking my toes forward to keep my momentum forward and not bouncing up and down. I think I read somewhere that that is a good idea. I felt much faster on the way back, so the fact that it only shaved off five seconds doesn't bother me....too much. On the up side, although I felt a few very, very minor twinges in my left knee and left foot, I pretty much had no IB problems.

I've got three more runs before my 5k and a decision to make: on the day of my 5k, do I need to run it twice to get in the 6 miles that I'm supposed to for my training plan? Inquiring minds want to know....

Playing Catchup

My catchup plan failed miserably because I failed to take into account one tiny detail: life.

Mondays are horrible days for me to run! I work as a high school teacher and theatre director, so I'm in rehearsals now for our spring production. In addition to that, I'm running an improv group that meets AFTER rehearsals. I generally don't get home until well after dark and don't much feel like driving somewhere to run on a treadmill.

So I've got a new plan. Rather than just being a few days behind, I'm going to fold the two miles I was SUPPOSED to do today into my runs today and (hopefully) Thursday. Which means that my long run day that was scheduled for Sunday...and then Monday...ended up scheduled for today with another mile tacked on the end besides. I was quite nervous setting out for my five mile run. It's been about seven months since I've run that distance.

All in all, it was a very successful run! My legs took a while to warm up. After about 500 yards I wasn't sure I'd be able to finish from pain in both my knees and wobbliness in my legs. But that all subsided. I'm still experiencing a few worrisome aches and pains, though. My left foot went numb again for about a mile and a half around the two mile mark, but my first hill of this training plan actually brought the feeling back in and it stayed there until I was done. However, my left knee began hurting again in a rather ominous pattern: pain on the outside of the knee. Nooooo!!! It can't be too soon to at least talk to some running shoe salespeople to see if they think my current pair are done for. I think it's also time to dust off the knee brace.

The run was beautiful. It really was my first serious run while enjoying spring weather, although because I finished after dark, it was still a little winter-like by the end. I was hatted and gloved throughout.

There were several tortures along the run. First, I started after rehearsal and was hungry before I even began because I didn't have any food at school. Naturally, I thought it'd be a good idea to run through town during dinner time. Judging by odors, there was a family having hotdogs on the grill, lasagna, casserole, and a wood fire. Well, maybe they weren't eating that, but there's something about the smell of a wood fire that just screams food. Then there were once again zombie animals -- frogs, mice, and unfortunately one bird. Yikes. And finally, the nursing home must have been airing out because there was a definite smell of nursing home wafting through the air at the end of the run.

Now for the dirty details. The final run ended up being 4.93 miles and I finished in 64:24, which gives me a per mile time of around 13:20. This is a little depressing because it's actually slower than my training pace, and I felt like I was actually going pretty quickly throughout the whole thing. Still, given my current level of fitness, I should really just be happy to have finished nearly five miles without walking. Next run: Thursday (or Friday....), 3...er...4 miles.

Numbsity

I can't say there is much to report about today's run. It was by all accounts an average run, something that I surprisingly forgot to take into account when I first started thinking about doing a training blog. When it comes down to it, training can be pretty downright boring. Or at least un-noteworthy. Only a few thoughts of any significance occurred during today's run.

First, I'm working towards getting back on track. I'm technically still two days behind (today's run was supposed to be on Thursday), but since my training plan calls for two days of rest before long-run Sundays, I think I can technically count this as being only one day behind now.

Spring is beginning to enter the air. I smelled wet dirt on my run (love it!) and saw a zombie squirrel by the high school. Actually, it was probably a several-month old, partially decayed, dead squirrel, but it was far more entertaining for my run to imagine it was a zombie.

Finally, I'm starting to think again about new shoes. My left foot again went numb, and although the last time this happened (coincidentally also on a three mile run) I could attribute it to shoes that were tied too tightly, this time I can't. This has me a little worried, particularly because it's the same foot and happens to be the same leg that gave me IT problems last year. I've got got got to find time to cross train and build up some strength, but in the mean time, IF my shoes are throwing off my stride enough to cause problems, it's also time to think about turning them in.

So the basic summary of today is 3.18 miles in a total of 38:30 with a just-barely negative split (19:20/19:10) and a per mile time of 12:06. A little slower than I'd like, but I did the whole thing without walking and am still ahead of the mileage times listed on my training plan. Next run: Monday, 4 miles. Plus, there's a 5k in two weeks from tomorrow that I'll be doing in Minneapolis.

Frontstreet Twenty-something Man is Almost-Back, Alright!

So this may be a bit premature, but if I were a boy and lived on a backstreet, I'd be back.

It's hard not to get excited after a good run, even if it was only two miles, and slower two miles than many runners run three. But still....after having not finished a two mile run without walking in the past, oh, five months, it felt great to get this one finished at 22:55. It was a slightly positive split (11:20 for the first mile, 11:35 for the second), but hey, I finished and I only walked when I was done.

Of course, a good run doesn't replace the fact that I'm two days behind on my training and am painfully aware how inadequate I am compared to someone like Matt Long (possibly the most inspiring story I've read in Runner's World). I complained and eventually gave in because I had to leave for work by 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday when I was supposed to do my run and I wasn't able to get back home that day until 9:00 p.m. I thought I would just do it Wednesday. Then Wednesday rolled around and I felt like I could fall asleep as soon as I got home at 5:15. I had had a sore throat all day and was worried I might be getting sick. So that brings me to today; the extra sleep seems to have helped because I've felt 100% all day, but I still wonder if I made up an excuse to skip runs and end up two days behind. At any rate, I can catch up over the next two weeks without missing a run: 3 on Saturday, 4 on Monday for a long run, 2 on Wednesday, 3 on Friday, and 5 on Sunday.

That should put me in pretty good shape for a 5k race the following weekend in Minnesota. Very excited about that.