A week and a Day

Saturday, March 21:

Local roads, 5.1 miles. I was going to run with the St Croix Valley Runners this morning, but cancelled at the last second for personal reasons and ran in the afternoon instead. What a lovely day! Running should always be this good.

I didn’t go very fast - 5.1 miles in 46:31 is a pace of 9:07, but I did walk a little from time to time, trying to take it easy on the black left big toe and save a little for tomorrow’s race. And I really enjoyed the run, unusually so, and definitely felt stronger in the last two miles. It’s good to be outside, I guess. On this particular route there is almost no traffic. I feel safe and comfortable whether warlking or running. I could do this every day. Maybe I should.

My goal for several years has been to build up to 40 miles per week. But I’ve had a hard time keeping up that standard because of various injuries. Knees, Lisfranc ligament, black toe, plantar fascia, Achilles tendon, illiotibial band, other hip issues, you name it, runners get it and so have I. So I’ve changed my goal. Especially now, while I’m on dexamethasone for the cancer, I’m going to reset my running schedule to max out at about 30 miles per week instead of 40. That’s not a lot of miles, but I’m closing in on 70 years. Let’s see if I can avoid more of the injuries that way. If so, then maybe I can think about 40 again.

Splits: 8:49, 9:30, 10:27 (1.1 mi), 8:37, 9:08.

Thursday, March 19:

Local roads, 7.2 miles. This was supposed to be a 16-mile run today, but the toe bothers and I feel swamped with other work because of a remodeling project that we started this week. We have a carpenter, but I’m just (barely) handy enough to help more than I hinder, especially with wiring and plumbing, so I get involved. You know how that goes.

Furthermore, I had not run since Sunday, an unheard-of span of four days, also due to the toe and the remodeling. I felt a little clumsy today, especially at the start, and even within the second mile was walking a little. But the run nevertheless felt very good, and I’m quite happy with it. I don’t have splits, but I’m sure that I got stronger toward the end. At this stage in my life I’d usually rather have an enjoyable run than a hard one that I can’t wait to finish. I’m getting slower anyway, not faster, no sense kidding myself about that! 7.2 miles in 1:07:50, for a pace of 9:25.

Sunday, March 15:

The toe still hurts and there is some obvious bleeding underneath the nail. Nuts. I decided to run two four-mile loops of a route that I call the "flat four" because it’s flat, of course. Better for the toe, and also that way I could opt out after four miles if the toe hurt by then. Sure enough it did, even though it's carefully wrapped with a thin layer of tape. So I opted out, running four miles in 36:50, pace 9:13. Then I doubled back to pick up my sweeties who were running on a nearby route, so I probably put in a total of five miles.

Saturday, March 14:

St Croix Valley Runners. We always run the same 5-mile route, but today I short-circuited it to 3.5 miles. Problem: I didn’t think I had any physical problems during last Thursday’s 13.1-mile run, but later I discovered that the toenail on the left big toe had been injured during the run. This has happened before, to that same toe. I think it happens gradually during a run, so the bruising is not noticeable until later. It doesn’t hurt a lot, but if it hurts while I’m running then I believe I may be injuring it more and I don't want to do that. I'll have to ease up a bit for a while.



Recent dinner: Wild-caught fish, Sunshine's homemade mango salsa (mostly organic), kiwi, organic mixed vegetables. Enjoyed wiith a nice bock beer.