Three Miles!

Katie, my therapist, has told me that I may not sprint until I can run three miles without walking.  I did it today, three miles at a pace of 10:37 per mile.

During the regular Saturday morning run of the St Croix Valley Runners I ran the first two miles with Dave and Candy, who were running just a little slower than I usually do.  Perhaps that helped - they paced me correctly.  The pace did feel good, although I saw that both Candy and Dave could talk more easily than I, suggesting that I have a bit farther to go before I can comfortably run with them over a longer distance.  I was working harder than they.

The three miles ended just before the only hill on this route - a trail bridge over a major road.  So I didn’t stop at the 3-mile marker, but kept going for another minute and a half to the top of the bridge, then finally walked a bit.  I was very happy to stop and walk, but glad that I still had that much gas left after the three miles.  And hey, the miles were measured according to trail mileposts, which are not necessarily dead nuts accurate, so I wanted to be very sure that I actually did the three miles.  I did it Katie!

Yours truly top center w green visor

That’s two nice runs in a row: the Park Point 5 Miler race in Duluth last Thursday, and the three-mile run today, both with energy to spare at the end.  I feel new strength and endurance in my legs, a quantum improvement this week.

The right hamstring tendon injury is still there, however.  Katie didn’t tell me to wait for that to heal completely before trying to sprint again, but she would say it if I asked.  I know I should wait.  And even then I will have to go slow, take it easy, and not jump out of a crouch until it seems thoroughly healed.

I saw Katie yesterday, and was embarrassed to admit to her that I hadn’t done ANY of the special leg exercises and stretches that she had prescribed at our last appointment three weeks ago.  She soberly informed me that if I don’t do those exercises, I will get injured again for sure.  “For SURE,” she re-emphasized, in case I hadn’t heard her the first time.

I have no problem doing my runs, I like to run, but don’t seem to find the spare half hour for the exercises.  So we agreed that I will not allow myself to run unless I have done my exercises at least once since the last run.  Oof.  OK.  Let’s see how that works.

Watch: 10:36, 10:45, 10:30 (average 10:37 for 3 mi), 13:06 (walk/run last mile).

Thursday, July 14:

Park Point 5 Miler.    I loved this race!  I'm still trying to recover from an injured hamstring tendon, and took it easy on this run, but did better than I expected anyway,  finishing the five miles in 52:58.  Second of two in my age group, but hey, the guy who finished ahead of me is a pretty classy runner and I'm happy for him.  He's 76 as well, but I'll need to train for a while before I can finish a race alongside him.  If ever.

Throughout the race I ran 60 seconds, then walked 20-25 seconds or so, as fast as I could walk.  Hopefully sometime soon I will be able to keep running, no walking, but until then this is working OK.  I actually felt better and better as the race went on, and was able to finish the last mile faster than any of the others.

The race was held on Park Point, a narrow spit of land (sand) that runs between Duluth MN and Superior WI, separating Lake superior from Superior Bay at the very western tip of the big lake.  The course is on Minnesota Avenue, the only road to go the length of the point, entirely paved, and flat as pee on a plate.  I swear there can be no flatter race on the planet.  But today, the best part was the weather.  This is an evening race, starting at 6;30 PM, which is normally near the high temp of the day, and it is usually a hot race.  But today that high temp was in the 50's, perfect for a great race.  I loved it.

My sweetie got an age group award in the two-mile race!

10:46, 10:40, 10:57, 10:38, 9:57, total 52:58, average pace 10:36.