Ten More Miles

Good 10-mile run! I wasn’t so sure it would be, because it seemed I had to push too hard as miles four, five, and six curled by on the rectangular track. But then it seemed to get a little easier again and I had no trouble maintaining a pace of nine minutes per mile for the rest of the way. In fact, I ramped it up just a little in the last mile without a major effort.

This run was NOT done at a race pace. Breathing was four footfalls per full breath throughout, a "cruising" pace, maybe a tempo pace, going to three footfalls only in the final two laps of the track. I took water after finishing every even mile. I walk when I drink, and this costs me about 15 seconds (four swallows - about five ounces), which accounts for the longer splits in the odd miles. No pains, not even the right hip flexors, except for a little blister on the inside of the right big toe. Oh, well. It’s still a masterpiece!

Marathon coming up in a few weeks. No way I’ll be properly prepared for it - just not enough time left. So what is a reasonable strategy for running it anyway? A few years back I ran the Kiawah Island Marathon while recovering from an injury, doing alternate miles of jogging and walking. That worked pretty well, actually, and I was able to switch to all running for most of the last six miles, finishing in 5:19. Perhaps I’ll use a similar principle this time. Half miles of each would probably be better.

Splits: 8:58, 8:44, 9:01, 8:54, 9:08, 8:52, 9:07, 8:49, 8:59, 8:33, total 1:29:03, overall pace 8:54.



Last night's dinner: No-hormone no-antibiotics beef, organic beans, organic carrots, organic strawberry.


Fog this morning, and eight degrees above zero. The fog collects as frost on the tops of our oak trees, then after the fog lifts, the frost is illuminated by the sun and eventually falls to the ground in little chunks.

Inauguration Miles

Seven miles at the circular (actually rectangular) track at the club. I thought I felt the right adductor muscle for a moment, and was afraid that I’d have to stop, but it went away and stayed away. There is often just a little pain in the right hip flexors, and it’s easy to get those pains confused - have to think about it a little to be sure which is which. Anyway no pains that matter today.

I didn’t feel full of energy, but still ran an 8:47 pace for the seven miles. Not great, but good enough. Breathing was on the edge of three footfalls per full breath much of the way, indicating almost a race pace. Anyway it’s a masterpiece!

Normally I don’t eat anything (except maybe a latte) before a morning run. But I had such a good run last Saturday, I wondered if it was partly because I had inadvertently chomped down a couple of handfuls of cashews just before we left for the club. So today I tried a dollop of peanut butter, thinking that maybe nuts might give a little energy without forcing the stomach to demand too much of the limited supply of blood. But I don’t think it helped. I know that peanuts are not cashews, but I think Saturday’s good run was not about the nuts, it was because I had taken several days off because of the adductor injury. I’m getting old - it takes longer to recover, and days to recover fully. Speaks to the importance of taper before a marathon, or maybe before any race.

Splits: 8:53, 8:37, 8:40, 8:47, 8:50, 8:51, 8:51, total 1:01:29, pace 8:47.

Watching the successful inauguration today, my heart is bursting with hope. President Obama can’t possibly meet all of the expectations that we have for him, nor could anyone. Nevertheless the country will improve not only economically but morally and ethically, perhaps to become a model for the world once again. With our support, he can do it. See WhiteHouse.gov.



Last night's DEX dinner: Wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon with organic yogurt and herbs, organic spinach with artichoke hearts and melted cheese, organic peas.


This morning's post-run breakfast (& lunch): Organic oatmeal, organic blueberries, papaya, organic strawberries, cantaloupe, organic walnuts, very-dark chocolate, organic fat-free milk. Hard to believe that the berries are available in January, but there they are, and not outrageously expensive either.

I ran a mile race!

But not very fast. Yesterday I was bellyaching about how much I hate to run the mile, and today I found the solution - go slow. We went to Bethel University today to run on their indoor track with the Charities Challenge indoor races. Because of the recent problem with the right adductor muscle, I intended to collect some mileage and not run any races, running the straights and walking the curves, which worked wonderfully well. No pains of any kind. Yay!

But when the organizers called for the second heat of the mile, perhaps ten runners or so, I thought I could use that same procedure in the mile race - run the straights and walk the ends. It worked just fine. The leader lapped me at least twice, maybe three times, but I was doing OK and I stuck to my regimen; no running on the curves. At the end of the eighth lap the clock read 9:41 or so, very slow, but I have none of the coughing and sore throat symptoms that usually result from a one-mile race. First time I've ever enjoyed running the mile race.

At the end of the day I logged eight miles on the track, about half running and half walking. I will count it all as running, though, because I ran the straights much faster than I would have if I were running continuously. It was a day of sprints, or very short intervals, or whatever you might call it. Quads are a little sore, so it was something! I really enjoyed it. Seven days after the adductor injury I seem to be getting past it. I feel tired but otherwise just fine. It’s a masterpiece!



Simple fruit bowl: Blueberries, organic strawberries, organic fat-free yogurt, Dove dark chocolate. Might be a banana under there too, but it doesn't look like it. This is a low-calorie, very nutritious treat.

Wahoo - Good Run

Saturday, Jan 17:

Yesterday I was able to run almost a mile on the track at the club before the injured right adductor muscle made known its presence, requiring me to stop. Today I was hopeful of running longer, intending to stop at three miles if by some chance I should be able to run that far without pain. Lo and behold, however, I passed two miles with no pain and running very easily, then got to three miles and decided to run one more if the adductor held out. I stopped after four miles, still with no pain, each mile faster than the previous, overall pace 8:28. One of the best short runs in the last few months. It’s a masterpiece!

I could easily have run more miles. I stopped because we have more running to do tomorrow, and I didn’t want to re-injure the adductor or anything else. It felt very good to stop without having to stop. YAY!

Last February it took ten days to get past this little injury, and this time it took six. The difference is that I recognized the injury immediately last Sunday when it started, and I stopped running without making it any worse.

The Meet of the Miles one-mile race was last Monday, and I had hoped to run it. But I couldn’t with the injured adductor, and even if I could have run it, driving to the event was risky at best because of the weather that evening. We stayed home. Before we knew we weren’t going, though, the question was "how fast can I run a mile?" Last year I ran 6:12, but this year would be much slower. How fast should I TRY to run it? A 6:00 mile calls for eight laps of 45 seconds each, and an 8:00 mile calls for 1:00 laps. I thought that I could do an 8:00 mile, but not a 6:00 mile, so how fast should I try to run the laps? 52.5 seconds comes out to 7:00 - I wonder if I can do that. After today I’m sure that 8:00 is too easy - I should go for 7:00 or so. Perhaps I’ll try that at one of the Charities Challenge Events.

Or not. I hate the mile. Shorter runs and longer runs hurt my lungs and throat less. The mile is the worst, because of the intense breathing for the required six or eight minutes. I end up coughing for hours afterward, even the next day, and it’s likely that my throat and lungs are vulnerable to infection for that time, especially since my immune system is somewhat compromised by the cancer. Maybe it doesn’t matter how fast I can run it - I don’t HAVE to run any miles this year. Just say NO! Sounds good. I'd rather tun a marathon. Really.

Splits: 8:50, 8:31, 8:24, 8:06, total 33:52, pace 8:28. Love that last mile!

Friday, Jan 16:

Today is five days after the beginning of the pain in the adductor muscle, and I was able to run almost a mile before the pain reappeared. Yesterday I could run three laps at the club, today it was twelve. That’s good progress. Try again tomorrow. :-) Pace 9:20 in the short mile.

After the run I spent another 300 calories on the elliptical and a bicycle trainer. Found some muscles that I don’t usually use!

Thursday, Jan 15:

Nuts. I tried running at the club, and was pain-free for 2 ½ laps. Then the adductor muscle started to yell again. Hmmm. Looking back at last February when this same injury happened, it took about ten days for the problem to resolve. Meantime I used the bicycle, elliptical, and steps machines with no pain. Walking is pain-free too.



Tuesday's lunch: Alaskan wild-caught sockeye salmon with yogurt and herbs, organic vegetable mix, organic pickled beets.

Zoom! Yah! Yah! Indoor Marathon

We drove to Northfield to spectate at the Zoom! Yah! Yah! Indoor Marathon and run a few miles on the downstairs 200 m track while the marathoners collected their 150 laps above. It worked very well indeed - we were rooting for blogger ShirleyPerly and a few others that we knew or got to know, and we would see them about twice each lap. Lots of cheering. That marathon sounds like it would be such a tedious snore, but in fact it’s a lot of fun, with only 40 runners who see each other and the highly supportive lap counters many times over as the morning unwinds. There’s a marvelous spirit in that building. We ran it a couple of yers ago, and really enjoyed spectating today.

The lap counters are the St Olaf College women’s track team.

Unfortunately for me, though, I started to pull an adductor muscle after a couple of miles. It hurt even to run a straight line, so I stopped running immediately. I hope it isn’t badly injured. The same thing happened about this time last year while running on oval rubber tracks - I’m not sure why. It’s clearly an overuse injury, but I’m not sure exactly how I’m overusing it. Last year, though, I tried to keep on running and probably injured the adductor more than I should have, far more than today. I’ll come up with a plan for getting past it. Sigh.

Walking didn’t hurt, so I walked a few more miles with Sunshine and Sweet Pea. And cheered.

Great to see ShirlyPerly in person. We had a nice chat after the race. She is a VERY good runner, even ran negative splits! And we enjoyed her company, brief as it was. Godspeed and a safe trip home, Shirley.



Don, Shirley, Sweet Pea, Sunshine

Four Easy Miles

St Croix Valley Runners, about 4 miles. This time I ran with George, five minutes of run and one minute of walk - he is coming back from an injury and I wasn’t in a rush because I ran ten miles yesterday and could still feel it. We ran about four miles in about 42 minutes or so. I think - I didn’t click my watch. Anyway a nice run, good chat with George, and no pains of any kind. At all. Lovely.



Today's breakfast: Gluten-free oatmeal with dried cranberries, banana, papaya, blueberries, organic walnuts, Dove dark chocolate, organic fat-free milk.

Ten Mile Run

No big deal for most runners, but it’s my longest run since the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon on Nov 1. All good: pace is just about 9:00 minute miles, and no pains! I’m a happy runner today.

I didn’t have a LOT of energy, even though I had taken two full days off. I think that’s probably because I had eaten a fairly big breakfast just two hours before starting the run, and the stomach competes for blood. Also, I shoveled snow for a half hour just before driving to the club. Breathing was four footfalls per full breath until about mile seven, after which the breathing rate increased to three much of the time, especially the last mile. Three footfalls per full breath indicates a race pace.

Going for 30 miles this week, I actually finished 29. Close enough.

Splits: 8:58, 8:53, 9:08, 8:53, 9:11, 8:51, 9:08, 8:54, 9:21, 8:38, total 1:29:55, pace 9:00 overall. The longer intervals in the odd miles occurred because I walked about a half lap while drinking water after finishing each even mile.



Lunch: Organic chicken, cucumber, organic chard with pine nuts.