Short Recovery Run

Short and slow is what I intended, after a tiring day yesterday, but I felt pretty good so I went a little faster.  Doing the usual 1 to 1 run/walk on the paved trails (we got another inch of rain last night, so the grass trails were not inviting), I finished 3.19 miles in 35:25, for a pace of 11:06, not bad.

Leg muscles still felt tired from yesterday's runs and subsequent lawn mowing work, so I pushed a little harder than usual up many of the hills, trying to coax those tired muscles to get stronger.  It felt good to do that.  It's a masterpiece.

Whining:  None at all.  Nada.  100.9 miles for the month so far.  Maybe more tomorrow, the last day of June.

Two Warm Runs

Saturday, June 28, 2014:

St Croix Valley Runners:  I can't really keep up with the group on their 5-mile run yet, so today I took a shortcut that put me ahead of them.  Randy came by first, and then another runner that I haven't met yet, then new Jim and the Norwegian.  That was fun.

I finished 3.82 miles in 42:07, for a pace of 11:01.  Good enough.  This is a humid morning, with a temp of 72 and a dewpoint of 70

Breakfast after the runs.  Oatmeal and
blueberries beneath.  The only items NOT
organic are the kiwi, mango, and banana.

County Park:  After running with the St Croix Valley Runners we came home, changed shoes, and went back out to run on the grass trails in the park.  I ran 6.08 miles, for a total of 10:00 on the day.  Time for this run was 1:14:04, for a pace of 12:11.  I thought I was going faster, actually, but my legs did feel tired, especially toward the end.  Excuses:  (1) a strenuous run yesterday; (2) more miles than usual today (almost 10); (3) I took water between the runs today but didn't take any with me on the six-mile run, so I may have been a bit dehydrated; and (4) the air was warm and humid, 77 with a dewpoint of 72.  Nice day to nap in a hammock but I never do that - I'd rather run.

Whining:  I did feel a slight warning the right-knee PFS, so now I'm thinking that the Nike Wildhorse trail shoes don't protect me from that problem any more than my usual Brooks Launch shoes do, but the PFS never became a real issue in this run.

No Walking - Almost

I'd like to be able to run without walking at all, as I did when I was younger, say 65 instead of 73.  Somehow I lost that ability while I was nursing my hernia or my right-knee PFS, or when I was taking dexamethasone for the myeloma.  Anyway I want it back!  So today I ran the 3.53-mile loop (figure 8 actually), and got within a half mile of the finish before I overheated and had to take a few 20-second walk breaks.  The temperature was 77 with sun and very high humidity.

Age group award just received from
the Nashville Country Music Marathon

I finished in a time of 33:51 (seemed longer!) for a pace of 9:35.  Honestly I thought I was running pretty slowly, so this is better than expected.
Breathing indicated a race pace for most of the way, though, so it was probably about as good as I could do in that weather.  Train more at this pace, lose ten or fifteen pounds, I can do better.

No whining. It's a masterpiece. West loop pace 9:51, east loop pace 9:24 despite the three little walks.

Trail Shoes

I tried the grass trails around Eagle Lake today, and found them surprisingly dry.  Distance 3.73 miles, time 41:41, pace 11:11.  Really?  That's actually a pretty good pace for grass trails, even though the running wasn't all that great, with the thermometer at 77 degrees and bright sun.  A breeze did help.  Today's trail had very few water obstacles, and in fact my shoes came back cleaner than they were when I started.

I've been using old pairs of my regular Brooks Launch shoes for trail running, and they seem to work fine.  However, last August I bought a pair of Nike Zoom Terra Wildhorse trail shoes (where DO they get the names?) and haven't really tested them, so I tried them two days ago and again today.  They seem to work fine - feel very good - lighter than the Launch by one little ounce per pair.  I'll be looking for problems with the right-knee PFS, or for freedom from that problem.

Anyway I don't find that exact model for sale at Nike now, so maybe it doesn't matter.  I don't like to use shoes that I can't replace.  I was quite disappointed when Brooks discontinued the Launch, and heartened when they brought the Launch back to life.

Road closed to ALL traffic
St Croix River. Stillwater, MN

No whining today.  No PFS, no phony DVT, nothing.  It's a good day.  In fact, I had my regular myeloma checkup this morning (before the run) and the myeloma is still stable.  Yay!

Wednesday, June 25, 2014:

More rain last night.  Oh, please stop!  Anyway we used the paved trails again, though I would always prefer the grass trails.  The weather cooperated this time, however, a windy 57 degrees with cloudy skies.  Nice.  I wore a long-sleeved shirt and was glad for it.

4.95 miles in 55:00 for a pace of 11:07.  No pains.  In particular, yesterday's fake DVT that took me to the ER was gone completely, no trace left. Yesterday I could easily find the exact spot with my fingers (ouch), and today there was no spot.  Go figger.  I'm a little embarrassed that I went in, but only a little.

No whining at all today.

Not a DVT

June 24, 2014:

That's the bottom line.  After a nice if somewhat soggy run on the park's grass trails, I went to the ER in Stillwater to check on a rather localized pain in the center of my right calf.  At first I thought it was just a little cramp in one small muscle, but it persisted, on and off through the run and afterward, so I took it to the ER.  The ultrasound was negative, and the ER doc said that he would expect swelling and maybe redness if it were a DVT.  We still don't know what it is, though, and it's still there, so I'm still paying attention.

The run was just lovely, with a perfect temperature and bright sun.  Trails were wet where they are never wet, though.  In one usually dry place, ducks were swimming right in the middle of the trail.  My cold is back, this time in my throat instead of my head, so I took it easy.  Further, I had to tiptoe past a few water hazards, so my time for the 3-mile run was 40:00 minutes, for a pace of 13:17.  Uff-da, not good!  I had fun though.  No whining except for the strange calf pain.

Two Runs Today

St Croix Valley Runners

The first day of summer, such a beautiful day.  We three drove to Stillwater to run with the St Croix Valley Runners for the first time this year.  I can't keep up with most of them any more, but Charlie was there, and Jim is recovering from an injury, so we three ran a short 2.4-mile route at a very modest pace.  I ran the whole way, though, no walking, so it wasn't so modest for me.  I didn't click my watch at the finish, but I think it was about 27 minutes, so the pace would be about 11:15.

No whining.

Gateway Trail

After a some grocery shopping in Stillwater and a quick stop at home we went right out again, this time to the Gateway Trail, parking at the Hwy 96 bridge.  The girls ran for about 40 minutes, and I ran six miles (according to the Gateway Trail mileposts) in 1:06:30, for a pace of 11:05, doing my 1 to 1 run/walk.

That's 8.4 miles on the day, and I felt good all the way through.  That trail is such a delight - most of it is shaded, so even with the temperature in the low 70's I didn't feel overheated.  I wish it were closer to where we live.  We saw lots of people using it today, mostly on bicycles but some on skates or running shoes.

Splits: 11:07, 11:22, 10:41, 10:59, 11:23, 10:56, total 1:06:30, pace 11:05.  No whining.

Too Hot

81 degrees with a dewpoint of 69 does not make comfortable running.  The bright sun made it even warmer, and the modest breeze didn't quite compensate for that.

Oh complain.  I had a good run anyway, doing a 1 to 1 walk/run, 5.26 miles in 58:41, for a pace of 11:10.  I had energy left to speed up in the last few hundred yards, but if I had gone much farther at any speed I would have needed water - my shorts and shirt were soaked through.

No whining, though.  Knees, hips, muscles all felt good.  It's a masterpiece.

First loop pace 11:23, second loop 11:07, third 11:03, average 11:10 for 5.26 miles.  Not bad considering.