Three In A Row

Friday, September 5:

Three excellent miles with Rich and Jim, at rather a slow pace, but exactly what I needed today after 10 miles yesterday and a race coming up. Cool, 52 degrees, good conversation. Splits: 10:10, 11:06, 13:54 (1.3 mi), total 35:10, pace 10:39.

Thursday, September 4:

Sublingual B-12. Is it making a difference? My blood tests at Mayo show a low red-cell count and low hematocrit with red cells larger than normal. This can be a symptom of a vitamin B-12 deficiency. For a little over a week now I’ve been taking sublingual B-12 "dots" (tiny pills) just to see if it would make a difference. I won’t see another set of blood tests for a couple of weeks, but I did have a very good run today compared with some other recent runs. Ten miles in 1:29:30, pace 8:57, mostly on my favorite rock-strewn soft dirt trail, which feels slightly uphill in both directions.

If the B-12 is making a difference, it would do that by increasing red cell count, thereby increasing hematocrit, which in turn would provide better oxygen transport to the muscles. Or maybe it was just a good day. Breathing was normal most of the way, four footfalls per full breath.

Mostly cloudy and cool, about 55 degrees, my favorite trail, running doesn’t get much better. I love fall. It’s a masterpiece!

Splits: 8:35, 8:24, 9:08, 8:39, 35:42 (4 mi), 9:25, 9:36, total 1:29:30.

Wednesday, September 3:

Gloves felt good. Four and a half miles this morning, 52 degrees at the start and 53 at the end. My clothing chart says gloves only below 50 degrees, but with a 10 mph wind they felt good this morning. I have a very light pair that go easily in a pocket if my hands do get too warm. Long-sleeved shirt was nice too. Good run, mostly on low-traffic residential roads, no pains.

Splits: 9:05,30:35 (2.5 mi), 9:03, total 39:38, pace 8:48. Huh. Faster than it seemed - breathing was quite relaxed.

		Post-run breakfast: Gluten-free oatmeal with organic flame raisins and dried cranberries, organic nectarine, organic walnuts, mango, banana, dark chocolate, nonfat organic milk.
Lunch: Curried free-range chicken, organic rice, Jim's tomato, blueberries.
		Dinner: Leftover roast bison, organic carrots, baked salad a la Jim with Jim's veggies and more including tomato, egg plant, onion, rutabaga, broccoli, parmesan cheese, cottage cheese.