Be Careful What You Ask For

Saturday, November 30, 2013:

After the very hot San Antonio marathon I wrote "where’s a little sleet when you need it!"  Today, the long-range forecast for our next marathon, in Memphis, includes the words: "... chance of freezing rain and sleet."  Hoo ha.  Not the best of weather, but better than 89 degrees with a blowtorch sun.  Long-range forecasts never really come to pass anyway.  Usually.

Splits: 10:12, 9:54, 9:48, 9:25, total 39:18, pace 9:50.

Friday, November 29:

YMCA.  Today is the day for burning off the excess that I consumed yesterday (Thanksgiving).  I lost the splits (accidentally cleared my watch) but I know that I ran five miles, each one a little faster then the previous, and the last mile took about 9:10.

Wednesday, November 27:

Stillwater Bubble.  No pains or problems.  Running just four miles, I had a little fun in the last mile, doing several short sprints along one side of the soccer field.

Splits:  10:30, 9:57, 9:35, 9:29, total 39:32, pace 9:53.

Monday, November 25:

Stillwater Bubble.  We ran there for the first time this fall, just to enjoy the unheated air and the

Taco Salad, one of my favorite meals

rubber smell of the soccer field.  Well, there were other reasons too.  Actually I do like it a little better than the YMCA track, because it’s 5 laps per mile instead of 13.  And I had a very nice run, finishing very the 4.8 miles very strong.  I stopped one lap short of 5 miles (I goofed), but it was enough.
No pains, no problems.  It’s a masterpiece!

Splits: 10:07. 9:50, 9:30, 9:46, 7:29 (about 0.8 mi), total 46:42, overall pace 9:44.

Saturday, November 23:

Three more miles in the YMCA.  This time I ran (run/walk) a mile on the track, then another on the treadmill at a 10:00 pace, and finally another mile on the track, somewhat faster.

For most of the day I had been experiencing a significant pain in the upper left tibia or fibula, not sure which, on the lateral front, just an inch or two below the kneecap.  The pain appeared when I put weight on the joint, and also when I lifted the leg in a sitting position.  It hurt a bit when I started running, but then quickly settled down and has not been heard from since.

Splits: 10:14 (run/walk 56/30), 10:00 (run), 8:58 (run/walk 60/20), total 29:12, pace 9:44.

Friday, November 22:

This was the second run since Sunday's marathon, and I tried running  continuously, in place of the run/walk that I usually do.  I'm not sure that I understand or believe the results, though.  The mile that I ran continuously seemed to be much slower than the next mile, where I used a run/walk ratio of about 60/25.  So much slower that I wonder if I slipped an extra lap in there - the track is 13 laps per mile and it would be easy to miss one.  I'll probably try this again the next time we go to the YMCA.

 Meanwhile, I felt very good today, full of energy, and the last mile zipped by quickly.  A tightness in the right calf appeared and then resolved itself during the first mile.

Someday I’m going to measure this track, to see if it really is 13 laps per mile.

Splits: 10:44, 9:40, 9:18, total 29:44, pace 9:55.  Great for five days after the marathon.  I'll do longer runs next week.

Thursday, November 21:

Normally I would run on Wednesday after a marathon, but the yard was calling me Wednesday with tons of leaves that needed mulching.  I spent 5 or 6 hours walking behind a mower, and that was quite enough for the day.  Today was the first real run, and I took it very easy on the YMCA track.  I didn't bring my watch, but ran and walked for 33 minutes, according to the clock on the wall, at a pace that may have been 11 minutes per mile or so.  No problems.