Every Run Is an Adventure

Here are four of those.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016:

For some months now I have occasionally felt an uncomfortable pressure behind my sternum when I run.  It has always gone away when I eased up a little on the speed.  Today I started out running, not walking (despite the lesson learned just two days ago) and felt that discomfort more strongly than ever before.

What could this be? Possibilities: (1) Heart - I have no history of heart issues, but my dad and his dad did, and I'm 75; (2) Reaction to yesterday's anti-myeloma infusion treatment - a distinct possibility; or (3) Acid reflux (simple heartburn) stimulated by a delightful gluten-free pizza lunch a couple of hours earlier, on top of the morning's dexamethasone tablet, also part of the myeloma treatment.

This felt serious enough that I decided to reduce my speed to a moderate walk and shorten the course to a mile or so, but after reducing speed the discomfort abated, so I stayed on the original hilly 4-mile route.  I ran very little, only when crossing streets, and adjusted my walking speed to keep the discomfort to a minimum.  It was still there, though, lurking, and after a little run across an intersection the answer came up.  Literally, from my stomach into my mouth, no nausea, just reflux.

Actually that's the best answer, because it's something that I can manage:  Don't run or even speed-walk after eating a large meal (duh!), and talk to my doctor about when (and whether) to take that particular dose of dexamethasone.

Two-mile splits: 28:20, 29:02, total 57:22, pace 14:21.  Not too shabby anyway, considering.

Monday, April 18:

Fast Walk, No Run.  Still apprehensive about Thursday's injury to the left hamstrings, I took the same 4.04-mile route that I had taken on Thursday when they were injured, but speed-walked with no running at all.  Somewhat to my surprise, I did not feel any pain at all in the left thigh.  Further, the pace did not drop as much as I expected - I only needed about two more minutes to do the route.

I keep learning this lesson, maybe it wil sink in someday: The best marathon pace for me right now is a speed walk with no running at all.

Two-mile splits: 25:40, 26:52, total 52:30, distance 4.04, pace 13:00.

Saturday, April 16:

St Croix Valley Walkers.  This is originally a runners group, but we have become friends and as we have grown older and less speedy we have formed a walkers group too.  7:00 am at Browns Creek Park in Stillwater, we walk one way or the other on the new Browns Creek Trail for a half hour or so, then back.

Today we walked for about three miles in about 50 minutes, a nice walking pace that didn't bother my aching hamstring at all.

Thursday, April 14:

Pulled Hamstrings.  This was the first run after the Lake Lowell Marathon, and I felt very strong, so I ran more of the time than I probably should have. About halfway into the four-mile run I started to feel a little pull in the left hamstrings.  Often these things just go away, so I kept going.  Later, though, after the run, the hamstrings were still sore and remained so for a day or two.

Two-mile splits: 24:56, 25:18, total 50:15, distance 4.04, pace 12:26.