Eight Miles at Marathon Pace

With several weeks yet to go before the next marathon, this run was fast enough and entirely without any need for whining.  I feel great.

It was a (mostly) new route on a lovely, cool morning.  If only we could bottle today for the rest of the year, I feel like I could do eight miles every morning.  Actually, I might do twelve tomorrow, at a slightly slower pace, because I have to take Tuesday off for a six-hour infusion anyway.  Tomorrow's weather promises to be almost as good, if I get out there early enough.  I have an idea for a new route, and I'm already looking forward to it.

Splits: 44:48 (3.2 mi), 1:12:08 (4.81 mi), total 1:56:56 for 8.01 mi, pace 14:36.  It'll do.

Striding, Not Walking

Friday, August 19, 2016:

I'm thinking of calling my pace walking "striding" instead of walking.  I really do go about as fast as I can, so "walking" doesn't quite do it justice.

Today I strode almost seven miles, running just a little, mostly across roads at intersections.  Cool morning, after a rain last night, but very humid.  The rain might not be is over yet.  Yesterday I heard the forecaster say that some cooler mornings are ahead of us - that won't break my heart.

Along the new Zephyr Trail

I did feel a twinge in the left Achilles tendon in the late miles today, but it went away.  An Achilles injury would be a show stopper, so I'll certainly be on the alert for it.

One of my closest consultants says that "striding" sounds pretentious.  Hmmm.  What I do isn't race walking (a.k.a. speed walking) because that has rules, but maybe "power walking" or "brisk walking" would be better.  Your opinion is solicited.

Time 1:39:35, 6.9 mi, pace 14:26,

Thu, Aug 18:

A Little More Running.  I strode to the school's 400 m track this morning, strode five laps or so around the track and ran two laps, then strode home.

Total distance was about six miles in about 90 minutes.  Lately I've only run a little, striding most of the time.  I need to run more and stride less, but with a marathon coming up I'm nervous about getting injured, so maybe that will have to wait unto after the 100th marathon in November.

Tue, Aug 16:

Four Miles With My Girls.   After 20 miles yesterday I needed to take it easy today.  A bit hilly, but not too fast.  Very hot.

20 Miles

Monday, August 15, 2016:

Part of today's run was along a
railroad track.

And no problems!  This was a hot and hilly walk/run, but very enjoyable.  I finished 20.1 miles in 5:43:00, for an overall pace of 17 minutes per mile.  But if I discount several trips into buildings for water (gas station, city hall, grade school), and time for taking some 25 photos, and a couple of chats with citizens, it gets a little better.  Suppose those delays added up to 20 minutes, then the pace would be 16 minutes/mile, good enough for a marathon, if only barely.  Hopefully the actual marathon will be a little easier than this route was today.

The right knee muttered just a little bit, but not enough to matter.

Wow I just added up the mileage for the last 7 days and it comes to 49.8 miles.  That's a lot in a week for an old man - probably too much.  Seems like I got away with it today, but I'll cool it now for a couple of days.

Sunday, August 14:

We three explored a nearby short trail that we hadn't used before.  Not the most attractive trail, but something new.  1.5 miles at a modest pace.

Saturday, August 13:

With My Sweeties. Walked 3 miles to the park, then 4 miles on the trail, and walked home with the girls again.  I did the middle 4 miles at a sub-15 pace, but the other miles were slower.  They still count, though!

Friday, August 12:

Six Useful Miles   As contrasted with miles with no destination - all training miles are useful of course.  Today, though, I strode and ran from home to the park where we run on Saturday mornings, and then back by a different route.

I hustled, so the pace was pretty good.  I felt great - no whining.

Splits: 43:11, 39:16, total 1:22:26, pace 13:58.

Thursday, August 11:

Five Inches of Rain   Last night.  In fact I was planning to do some speed training with friends on a nearby track this morning, but when I got up it was still raining so I went back to bed and slept another 2 ½ hours.  Must have needed it.

Then I went exploring again, finding five trails (still soggy) and two parks that I never knew about within a half mile of home!  Nice run, probably a bit over 6 miles in 1:38:00.  The right knee complained just a bit, but only briefly.  I try not to run downhill, as that probably isn't good for the knee, but I did a little running on the flat.

Wednesday, August 10:

Hot & Sticky   This was an exploratory run, trying to find trails between neighborhoods.  I didn't find much, but went about six miles in about 90 minutes and enjoyed myself.  VERY warm and humid, but no other problems

Five Inches of Rain

Thursday, August 11, 2016:

Last night.  In fact I was planning to do some speed training with friends on a nearby track this morning, but when I got up it was still raining so I went back to bed and slept another 2 ½ hours.  Must have needed it.

Then I went exploring again, finding five (still soggy) trails and two parks that I never knew about, all within a half mile of home!  Nice run, probably a bit over 6 miles in 1:38:00.  Sunny, hot, and humid, so I didn't push too hard.

The right knee complained just a little, but only briefly.  I try not to run downhill, as that probably isn't good for the knee, but I did a little running on the flat.

Wednesday, Aug 10:

Hot & Sticky.  This was an exploratory run, trying to find trails between neighborhoods.  I didn't find much, but went about six miles in about 90 minutes and enjoyed myself.  VERY warm and humid, but no other problems.

A Good Night's Sleep

Sunday, August 7, 2016:

Tonight - I'm tired!  I went out to run/walk 14.7 miles today and ended up going 17 miles instead.  When I got to the turnaround point at about mile 11, I felt so good that I added another neighborhood.  That would have been enough, but then on the return I gambled that I could find a footpath between a cemetery and the next neighborhood west, and lost the gamble, having to double back.  All in all that gamble and three other smaller ones probably cost an extra mile or so.  The good news is that I won't make those mistakes again, but the other good news is that today's unplanned extra mileage didn't hurt a bit.

One of my little out-and-back gambles ended when I saw a sign "No Trespassing - Minnesota Department of Corrections."  Apparently I was heading directly onto the grounds of Minnesota's OPH maximum security prison.  I turned right around.  :-)

This was a hot, hilly run, perfect training for the next marathon, just six weeks hence.  Down to the river, and then back up by a different route, a 300-foot elevation excursion with some up/down wobble along the way.  The route included parts of four different cities, one of them new to my running routes since we moved to our present home.  The more I explore, the more lovely trails and quiet neighborhoods I find just a short distance from home, and I certainly found some today, less than a mile and a half away.  I'll be back to those.

Whining: NONE.  I took three Clif Shot gels along the way and refilled my 16-ounce water bottle twice.

My watch malfunctioned today (cockpit error no doubt) so I don't really know how long it took me to go 17 miles, but I think 4:32 is probably close.  The total elapsed time is more, but I'm not counting a few nature break stops and a few chats with people along the way.  This was a wonderful run/walk, and I feel great.  I'll take a day or two off now, though.

Saturday, August 6:

About 3.7 miles with the SCV Runners (Karon) in about 53 minutes.  Nice.

Friday, August 5:

Oops I Got Lost   More than once.  I ran to the river and back, 10.5 miles, and again learned a lot about my local world.  Warm but not too hot, a lovely, hilly run.  Time 2:51:38, pace 16:21.  That's too slow for a marathon, but I'm not worried.  I can go faster.

Wednesday, August 3:

George and I explored a hilly park that was new to me.  Very nice time - about 3.7 miles I think.

Another Adventure

Investigating trails near our home again, including a nature center with a tall-grass trail, lots of homes, paved trails, and even a few quiet streets.  Warm weather, low 80's with a dewpoint over 70.  I didn't carry water, usually don't for runs under eight miles, but was sweating profusely and glad this run didn't go past eight.

Actually it was 7.2 miles in 1:52:40, for a pace of 15:39.  That's an OK pace, considering that I stopped a few times along the way to consult maps, and once to chat with a couple of residents enjoying their morning tea.

Whining:  None!  Nothing hurts.

125 Miles This Month

Sunday, July 31, 2016:

I’m a little surprised, through all of the fuss about possible heart problems (none found) and a very recent colonoscopy (no problems) I apparently just kept running, a little every day and a little more on some days.

Today I had a wonderful 12-mile run, heading south and east to the river, then north along it all the way through the city, west again on the Zephyr trail, and south to home.  This included paved and unpaved trails, sidewalks, some roads, parking lots, bridges, and one highway.

I traveled past shopping malls, neighborhoods of houses and condos new and old, parks, beautiful vistas with park benches, deep woods, river banks, the city’s downtown, and construction sites.  The total elevation excursion was almost 300 feet from highest to lowest and back, with a fair amount of up/down in between.

I took two Clif Shot gels along the way.  Though I found plenty of porta-potties along the way, I didn’t come across any fresh water.  Happily I was carrying a 16-ounce bottle, and finished it well before arriving home.

Really good food afterward

No problems on this run, none at all.  In fact I had intended to take a shortcut home from downtown, but I felt great and kept going on the bigger loop.  This is a new run for me, and I’m sure I’ll be doing it again.  In fact, I have some ideas about how to extend it a bit, make it a few miles longer yet without running too much on high-speed highways.  We moved here a couple of years ago, and I’m finally starting to expand horizons.