Just a Little Faster

Yesterday we visited our favorite indoor track, where I walked three miles as fast as I could, no running. I forgot to bring my watch, so I don't know how fast that was. No significant pain in my left knee.

Today I did bring my watch, and logged the best times for three miles in recent history, 14:33, 14:17, 14:09, total 42:59. I'm plenty happy with the times, especially with the increase in speed as the miles went by. Again no significant knee pain. It's a good head start on 2020.

Don't you like that year - 2020?   2019 always seemed awkward, but twenty twenty just sort of trips off the tongue, or the keyboard.

Have a wonderful Christmas season and a safe and happy 2020.

Don

St Croix Crossing 5K

We three all ran in the St Croix Crossing 5k in Stillwater, MN, last Saturday.  No big hurry - I'm still nursing a bum left knee, so I just kept up with Ardis and Sarah, mostly walking. I did coast out ahead in the last mile, finishing in 50:12, nothing to brag about but the knee felt good all the way. I'm still running and still happy.

On the St Croix Crossing Bridge at Bayport, MN

Eight Miles on the RR Tracks

One of my favorite trails is a gravelly dirt road alongside the railroad tracks. It goes for miles, all the way from Bayport to St Paul, and I like to start somewhere near the middle and run out and back in both directions. It’s mostly soft dirt, quite flat, very quiet, and ocasionally brightened by a train. There are two problems, though: (1) In most places, the little road is strewn here and there with stones an inch or two in dimension, the kind that make up the bed that the track and the ties rest upon, so the footing is slightly treacherous; and (2) There are no mile markers of any kind. In fact, I might have run a bit overlong in one direction today - I’ll bring it up on Google Earth again to get a good look at the trail.

I ran two miles one way & back, then dropped a shirt at the car and went two miles the other way & back, total 8 miles. Because I’m trying to get past a “runner’s knee” problem, I mixed walking and running, which seems to help prevent the knee pain. Just a few seconds of walking apparently lets the knee recover after a short run. The first four miles I ran 30 seconds and walked 30, then the next four I ran 45 and walked 30. Looking at the splits, I think that the 30/30 pace came out to perhaps 12 minutes/mile, and the 45/30 pace came closer to 11 minutes/mile.

THE KNEE DIDN’T HURT. At all. I think it would have hurt if I had run all of the time, but this worked today, and I probably could have mixed in even more running. Now, afterward, the knee is a little cranky but not bad. It’s a masterpiece!

Splits: 12:02, 13:23, 12:23, 11:03, 11:05, 11:03, 10:58, 11:10, total 1:33:10, overall pace 11:39.

Breakfast after the run: Trader Joue's gluten-free granola with organic fruits, berries, and yogurt. Just a couple of bites of very dark chocolate.

6-Mile Run

An hour and twenty minutes on the grass trails in the park, going as fast as I could without annoying my sore right knee too much. I think I ran about 6.2 miles, which would work out to a pace of about 13 minutes per mile. Most of the time I ran 20 seconds and walked 30, and I think I got away with it.

The knee felt fine during the walks and pretty good during the runs, especially after the first couple of miles. Oddly, it feels much better going uphill than down. Afterward, it’s not quite as good as it was before the run, but I think tomorrow it will be. I’ll take tomorrow off from running, try the same tricks again Thursday.

Mostly organic:

Nice Semi-Long Run

Fourteen miles on the paved trails in the park, a training/taper run for the next marathon, no problems. Murmurings from the right knee, left hip flexors, and left hamstrings, but nothing serious.

I took three Clif Shot gels, several salt tablets, and plenty of water, running 2/3 of the time and walking 1/3, just as I might in a marathon. Overall pace was 11:13, good enough for 10 days after running a marathon. Surprisingly, I felt stronger at the end than I did at the start. It’s a masterpiece!

Breakfast after the run, pretty much everything organic.

Good Run In The Park

Monday, May 9, 2011:

I had a very good run in the park today, using the paved trails because of recent rain. NO walking at all - one brief stop to clear a fallen branch from the trail.

Not a lot of other people out there today, no doubt because of that rain. The forecast said that it might continue, but the radar showed that it was unlikely to happen soon, so we ran.

5.8 miles in 56:20, pace 9:43, almost as fast as I was running this route last summer. I can get there.

Slight pain in the middle of the right knee joint, went away over the first two miles. It’s a masterpiece!

Saturday, May 7, 2011:

St Croix Runners, regular Saturday 5-mile run. First run with them this year. I ran with Dave, who right now seems to be uninjured and quite a bit faster than I am. Everyone in the group is! He was kind enough, though, to reign in a bit for me and we had a nice chat.

Time 49:20, for a pace of about 9:52. It was all I could do today. My legs still felt tired from the marathon, and the right knee hurt a little at first.

Thursday, May 5, 2011:

3.7 miles in the park today, four days after the marathon. Feels great! I ran almost the whole way, including the hills. Legs wwere a bit tired, especially at the end, and my time was not great, but hey it’s the first run since the marathon.

Slight pain in the right knee, seems like right in the middle of the joint. It gradually went away as I ran. It’s a masterpiece!

Wild-caught Alaskan Sockeye Salmon, key lime jelly, organic sweet pickle relish, organic strawberries, organic spinach, organic quinoa, organic feta cheese, organic yogurt.

Still Painful

Woodbury Runners, regular Wednesday run. Rich and I ran together, about five miles in 58 minutes, not a good pace at all. This was my first run since Saturday’s marathon, and I had problems: (1) The left hamstrings were tight in the beginning, but got better; and (2) Both knees started to hurt after a couple of miles, especially the right. Eventually the right knee hurt too much to run - I had to take a walk break, and then I could run again for a while.

I don’t think it was the knee joint - not even sure that it was the knee itself. It could have been a ligament inside or behind the knee, but it didn’t feel like it was in the joint itself. It could be a bursa on the outside of the knee, too - there is a little tenderness there. I don’t think it’s the ITB because it’s not quite in the right place. In any case, though, the stretches for ITB may help this problem too.

Usually I can keep up with Rich, but not today. He’s getting faster and I’m slowinng down. Ah, well.

Bison chili with onions and mustard, organic sweet potatoes with organic salsa, and chard with onions, cranberries, cashews & more:

Last Finisher

We ran the Run-A-Palooza Jersey Shore Relay Marathon, a fundraiser for Special Olympics. Not my best day, but I finished. Actually, I think I may have been the last runner to finish!

Lots of problems:

• Temperature of 45 throughout (!), which is lovely, but the wind was continuous at 20 mph, gusting to 30 or so, and rain off and on for the last hour and a half. We ran mostly straight north along the Jersey shore, and the wind was from the ENE, so it was partly in the face and always a factor. That's my only real excuse.
  
• Nursing a sore right knee, I had not run for two weeks, only walked. Maybe that's not a good way to train.
  
• That right knee hurt a little in the beginning, then calmed down. Likewise the left hip, which has recently caused problems, was mostly silent.
  
• But hip flexors on both sides (muscles connecting the thigh to the hip bones) started to yell during the second hour and didn't stop. They were a limiting factor. Gosh I thought I'd gotten past the hip-flexor problems.
  
• And the LEFT knee started to complain about halfway through and just got worse throughout. Pain on the outside, might be IT band. We did run on the right edge of a lot of crowned roads, which could cause exactly that symptom. This became a limiting pain too, even on the flat.
  

Anyway I was on schedule for a five-hour marathon until the half, then gradually slowed until I was walking (as fast as I could) but not running for the last six miles or so - just hurt too much to run. Time 5:40:05, average pace 12:58. Best I could do that day. Marathon number 50, state number 33. Seventeen more to go.

About the race:

This race is designed to raise money for Special Olympics. The emphasis is on marathon relay teams and on the accompanying half marathon. A team of one runner (like me) is allowed, but not really encouraged, and I suppose the reason is that more runners raise more money. Also, the marathoners don't all start at the same time. We were asked to estimate our pace, and then were allocated a start time, slowest runners first, I suppose so that support teams (water stations, route marshalls, and medical) could be out there for the shortest possible time.

I screwed up here, and seriously overestimated my speed (underestimated my finish time) when I registered back in February. I thought I could run 11-minute miles, maybe better, and ended up with 13-minute miles. That amounts to almost an hour in a marathon. I should have started at 8:00 am with the first group out, but was assigned to the 8:40 group instead. Because of that mistake, and because it was so miserable out that the volunteers quit, I ran behind the support. After the aid station at Mile 19 (or so) I never saw anyone associated with the race except four runners who passed me. No water, no directions (marshalls), and no medical, not even a volunteer on a bike. Zip. In fact some of the directional signs were gone, blown down I suppose, no other runners in sight, and I wasn't entirely sure of the course once or twice. There may have been water along the boardwalk if I had known how to get it, but I didn't and came in mighty thirsty.

What the race committee could do:

• Be more willing to allow people to start earlier than their assigned time. I wanted to do this, even asked, but was unable to make it happen. I know this is a problem - everyone wants to start early - but obviously, there are problems both ways.
  
• This can be made easier in a relay with the use of Velcro-attached leg-wrap chips. Then a team's actual time is known regardless when they start. They use chips for the half - why not the relay?
  
• Keep track of the last runner. Perhaps I wasn't the last to finish, I don't know, but I doubt that the race committee knew I was still out there when I arrived. The finish line was down, and inside the post-race-party building there was no indication where a runner should report, people seemed surprised, and they were quite unprepared for one more runner. A race should always keep track of the last runner. Always, for safety reasons if no other. Happily, I did find a lovely woman who did it all for me - gave me a finisher's medal and took down my time.
  

Flip Side, the Good Stuff:

• We loved running on the boardwalk, even in this exceptionally-blustery weather. My two girls ran the half, which was an out-and-back entirely along the ocean, virtually all of it on the boardwalk. They loved it. The boardwalk is a wonderful venue, goes for miles on end, and the race makes good use of it.
  
• To my surprise and delight, the boardwalk itself was in good condition for running everywhere, bar none. No tipped-up board ends, no cracked or broken boards, nothing but a smooth running surface. There was a little sand, blown in from the beach 50 feet away, but they were cleaning that up even as the wind continued to blow more in.
  
• The marathon ran on boardwalk for perhaps half its distance, and on roads near the ocean for the rest.
  
• Everything started on time, as far as I can tell, within a minute or two of advertised, even in this problematic weather.
  
• Pre-race, lots of good emails with important details.
  
• We liked getting the race shirts before the race instead of afterward. I actually wore one in the race.
  

I highly recommend this race. Do try for better weather.

The cheesy happy face is on the back of each of the medals, apparently a trademark of the Run-A-Palooza races:

Not Much Running

Friday, Apr 8, 2011:

We three walked 3.6 miles on the paved trails in the park. I felt a little problem in the right knee still, and decided not to try to run very far. Beautiful day, 60 degrees, spring is really here now. I can’t wait.


Wednesday, Apr 6:

We three had a few minutes between medical appointments in Stillwater, so we went to the outdoor 400 m track at the junior high school to run a bit. My right knee hurt a little right from the start, so I stopped after one lap. Time will tell whether this knee is really a problem, and meanwhile I will go very easy on the knee.


Sunday, Apr 5:

River Falls sports facility. We three went to UWRF to run on their 200 m indoor rubber track, open to the public from 5:00 to 10:00 pm on this particular day. Unfortunately, my right knee started to yell at about a mile, so I stopped at a mile and a quarter. No need to antagonize that knee. I’d rather run the next marathon with no additional training than with a sore knee.

Feel-Good Run

Twelve miles in the Stillwater Bubble, at a modest pace, no walking. This is the longest run since the OBX Marathon last November, as far as I recall, and it went perfectly. Time 2:00:05, average pace about 9:45 (I timed a full loop three different times), so the distance was probably about 12.3 miles.

Best of all, no problems and I felt strong throughout. I could easily have gone farther, but the baseball guys were about to take over the bubble. Maybe a slight complaint from the right hamstrings midway (old injury), and another slight complaint from the right knee, on the inside beside the kneecap. Both went away and didn’t show up later in the run or later in the day.

It’s a masterpiece!

Isn't pomegranate pretty?  Adds a lot to the photo and to the breakfast.  Oatmeal under there somewhere.  The white is kefir, a very nice probiotic food.

Two Miles Too Far

Sometimes the St Croix Valley Runners meet on Sunday for an ad-hoc run that is longer than Saturday’s customary five-mile run. Today I joined this group for an 8-miler which I knew would be slow - perfect for recovering from TCM and preparing for the next marathon.

I felt a slight pain in the left achilles’ tendon toward the end, after about the sixth mile, so I walked part of the last two miles. Something new. Could that be from different shoes? I doubt it, but it is possible. Anyway it didn’t hurt after the run, and there will be no more running until Tuesday at least, perhaps even Wednesday.

Because I’ve had some trouble with my right knee recently after a run in the Nike Lunarglide shoes, I wore the Brooks Launch shoes today. The knee does feel better today than yesterday, so maybe that helped. Or maybe the foam knee covers under the tights made the difference.

7.8 miles in 1:23:00, pace 10:38. Beautiful day for running, 34 degrees and cloudy. It’s a masterpiece.


We recently discovered kefir, an alternative to yogurt at 3/4 the price. It's full of probiotics, like yogurt, tastes about the same (to me), but is runnier, which goes fine on a bowl of oatmeal with fruit & berries.

Gateway Trail 14 Miles

Thursday, Aug 13:

Gateway trail, 14 miles, the "long" run of the week. Yesterday was a warm, humid one, threatening high 80's, so I started the run before 7 am, and ran the Gateway Trail because it is dry and shaded.

Also, I don’t seem to be able to run continuously for very many miles anymore, so I deliberately ran two minutes and walked one, keeping to that sequence rather carefully. It worked better than I expected, producing a very nice average pace that would result in a marathon time of about 4:26 if it could be continued that far.

Some minor pain in the right knee, at the bottom of the kneecap - nothing that bothered much, in fact I felt great after the run. Today, however, the day afterward, the right knee has pain on the very outside of the knee joint. I suspect an irritation of the illiotibial band (ITB). Two possible causes: (1) I ran all 14 miles on the right side of the crown of the trail, because the trail was fairly busy with skaters and bikers, and (2) I used a pair of Nike Pegasus shoes that I have had for several years but have probably never used for a run this long. The treatment for minor ITB problems like this is stretching. I do the ITB stretch every time I do my stretches, but perhaps I don’t do my stretches often enough. Time to get serious about them.

Splits: 10:00, 9:39, 10:29, 9:34, 9:35, 10:26, 9:55, 11:01, 10:14, 20:48 (2 mi), 20:19 (2 mi), 9:52, total 2:21:52, overall pace 10:08. Huh - I’m really quite happy about that pace, considering.

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2009:

4.2 miles on local streets, watching road construction and dodging Bobcats. This was a humid morning, so grass was wet and streets were actually a pretty good idea. I didn’t write down the time, but I was pleased when I finished so the pace must have been in the 9's. I felt good afterward.



Yesterday's breakfast: Gluten-free oatmeal with organic raisins and cranberries, blueberries, organic strawberries, organic plum, organic walnuts, organic yogurt. CUB's "Wild Harvest" organic yogurt contains corn starch and carob bean gum, but nevertheless is thin and a bit runny. Trader Joe's organic yogurt has neither of those, but does have vitamin D3 plus four specific active cultures, and is quite a bit thicker. Which would you choose? In the photo is the CUB brand - I'm using it up.

Four Days Off

Grandchildren trump almost everything, including running, and ours has been in town. It might have been just as well, though, because during those days I had some pain in the front of my left knee, just below the kneecap, and I might have skipped running anyway. The pain started after some housecleaning, which included some kneeling. Sounds like the meniscus, but it could be nothing more than a ligament. Anyway it’s new, as far as I recall. Today I felt it a little at the beginning of the run, and then it went away. Hope it stays away.

I ran in the park again, on a grass trail with a bike-tire-and-hoof groove down the middle much of the way. No pavement except the parking lot. I expected wet grass this morning, but mostly it was dry, and my shoes remained dry inside. Temp 63 degrees, dew point 54, a runner couldn’t ask for much more.

But I got more. In a remote area I chanced across a family of wild turkeys feasting on horse droppings in the trail, mom with at least 10 middle-size chicks. As I approached, they moseyed off the trail, not in a particular hurry, just disappearing as I passed. I suspect they returned to their yummy breakfast immediately.

And four days off didn’t hurt my energy at all! 7.1 miles in 1:09:44, pace 9:49. That’s as well as I have run in those hilly grass trails all summer, except one run with Jim, who pulls me along whether he means to or not. Great run. Longer one coming up Thursday I hope. Enjoy this wonderful weather before it gets hot and humid, which is coming up next week.



Datura. The blossom lasts barely two days, but new ones keep coming.

Ten Miles on Easter Sunday

Yesterday I rode my bike, measuring a race course, and did not run. Up at 5:15 am to calibrate the bike, measuring by 7:30 am, finished with all the bike riding and race course marking by about 1:30. After that I was too tired to run. And too busy documenting the course.

So today I took a double dose of running, more or less. Ten miles on my favorite rocky dirt road along the railroad tracks. This time I went west five miles, to within 0.2 miles of the end of the road, then came back. Most of the trail is firm dirt with a few rocks packed into it, but there are short stretches of all rock and stretches of very soft dirt, almost sand. It’s all good - I’m training, not racing. Nothing unusual on this run - no trains (sigh) or deer or wild turkeys. This time. But plenty of other wildlife, including several humans grilling Easter dinner in their back yards. A couple of those yards smelled delicious.

In the first mile I did feel some pain in the right knee, which has been just a little annoying lately. This was different though - the pain was at the top inside of the kneecap rather than the bottom where it has been before, and it went away rather quickly. Not much to worry about I think. Nothing else - the black toe does not hurt, just looks black. It’ll do what black toes do, I guess. Takes a year!

Again I took a 90-second walk break after each mile. That works! The 90 seconds is derived according to this scientific formula: 1 minute seems too short, and 2 minutes seems too long.

Splits: 9:13, 8:55, 9:30, 9:30, 9:30, 10:02, 9:43, 9:17, 10:13, 10:07, total 1:36:00, pace 9:36. Hey I’ll keep it!



Breakfast some months ago: Gluten-free oatmeal with raisins or dried cranberries, blueberries, almonds, walnuts, maybe filberts, organic pomegranate juice, and organic fat-free milk.

Long, Slow Distance

Is walking allowed when running long, slow distance (SLD)? I'm not sure, but I'm finding that a little walking feels mighty good when I run outdoors. And I'm not really running that far, either.

Why is this? I don't walk when I run on the indoor track, so why do I want to walk when running outdoors? I don't have to walk, I suppose, but my breathing rate gets a little fast and I walk to calm it down again. I've been doing that even on the Gateway Trail, and so fat this year on every other outdoor run.

The good news is that I enjoy this kind of running. I like it. So for now I'll run a lot, walk a little, and have a good time.

Saturday, Apr 4:

St Croix Valley Runners, five miles. Nice group this morning, including Roy, visiting from Chicago. Nice to have him with us again. Despite the nice-sized group, I ended up running mostly by myself, behind the three fastest and ahead of the rest. I walked briefly three times, up little hills.

Time 44:12, pace 8:50. Last week, running with Paul, I finished this route almost a minute and a half faster, even though I thought I pushed pretty hard this time. This speaks to the incentive and motivation that comes with running with another person.

Thursday, Apr 2:

Thursday afternoon I ran ten miles on my favorite dirt road along the railroad tracks for the first time this year. Lovely. The dirt does take some energy away, as did the 14-mph westerly wind. But mostly my pace was slow because I didn’t FEEL like going fast. I took frequent, short walk breaks, and even stopped to gape at various goings-on in Lake Woebegone a couple of times.

I wore the new Brooks Summit shoes and they were OK, though I still like the old Burns better. I have one almost-new pair of Burns left, and will reserve those for races.

No pains, no strains during the run. Afterward the right knee hurt going down stairs, but that problem corrected itself the next morning. The first step down hurt, and from then on the knee was fine. Also I got good news at Mayo Clinic Thursday morning - the myeloma is still stable. It’s a masterpiece.

Splits: 1:19:06 (8 mi), 19:00 (2 mi), total 1:38:06, pace 9:49. Actually that's almost a Boston-qualifying pace for a runner my age. I’ll take it.



Sunshine's homemade mostly-organic chicken chili. Organic chicken, organic beans, organic carrots, organic spinach (!), organic tomato, onions, chili spices, slivered almonds. Quite a treat. She should write a cookbook. Title: "How To Eat!"

Human Race 8k

Great race, slow results. Apparently I failed to click my watch at the finish, so I really don’t know my finishing time, and results are not up yet. The race was timed by ChampionChip Minnesota, so results are most certainly complete and available, but they are not on the web. I’m guessing that the race director wants to to force us to his own web site instead of onlineraceresults.com, so we have to wait until he’s good and ready to publish them. That’s lame. The days of slow results are long gone - these days the important races have an individual’s results up within minutes of his or her finish, and sometimes in marathons there are online results for each of a runner’s 5k splits, in real time, long before they finish. No excuse for Monday results for a Sunday race. End of rant.

The race was a big one, as usual, the first big race of the race season in Minnesota. A 5k, an 8k, and at least one children’s race. We ran the 8k, which is one of the thirteen Minnesota Grand Prix races. Last year I finished in just a bit over 38 minutes, and it’s my belief (pending actual results) that I finished today in something over 42 minutes. So about 10% slower. At my age I should lose perhaps 4 seconds per mile each year, or about 20 seconds of that four minutes for an 8k race, just by being lucky enough to survive another year. The rest is due to my friend DEX.

The toe didn’t bother, though I did get a little red juice out of it as I prepared for the race. The right knee did hurt a little, in the middle of the knee at the bottom of the cap. That pain went away after a bit, but returned again when the race was over. I’m hoping that’s not a serious problem. But it’s another reason to cut my weekly mileage back.

The weather was excellent. It’s an out-and-back race, and we faced a strong wind going out, but that same wind felt mighty good on our return. We three all enjoyed the race. The last mile is all slightly downhill - one of the best race finishes I've ever seen.

Splits: 8:41, 17:04 (2 mi), 8:56, 8:00 (estimate), total 42:40 (estimate), pace 8:32 (estimate).



Your basic fruit bowl: Blueberries, pineapple, kiwi, banana, mango, organic nonfat yogurt, Dove dark chocolate.

Birmingham Mercedes Marathon, Post 2

This is a grown-up marathon, with most of the trimmings of a large one. Nice expo, well-designed race route with lots and lots of traffic control, wonderful volunteers, and some spectators. We’re glad we ran it. The weather was almost perfect with the temperature climbing from 38 at the 7:00 am start to 55 at my finish near noon. The route is moderately hilly ("challenging"), but that was no problem for me because I walked much of this marathon anyway so I just walked up most of the hills. The half and the full marathon used exactly the same route, with the full marathoners simply traveling it twice. I don’t mind the double loop, especially in this case where the route was rather picturesque. I appreciate knowing what’s ahead, in fact, on the second loop when I’m tired.

I did get confused by one of the mile markers. According to my watch, my split time between mile 12 and mile 13.1 was 7:48, which is WAY faster than I was running. I can’t explain it, unless perhaps one of the mile markers was out of position. I did stop at a porta-john between miles 11 and 12, which confounds the times a little too. My total time at the 13.1 mile marker was about 2:15:00, which actually does make sense. No explanation for the 7:48 split time.

The race’s on-line results were slow - my only real beef. My sweeties finished their half marathon well before I finished the full, and we left immediately after I finished, starting the trek back home, expecting to be able to find our times later Sunday evening when we reached our motel in Paducah, KY. No such luck. Nothing Monday morning, either. And no indication on the race web site when or whether the results would be forthcoming. Results apparently did show up later on Monday, while we were driving. Other marathons do much better with race results, many posting partial results while the race is still in progress. Almost all have the results on line by the evening of the race. Years ago people waited for the newspaper to publish results, or for their time to come on a card in the mail, but not any more; expectations are much higher. This race was ChampionChip timed, so Birmingham could have put results on OnlineRaceResults.com in real time, just as the big marathons do.

I started with no knee warmers but with two shirts, short-sleeved cotton over a long-sleeved technical shirt. The cotton shirt was discarded about midway through the second loop, and toward the end the long sleeves were plenty warm. My favorite Brooks Burn shoes served well, except perhaps for the pain in the left foot, which is something new. But no blisters or joint pains.

One mishap: Wonderful volunteers handed out GU gels at several stations along the route. Early in the race I grabbed one, knowing I’d need it later, and stuffed it upside-down in my shorts pocket. Soon I discovered that the volunteer had already torn off the top of that gel, opening it for my convenience, and it was draining its sticky contents into my shorts. Sounds funny now, but I was really pissed then! It might have been nice if the volunteer had warned that it was open, I suppose, but it was really my fault and it’s a mistake that I will certainly never make again! Yuk. I had two other gels in that pocket, totally gummed up by then, and probably should have just left them there, but I ate them as the race went along and ran with sticky hands, shorts, and more.

Splits: 10:58, 10:41, 9:45, 10:27, 10:36, 9:45, 11:35, 19:02 (2 mi), 10:13, 10:03, 13:45 (potty stop), 7:48, (mile 13.1 ?!?), 10:38, 9:50, 10:30, 11:15, 9:28, 11:03, 11:36, 11:32, 10:01, 11:03, 12:02, 25:46 (2 mi), 2:10 (0.2 mi), total 4:41:27, pace 10:44.

Ice Storm:

Sometimes we fly to a marathon, but this time we drove. It’s about a day and a half at interstate speeds. We were very impressed by the damage that the recent ice storm did in the region around Paducah, Kentucky. For almost 100 miles we saw trees broken and fallen, thousands upon thousands of trees, counting only those within view of the interstate. Though the storm hit in late January, nearly three weeks before our trip, we saw crews still restoring power to farms and remote homes as we drove by. Bucket trucks were everywhere. What an incredible mess.

Wednesday, Feb 18:

The pains that I felt in the race: quads, hip flexors, and left foot, all went away by Tuesday. On Wednesday we went to the club, where I intended to run three easy miles just to keep loose. During the second mile, though, my left knee started to hurt, on the outside, right in the joint it seemed. So I stopped. It’s a new pain, possibly ITB but it felt more like a bone issue. I’m not worried about it - I’ll run again soon and deal with it if necessary. Splits for that run: 9:41, 9:31.

Marathon Recovery

Saturday, Oct 11:

"Tour de North St Paul" 5k race, benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. They also fund myeloma research, so I’m delighted to support LLS because they support me. A very nice little race through North St Paul, including a short piece of the Gateway Trail.

57 degrees, time 27:02, pace 8:43. I could have run a 5k faster than this if I hadn’t just finished five miles with my Saturday group. Good enough for today. No pains - those were apparently worked out in the earlier five miles. Nice semi-sprint at the end.

Saturday, Oct 11:

St Croix Valley Runners, 7:00 am at Northland Tennis Courts, five miles as always, nice run with George and Wayne. Lots of other people showed up today too, several of them walking because of injuries from TCM. Lucky me - no injuries this time at TCM.

56 degrees, just a long-sleeved shirt & shorts, no knee cover. My right knee did send a little hint that it likes the knee warmers, so I will wear them in the foreseeable future. The hip flexors hurt a little too, but they calmed down after a few miles. Oh, to be young again. Time 45:30, pace 9:06. I thought we were going slower, actually. But breathing was easy all the way.

Friday, Oct 10:

Same as Wednesday, just a nice jog to keep things working. Almost the same times as Wednesday, too. Hilly route.

49 degrees, wore knee warmers. No pains. Splits: 9:10, 13:07 (1.5 mi), total 22:17, pace 8:55.

Wednesday, Oct 8:

First run since Sunday's Marathon. I like to wait until the third day afterward. Local roads for 2.5 miles, no particular hurry, just keeping the body parts working after TCM and for the next upcoming marathon. I wonder if I can run 4:15 there? That’s a Boston qualifying time for me, but it seems out of reach right now. Maybe if I lose a few pounds.

44 degrees, I wore tights and knee warmers. No pains. Splits: 9:18, 13:16 (1.5 mi), total 22:33, pace 9:01.



I was mighty disappointed to drive 1100 miles to St Charles Missouri and NOT run a marathon. Blog posts here and here. But this is a touch of class from the organizers. Nice plaque, plastic on wood.

MMRF Race for Research

Sunday, Sep 28, 2008:

This is my race! I have myeloma, and they raise money for myeloma research. I had to be there and I wanted to be there. It’s quite a nice 5k, once around Lake Phalen, entirely on paved trails, well organized. Misty and cool this morning, 55 degrees, but we can’t change the weather.

Still worried about the right knee, I started off pretty carefully, wearing knee wraps (foam rubber tubes) and running on the flattest part of the trails. Hallelujah, no pain. None at all, not even a hint, all the way to the finish and beyond. I was able to pick up the pace a little as the mile markers went past, and finished in a respectable 26:09. Not good, but the goal was to run as gently as possible on that knee, with TCM looming just a week away, and that goal was met.

What happened to the pain? Why did it appear in the first place? Is it gone for good? Did the stretches fix it? The wraps? Running on the flat? Would it have shown up in a longer run? All questions, no answers, but I’m happy - it’s a masterpiece.

Splits: 9:10, 8:16, 7:59, 0:44 (0.1 mi), overall pace 8:26.

Carrie Tollefson’s grandmother died from myeloma, and Carrie comes to this race as a celebrity. As in years past, she started at the back and glided past many of us with encouraging words, a magnificent smile, and no apparent effort at all. She represents Minnesota very well.

Wednesday, Sep 24, 2008:

I attempted to run with the Woodbury Runners, planning for 5.2 miles, but after less than a mile the right knee hurt and it was clear that a longer run was not in my best interest. Rich circled Carver Lake once with me, and I stopped and came home.



Dinner: Organic roast chicken, onion and spices, watermelon, a good beer.

Six days off!

Saturday, Sep 20:

For various reasons I didn’t run for six days, and I needed a long run to prepare for TCM after the Lewis & Clark Marathon was shortened to ten miles. So I ran to the SCV Runners, ran with (behind) them, and then went to a local 5k race. Total miles 18, time unknown, though I did run nine-minute miles in the 5k.

Slight problem: Fairly serious pain on the very outside of the right knee, appearing about halfway in the 19 miles and continuing to the end. In fact, that pain is still there Sunday, the next day, even a little worse. Furtunately, though, the pain is not caused by putting weight on the knee but by motion of the knee.

My diagnosis: Illiotibial Band (ITB) Syndrome. I have been neglecting my stretches, so this is what I get. Prescription: Do the damn stretches, you moron! I have a short run scheduled for tomorrow, but I will cancel it if the knee still hurts. Must let the inflammation subside.



Lunch: Organic chicken, organic mustard, organic plum, organic chard with dried cranberries.