Great Morning to Run

A beautiful, joyful romp in the park with friend Jim, on shaded, grass-covered, hilly trails. We chatted throughout, enjoying the sunny sky and 60-ish spring temperatures. Distance is not measured, but we ran about 49 minutes at an energy level that would be about 8:00 to 8:15 on level pavement, so I’m writing 6 miles in the log. Perfect.

Running doesn’t get much better than this. If racing is the frosting, then this is the cherry-chocolate bundt cake under it.

Grumpy Racer

I am. After finishing the Get In Gear 10k race yesterday I was happy, even though I knew at least three guys in my age group had finished ahead of me. I thought I had missed my last-year’s time by 18 seconds. Turns out, though, I missed it by 2:18, and would have finished first in my age group this year if I had run as fast as last year. 2:18 is a LOT of time to lose from one year to the next. So now I have to whine and over-analyze in order to put it all behind me.

I prepared for the race as if it were important, even tapered for it, carbed and hydrated, warmed up, the works. At the start I felt great, ready to beat the world, trying to go out at the perfect, sustainable pace. Alas, the pace was sustainable for only a mile, and I slowed some every mile thereafter. First mile 7:02, overall pace 7:33. Tsk. Here are some possible reasons for the slowdown:

1. Temperature: This year the temp was 68 degrees at 9:53 am, which is 20 degrees warmer than last year. This does make some difference. In the spirit of over-analysis, I looked at the times of 10 top runners in my age group and nearby, four women and six men. On average, their times were 1:18 slower this year than last. Most of that can be attributed to race temperature I believe, perhaps some to aging. It may account for one of the two minutes.


2. Age: I’m a year older than last year. OK, that could account for some difference, but not two minutes. In fact, last year I broke my PR at every distance I ran, and I was a year older then too. I’ve only just finished my fifth year of running and could well continue to get faster for another year or two; a sharp decline is not likely.


3. Motivation: Last year I was in a head-to-head competition with Lee for the Minnesota Grand Prix, and did have him in view most of the way in the Get In Gear race, only passing him in the last half mile. That could make the difference; rabbits are good.


4. Trail Mix: I ran a tough 25k trail race a week ago, and no one in my age group who finished Get In Gear ahead of me ran that race last week. Might make a little difference. Am I a little arrogant to think that I could recover from that in a week?


5. Thalidomide: I’ve been off it for a week and a half now, but it could still make a difference. In particular, I read (somewhere) that thalidomide causes a loss of muscle mass. I don’t know the truth of that, particularly for a runner who trains regularly, and my weight has not changed. If it is true, however, then some amount of muscle has been replaced by fat which does not contribute to speed or endurance.

Enough analysis. Add that stuff all up to get 2:18. I’m thinking that 1 and 3 are the big players here. Not much I can do about number 1, but I suppose I should work on number 3. I don’t know how to do that. Run fewer races, so that I really do care about the ones I do run? Food for thought.

The good news is, no pains, no problems; I felt wonderful afterward and still do the day after. Shorts and a sleeveless shirt; definitely should have brought a singlet instead; I thought it would be about 10 degrees cooler. It was a beautiful day. Splits: 7:02, 7:14, 7:30, 25:11 (last 3.2 mi pace 7:52 average).

The Wind Came Up

... as I ran. Not a breath at the start, nice and breezy 30 minutes later. No pains, hilly, sunny, 60 degrees. Lovely. Ready for the Get In Gear 10k this Saturday. 4.2 miles, 34:07, pace 8:12. Good enough.

Taper

Running:

Fifty degrees, sunny, slight north breeze. Easy four-mile jog in 34:33, pace 8:39. Purpose: Stay loose during the taper. Slight pain in right knee at the start, went away. Calves are tight; have been since Sunday’s “recovery” run. Taper will fix that if I don’t forget my stretches, EVERY DAY whether I run or not. Note to self.

Myeloma:

Peeing in a bottle today; I will get blood drawn tomorrow and see the doctor next week. Anticipation builds ...

Post-Race Recovery Run

Running:

Breezy, hilly, 68 degrees, six miles in 52:30, pace 8:45, plenty fast for a recovery run. My sweeties and I ran the same route, consisting of an out-leg, then five loops, and then back. But we did the loops in opposite directions, so we greeted each other frequently during the run. Slight pain in the right knee at the start, smack in front below the kneecap, probably the meniscus. But it faded.

Now I’m tired, thirsty, hungry, and badly in need of a shower. Otherwise I feel wonderful! Really. That’s what it’s like to be a runner. Someone should write a song about it.

Honeydew, cantaloupe, apple, blueberries, yogurt, asiago cheese. It's a picnic!

Myeloma:

Thalidomide was discontinued after last Tuesday evening, so the side effects are fading now, although my waking heart rate was just 38 this morning. That’s low even for me; normal is about 48. The rash seems a little better already, and experience says that the heart rate will come back up to normal within a week or two. Urine collection and then blood tests Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Results a week later.

Trail Mix 25k Race

Trail mix is a TOUGH race, but if you could select the perfect weather, it wouldn’t be much different from today. The often-muddy trails were dry, temperature 61 and mostly cloudy, with a dry breeze that actually felt pretty good most of the time in these woods. I wore a technical T-shirt and shorts, but could easily have worn a singlet or gone without any shirt, as many did.

Lots of birds, all kinds of birds: owls, ducks, geese, cardinals, hawks, and many that I don’t know, many that I only heard. Hyland is a beautiful park, and we ran a beautiful trail through it, mostly grass and wood chips, very hilly. I walked up a LOT of hills, sometimes looking over my shoulder for Ed and Harvey, my age group mates. I didn’t see them after the start, but they did finish right behind me.

Pace was 9:13. Ouch, that’s slow! But the pace just indicates how hard this course is; I ran hard enough to make 8:00 or 8:15 miles on flat pavement, I think. Breathing was three footfalls per full breath most of the way; that signals a very hard race pace. After a race I ask myself if I did the best that I could, and today I can say Yes. Some pain in the right knee afterward, hopefully temporary. Glucosamine will help. First loop was 1:08:29, second loop 1:14:25.

My sweeties took pictures, and we three waited after the race for the four SCV runners who ran the 50k team event, where my sweeties took more pictures. Here is a slide show of a few of those photos.

Crocuses

Purpose of today’s short run: Retain fitness, keep loose for Saturday's Trail Mix, work on running form. Watching the Boston Marathon, every runner seemed to use his or her arms in the same manner. Elbows were bent at 90 degrees, apparently quite loose, and out from the side of the body, not straight down. I have a tendency to bend my elbows more than that, bring them down, and hold them tight, which causes my shoulders to move more than they do when I take on the “Boston” upper-body form. It will take a long time for the Boston form to become natural; I go back to the old form when I’m not thinking about it, but today was a day to work on it a little.

Fifty-two degrees this morning with a little breeze; two thin shirts were one too many when running with the wind, but just right going into it. Shorts and thin gloves. I wish I knew more bird songs; lots of different species were calling for mates and claiming their territory today.

Four miles in 34:03, pace 8:31, a little faster than intended but so what? Off thalidomide now, but I nevertheless felt a little right-foot neuropathy. Breathing was a little more rapid than expected, probably because I had just finished breakfast. Calf pain from Tuesday is gone, thankfully a false alarm.