Another 5k!

Thursday, Aug 30:

Another great 5k run, no plantar-fasciitis pain at all, time 25:32, pace 8:14. That’s not bad! I’m happy - today is a masterpiece.

Ran in my little-used Brooks Glycerines, which I bought in May because they were supposedly more cushioned than my usual Brooks Burns. There’s an annoying clack in the right shoe - I sure hope that goes away. Why just one shoe? Sounded like a big rock in the tread - I’d better check that shoe. Otherwise they were just fine.

After buying the Glycerines I realized that the added cushioning was NOT in the heel where I thought I wanted it, but I’ve since learned that cushioning in the heel may not be the best thing for plantar fasciitis anyway. It may feel good at the moment, but arch support is more important to proper healing, say some podiatrists. My podiatrist didn’t even look at my shoes - he said that he was confident I had found good shoes after so many years of running. I did wear the orthotics in the Glycerines today. I wear ‘em ALL the time.

No pain in the foot, but I did feel a pain in the right hamstrings. I’ve had pain there before, but this felt different. Just logging it now in case it becomes an issue. Today I ran through it, and I hope it will gradually go away as my training increases.

My podiatrist prescribed two months of “hammock therapy.” Meaning no running and not much of anything else either (fat chance). But then he described how I could start a couple of weeks early, if ever so carefully, and I have done that. Tomorrow the TWO MONTHS ARE UP! But the build-carefully plan is working so well that I’m going to continue it. I’d love to run the Victory 10k on Monday, especially because it’s a Minnesota Grand Prix race, but I’ll do a 5k instead and won’t do anything to push the foot because I really don’t want to screw up this recovery. Besides, I’m really out of shape - a 10k would take me a week!

Wednesday, Aug 29:

Nice high-energy bike ride, 12 miles, time unknown, probably 50 minutes or so. Hilly enough to make it interesting. I prefer the downhills :-)



No-hormone no-antibiotic chicken breasts, organic canned beans & corn, fresh sweet onion, organic sweet potato, organic pluot. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 4.

Genuine 5k Training Run

Whoopee! A measured 5k training run with no plantar-fasciitis pain at all. None. Last Saturday’s three-mile run had a half-mile walk in the middle, and a relatively easy pace. Today I ran a little faster, breathing mostly at a rate of four footfalls per full breath but sometimes as rapidly as three. Time 26:17, pace 8:29. It’s a masterpiece!

But I sure am out of shape! That run was hard work, not quite a race pace but almost. In May of this year, at Race for the Cure, I ran a 5k in 22:40, more than a minute per mile faster. “They” say that it takes twice as long to regain the speed as it did to lose it. If so, I will not be back to pace until January at the earliest. But getting there will be days and days of masterpieces.

Incidentally, Race for the Cure was the race where I blew the plantar fascia which I have since been trying to rebuild. Perhaps there is a message there (e.g. don’t race?) but I hope not. I love to race.



Organic oatmeal, organic skim milk, organic grapes, pineapple, banana, mango, blueberries. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 6.


No-hormone no-antibiotic chicken, organic seedless grapes, organic swiss chard, pistachios, dried cranberries or organic raisins. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 5.


Leftover roast: no-hormone no-antibiotic beef potroast, local organic carrots, onions, mango, organic nectarines. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 5.

Long Run by Bike

About 43 miles, more than three hours, probably 12 or 13 mph average. This was my “long run” before the upcoming marathon, intended to keep my body accustomed to breathing hard and burning fat for a long time. Not an easy day to ride - 82 degrees with a 17 mph south wind. I went north in the morning when the wind was light and didn’t help much, then back south in the afternoon against that stronger wind. Good workout!

Because of the plantar fasciitis and the lack of running-specific training, I’ll walk the Moose Mountain Marathon. That will be fine - it’s the most scenic marathon on earth anyway! Maybe I'll jog across the finish line :-)



OK it's been 10 days since I took this picture, and I didn't write everything down right away. Here's what I think it is: Organic whole spelt tortilla (barely visible underneath), leftover no-hormone no-antibiotic lamb, asiago cheese, romaine lettuce, Sunshine sauce (shredded hydroponic cucumber, organic yogurt, dill weed), nectarine. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 8.

Three-Mile Run

Saturday, Aug 25:

Three miles today with the St Croix Valley Runners, running the first 1.5 miles of their course and the last 1.5 miles, with a half-mile walking shortcut in between. NO PAIN from the plantar fasciitis!

The podiatrist told me that it takes two months of “hammock therapy,” but then said I could run a little bit toward the end of the two months, increasing very gradually, and take 10 more days off if there is any pain. Meantime, I’m to use the orthotics all the time, including any running, and wear the night splint every night. The two months are up at the end of August, so only a week remains. Then I will continue to build the running slowly through September, including a walking marathon. Hopefully by October I’ll be ready to race again.

Wednesday, Aug 22:

I almost ran into a deer on my bike! Pedaling downhill as fast as I could go, I never saw the deer until it was right in front of me. Before I could hit the brakes it was gone, clippy-clop across the road. Never heard a deer run on pavement before, like a horse only softer. A car coming from the other way slowed too, the driver grinning at me as he coasted by.

34 miles at a pace of about 15 mph I think, though I only timed a portion of it on the rather flat Gateway Trail. This was almost my "long run" before the upcoming marathon, but I’d like to do a longer ride this week.



Organic oatmeal, organic skim milk, luscious blueberries, organic strawberries, organic plum. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 4.


Organic romaine, avocado, organic nectarine, blue cheese, raspberry balsamic vinegar. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 3.


Potroast including no-hormone no-antibiotic lamb, Jim's potatoes (one red, one white), organic zucchini, organic carrots, organic sweet potato, vidalia onions, garlic, fresh rosemary, turmeric, cumin, ground fennel seed, organic catsup. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 7.

New Blog

I'm thinking about building my own computer, and have created a new blog about it here.

Three Days

Monday, Aug 20:

Yippee! Two miles again, this time at a decent pace. The first mile was 8:42, not bad. In the second mile I still felt awkward, which is normal lately, but the time was 8:08! This is a plenty good pace during plantar fasciitis recovery. I’m a happy runner. Next 2.5 miles, maybe Wednesday.

Sunday, Aug 19:

Sunday my sweeties ran a 20-miler on the Gateway trail (yay for them!), while I biked 30 miles in 2:18, some of that on the Gateway. Misty and soggy, the biking was a little slower than usual, about 13 mph average. It must take some extra energy to spin a circle of water continuously off both tires. It certainly isn’t as pleasant as biking in dry weather, but there were plenty of others out there on bikes.

I was a little surprised at how cold I felt in the rain, with an outdoor temperature over 60. I started out and came right back home for knee covers and a wind shirt, then started again. Lots to learn about biking. I eventually came home sooner than planned because the right knee was complaining a little again, but otherwise could have kept going and maybe should have. It seems to settle down if I ride longer, and doesn’t hurt later in the day after the ride.

Saturday, Aug 18:

Two miles running and another mile walking, with the St Croix Valley Runners. I started with them, at the back of the pack, ran a mile, then took a shortcut and walked about a mile, then ran the last mile with them again. It felt wonderful. No pain from the Plantar fasciitis. It’s been about seven weeks since I last ran to miles or more, so this was a victory! A Masterpiece, if you will.


Fruit snack:

Organic strawberries, organic grapes, organic apple, organic nectarine, papaya, organic yogurt, organic walnut. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 5. Took 20 minutes to eat this.

Mango oatmeal breakfast:

Organic oatmeal, organic skim milk, blueberries, kiwi, organic strawberies, and a whole mango. I'm really learning to enjoy a nice mango. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 5.

Another snack:

Blueberries, organic nectarine, organic strawberries, pistachios. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 2.

DSL versus Cable

The storm hit at about 3:00 am, Saturday morning nine days ago. It did a lot of damage, taking out eleven big trees along with electric power and cable. Power has been restored for seven days now. In fact the power company was heroic, thank you Xcel Energy! But cable is still out after nine days. Because we can receive broadcast TV signals this is no huge problem, of course, but what if we had cable for internet service?

We don't. We have DSL from the telephone company, whose lines are buried and much less susceptible to storm damage than cable. It did fail for a few hours, because DSL requires repeaters to get all the way from their office out to our home, and those repeaters require power from the power company. But that power was restored in a few hours, so DSL was back.

We have a generator which can support the water pump, heating, refrigeration, TV, and computers. Therefore, we had internet access during nearly all of the nine days, even before power was restored to our home.

But if we had cable for internet service, we would still be without internet after more than nine days. It's one thing to be without cable for TV, quite another to be without internet, especially since my business depends in part on internet access. Now that I think of it, what if we had telephone service from the cable company? Nine days without 911 or anything else.

Comcast says they are working on it. They say that every day when we call. Today they have "escalated" the problem and are "putting together a team." But they also said that it was already escalated, from previous calls that we had made.

Cable adapter laying on the ground: