Short Loop

I'm aiming for a 10- or 12-mile run Sunday or Monday, so I just wanted a fairly short run today and perhaps a walking-only day tomorrow.

Today I ran my "standard" 3.4-mile loop around the lake, starting and ending at our doorstep, and traversing paved roads, a dirt road, paved trails, and even some sidewalks.  It's a little bit hilly, but mostly not.  A lot of it is through sleepy neighborhoods, but in a few places there are no houses in sight at all.  About half of it is in view of a nice little lake, or right alongside the lake.  It's a pleasant route with very little traffic except today, oddly, on the short piece of dirt road.

I ran/walked in a ratio of 1 to 1 (actually 60 to 60 paces) and in a time of 39:14, for an overall pace of 11:32, exactly the same as Wednesday's five-mile pace.

61 miles this month.  A little more mileage would be better - a few less short runs and a few more longer ones.

Five Miles in the Neighborhood

We're still exploring our new neighborhood.  The shortest loop around the lake is 3.4 miles, but today I wanted to run five miles, so I ran a larger loop which comes out to 5.09 miles on the map.  I ran a little faster that I have recently, and was slowed only by one phone call, during which I didn't run but walked fast.  Otherwise the run/walk ratio was 1 to 1.

Time 58:42, for a pace of 11:32, about one minute per mile faster than other recent outdoor runs.  Another lovely outdoor run.

One Lake Loop

Today's weather was pretty nice, about 32 degrees with little wind, so I ran outdoors again, one simple 3.4-mile loop around the lake.

I ran/walked 20 / 20, for a faster pace than Sunday's.  The roads and trails were quite a bit more slippery, however, in places where snow had turned to ice and I had to walk.  Further, I walked without running for 8-10 minutes while on a phone call with a state well inspector (indeed!), so the time came out about the same as the time per loop on Sunday.

Time 42:42, pace 12:34.

Ten Miles Today

Although I haven't been blogging, we have been running.  Mostly we've been in a local soccer dome, running around the outside of the field lines with lots of walkers and a few other runners.  Including today, I have run 49 miles so far this month, and spent many hours cross-training with a snow shovel.

Today we ran outdoors.  The temperature was only 20, but we haven't had snow for several days and the roads were mostly clear of ice.  The trails did have some ice, but I walked gingerly when necessary and had a very enjoyable run.  The overall pace of 12:34 isn't great, but it's OK considering the conditions.  I did a run / walk as always, mostly 15/30 or 20/30 triplets, where a triplet is three paces.  There is a nice 3.4-mile loop starting and ending at our doorstep, around a lake, and I did that three times.

The pace was very nearly the same for each of the loops, with the last about as fast as the either of the others. I could have gone much farther, and that's a good thing, because we do have a marathon coming up in about three weeks.

3.4-mile loops: 1:25 (2 loops), 42:35, total 2:08:06, pace 12:34.

It's Been A While

... since I posted on this blog.  We've moved from one house to another, and that whole project has higher priority than blogging and, apparently, higher even than running.

We're settled into the new home now, though, even if still a little tight. There are boxes not yet unpacked, but the good news is that there are a few drawers and shelves not yet filled. Here's hoping it will all come out even - a substantial downsizing is involved!

We have run exactly three times since the MEC Vancouver Marathon on November 16. That's four weeks with three runs. Tsk. Hopefully tomorrow.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014:

We ran for about 50 minutes along the piers in San Francisco. I ran more than half of the time, probably at an average run/walk pace of about 12 minutes/mile, so maybe four miles.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014:

About 2 1/2 miles in the Stillwater Bubble (soccer dome).  This is a little better than running on a treadmill, because we do occasionally see a friend or two.  No TV though.

Monday, November 24, 2014:

About 3 miles in the Stillwater Bubble.

MEC Vancouver Marathon Review

Sunday, November 16, 2014:

This is a low-budget marathon where everything is easy.  Register online for $25 CAD, show up, and run.  Marathon number 85 since my myeloma diagnosis, in 5:46:44, about eight minutes faster than the most recent marathon in Ottawa.

This was my second race in Canada, again supporting Nelson Wiebe, an Edmonton college student who is running five marathons this year in honor of his aunt, diagnosed with myeloma in 2010, to increase awareness of myeloma in Canada and to raise money for Myeloma Canada (www.myeloma.ca).  He passed me three times in the race, greeted me at the finish, and we did a little press interview together after the finish.  He's my hero.

The Marathon:

Likes:

• It's entirely on a trail atop a dike (dyke in Canadian) along the shore of the Strait of Georgia and whatever river goes east past the airport from that strait.  It's a lovely venue; 
• Runners never EVER competed with vehicle traffic and no police were required or in evidence; 
• The race included at least 3 aid stations (maybe four?), which marathoners encountered four times during the race.  These were kept open for the very last runner (which happened to be me); 
• Everyone was happy, cheerful, helpful, and supportive, just as you would expect Canadians to be;
• The half marathon was an out-and-back on the dike, while the full marathon was two of those.  That's fine with me when it means we don't compete with vehicle traffic.
• The dike trail is about as flat as a race can get.

Possible improvement for next year (this was the first year for the marathon distance):  Charge a little more for the race and give finishers a medal.  After 26 miles we deserve one.  Actually, I have no complaint here - I got a medal for some reason, perhaps because I'm old, or the last finisher.  I'm happy.

I would do this marathon again in a heartbeat.

My Race:

• The chilly weather was a concern, as the temperature at the start was about 28 degrees.  I wore running pants, though, and four layers above, so I was quite comfortable once underway.
• As the temperature rose into the low 40's and the rising sun provided additional warmth, I shed one layer after another, ending up with just a long-sleeved technical shirt.
• During the race I took five gels, six or seven salt tablets, and plenty of water.  I also needed quite a few nature breaks, which seems to be an issue in recent marathons.  I bet I spent 12 - 15 minutes in the porta-potties. The water may exacerbate that problem, but without it I would probably cramp up more.
• Cramping in my calves is often a problem, but less so today - it appeared only in the last mile or so.  I did have a little pain in the middle of both knees, which I attribute to the chilly weather.  Further, my feet got a little sore on the bottom, probably caused by the crushed-gravel trail surface.  The worst problem, though, was a pain on the outside of the left knee, probably the ITB, caused by the constant slight slope of the trail.  It wasn't a stopper, and I can work on that - there are stretches that I should do. 
• In the previous race I felt a pain in the right tibia, a little down from the knee and to the medial side.  I did see my sports doctor about this a few weeks ago, and he is convinced that the pain is not actually in the tibia but in a spot on the tibia where three ligaments meet.  It's not an uncommon problem, and he basically said that I can keep running without any specific treatment for as long as I can handle the pain.  This pain did not appear today.  Yay.

Splits in km: 7:49, 7:33, 8:14, 7:26, 7:49, 10:20 (natural break), 7:25, 7:48, 7:20, 10:45 (natural break), 17:03 (2 km), 7:14, 7:25, 7:27, 10:22 (natural break), 7:54, 7:23, 8:32, 7:38, 16:33 (2 km), 7:46, 8:24, 15:52 (2 km), 8:14, 7:56, 8:18, 7:52, 8:10, 18:03 (2 km & natural break), 7:51, 7:53, 8:03, 8:35, 8:44, 8:41, 8:38, 8:46, 8:55, total 5:46:44, overall pace 8:13 min/km.

Ottawa Fall Colours Marathon Review

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Oops - I wrote this on the plane trip back from Ottawa and then forgot to post it.  In fact, it's been so long since I posted anything that I've almost forgotten how.

This marathon lives up to its name.  We lucked out with the weather too, cool and sunny all day, so the trees were at their most spectacular.  I got a few cell-phone shots.

I finished my 84th marathon since the diagnosis of myeloma, in 5 hours, 54 minutes, and 37 seconds, about 12 minutes faster than my 83rd marathon, last week.  I was first in my age group, but also alone in my age group.  I figure that I beat all of the old guys who sat in their easy chairs watching football, eating chips, and drinking beer.  Actually I drank beer too, afterward, but I earned it the old fashioned way.

This was my first race in Canada, and I was here in support of Nelson Wiebe, an Edmonton college student who is running marathons this year in honor of his aunt, diagnosed with myeloma in 2010, to increase awareness of myeloma in Canada and to raise money for Myeloma Canada (www.myeloma.ca)  We had met the day before, in a photo shoot for the Ottawa Sun newspaper, and he passed me twice in the race, once in each direction, and also greeted me at the finish.

Sixteen marathons remain in the quest for 100 marathons with myeloma.  Also, this was my first province.  There are ten, plus three territories.  Hmmm.  Travel to and from Canada is not quite as easy as within the U.S., with all of the immigration and customs, but what if we tried to collect a few more provinces?

The Marathon:

I can't recommend this one highly enough.  It's a very small marathon, just 75 finishers this year, but the half marathon is larger, and the whole race is organized as well as any of the big ones.  It's simply a no-hassle event:

• The fall color was simply exquisite.  Scrumptious.  I stopped several times to take cell-phone photos.
• The time limit is 5 hours, but they provided a timed 1-hour early start for runners like me.
• Even though I took the early start, aid stations were manned when I got there, and there were plenty of them.
• Organization of the race was flawless.

Canadians are known to be polite (mostly true, it seemed) but I was also impressed at how friendly and caring they were in this race.  In the USA it's fairly common for runners meeting each other to give a little encouragement, but here it was the rule.  The race was out-and-back, so we met every other runner at least once, and there was always a nod, or thumbs up, or salute, or grin, or "Doin' great," "Keep it up," "Nice job."

My Race:

I ran a marathon in Portland just a week ago, and that caught up to me in two ways in this race: (1) I experienced a lot of cramping in the last miles (kilometers), and (2) after about halfway, I began to feel a pain in the upper right tibia, slightly toward the medial side and perhaps an inch and a half down from the knee joint.

Cramps are a recurring problem.  This time I brought a magnesium capsule, 125 mg, and took that when the cramps started to slow me down, but that didn't help.  I took plenty of salt - maybe too much?  I was thirsty some of the time, despite the cool weather and an abundance of aid stations, so maybe there is such a thing as too much salt.

The bone pain may be shin splints, or less likely, something more serious.  I do have a cancer that attacks bones.  Shin splints often show up when an athlete increases stress on the legs significantly in a short time - I think two marathons in a week might qualify.  I need to find out, so I will start with my sports doctor and go from there.

Except for those little problems, I had a lovely time out there, cool throughout, starting with three shirts and ending up with just one short-sleeved shirt.  The others I left in the car at the halfway point.

Normally I would put my splits here, but the Canadian race was measured in KM rather than miles, making it 42 KM, and I forgot that my watch would only log 30 splits, so it didn't retain the last 12 KM or so.  Maybe I need a new watch.  (See the next post.)