Marathon -Eleven weeks to go; San Juan, Puerto Rico report

Well eleven weeks from tomorrow is the Houston Marathon.  Finally today I managed a long run without having to cut it short due to leg, foot, or ankle discomfort.  It has been eight weeks since I tweaked my right Achilles tendon.  Very pleased to have run 17 miles and to do it in under 8 minutes a mile with no significant  pain.  I have yet to run a 20 miler this year.  Lord willing next Saturday I will run 20 miles.  I am confidant that right now I could run a 3:30 marathon if conditions were right.  Hopefully with good workouts the next several weeks I can get myself in shape to run a 3:15.

Last week I was in San Juan, Puerto Rico for a conference.  Weather was nice.  Rather warm and humid.  A few brief rain showers.  Highs in the mid eighties.  Ran twice in San Juan.  From the conference hotel across the bridge to Old San Juan and around the island.  The north edge of the island is really nice.  The sea, the architecture of the old buildings, the old cemetery, old fort and old lighthouse made it a really scenic run.  A few steep hills as well.   Really have to get up early there as the sun rises just after 6 AM.  Eastern edge of the eastern time zone.  I'd love to go back someday and visit some of the sights I didn't have time to see.  Certainly missed the warm temperatures this morning.  Just barely above freezing this morning when I started my run.  Wore my running tights, long sleeve polyester shirt, knit cap, cotton gloves and a 180s light weight vented jacket.  Seemed to be just enough.  Had to take my hat off once as my head was getting a little warm.  Had trouble keeping my fingers warm enough though.  Had to ball up my fists inside my gloves much of the time to keep my fingers from going numb.  My right ankle was giving me a little discomfort all throughout the first ten miles.  But finally over the last several miles it started feeling better.  The two previous Saturdays I cut my run short as the pain seemed to increase.  So today's result was most reassuring.

I haven't managed to much in the way of cross training.  Just doing my pushups every third day or so (3 x 50).  And I haven't done any track work.  So far just tempo runs of around five or six miles twice a week. After a slow first mile the remainder are run at about a 6:55 to 7:25 minute pace.  Not real even pacing but I seem to be pretty close to the tempo paces listed for the 3:15 marathon training plan in the book Run Less, Run Faster.  Maybe next week I can drag myself over to the Wellness Center on the university campus to do some work on the rowing machine.  Not totally sold on the necessity of cross training.  I think the pushups and pullups I do benefit my running somewhat (strengthen core muscles).  Perhaps that will suffice for cross training.  Well till next time.

Happy Trails! And Sic'em Bears! 

5 weeks since injury, 100 days to marathon

Tomorrow morning will mark five weeks since I tweaked by right Achilles tendon.  I think I am pretty well recovered.  Now to get back on the path to my marathon goal.  Over the last two weeks I have set new PRs for 5K and 10K.  (Personal records for the past three and half years, I'm not counting the times I ran during cross country my sophomore year of high school.  I can't remember those times anyway.)  I still think I could better both of those times this month if the opportunity came along.  That said I feel like I have a good chance of running a Boston Qualifying time at the Houston Marathon.  In fact I think I may still have a shot at running a 3:15 in Houston.  Now to just figure out how best to train.   And more specifically how to gradually increase my mileage without re-injuring myself.  I have basically said goodbye to the Pfitzinger 18/70 plan.  Too many days of running and not enough time to recover.  I am looking at the FIRST training program and am easing into that this week and next.  I ran 6.3 miles on Tuesday as a tempo run.  First mile 7:55, succeeding miles were run between 7:03 and 6:31 per mile.  Wednesday rest, plus a brief orientation to some of the equipment at the Wellness Center.  Thursday another tempo run.  This time just 5 miles.  First mile 7:46, the successive miles were between 7:09 and 6:45 per mile.  Next week I'll try doing the rowing machine at the Wellness Center on Monday and Wednesday.  Guessing around 25 minutes after looking at my book, Run Less Run Faster. http://www.amazon.com/Runners-World-Less-Faster-Revolutionary/dp/159486649X Hopefully next week I can get up early and try the track repeats on Tuesday.  The FIRST plan has three basic runs:  1) track repeats, 2) tempo run, and 3) long run.  And at least two cross training exercise periods per week.  Tomorrow morning will be my first true long run since the day I hurt my Achilles.  A bit chilly so I'll be wearing long sleeves, gloves and a hat.  Not looking forward to running in the cold these next couple of months.  But that's what I get for signing up for a January marathon.  Well time to get to bed so I can get up early tomorrow. 

Happy trails.....

3 Weeks from Achilles injury...on the mend

Yesterday marked three weeks since I "tweaked" my right Achilles tendon.  Still not completely sure what I did to my Achilles, just recall the sharp pain when it happened and the continued pain over the next several miles.  That and the pain and discomfort over the next few days after that.  Anyway from all reports, Achilles tendon injuries, as far as those where the tendon does not rupture, take a fair amount of time to heal.  The pain is gone now but the right calf muscles and the tendon feel tight after a run.  This last week I ran on Tuesday and Thursday.  Two and half miles each time.  Thursday I ran it pretty fast, about 16:36.  Fast for me anyway.  I was going to run Saturday morning but ended up sleeping in.  Had to mow the lawn Saturday evening, so I decided to run the Aids Walk 5K in Bricktown on Sunday morning.  The weather was ideal.  Temperature in the mid to upper 50s with a nice breeze.  A bit cloudy at the start, though the sun came out just a little later.  I had it in mind to run a 21:45.  Figured out my kilometer splits and jotted them down on the back of my hand.  Course was out and back.  From the Bricktown Ballpark, east on Reno then a long uphill trek to the Presbyterian Research Park.  Needless to say with the long uphill I was a bit behind my splits at 1K and 2K and at the halfway point.  Almost caught up by the 3K point and a couple seconds ahead or maybe behind at 4K.  Not sure exactly.  Anyway I picked up the pace a bit on the downhill and kept it going at the bottom and around the turn on to Reno.  With the finish in sight, I saw that I could catch another runner so I sprinted in and passed him just before the line.   Beat my goal by three seconds and won my age group!  Very satisfying.  Got to church before the singing started.  Great sermon by Brother Ben. 

So with three weeks and a day since the injury and no noticeable pain I think I need to get back on schedule.  Well not the Pfitz 18/70.  That's pretty much out for now.  But this week I think I should be good for a Tuesday, Thursday and  Saturday run.  With 5M, 5M and a 10K for Saturday.  16 miles is about a third of what I was running the week that ended with the injury.  Then maybe the next week I can run Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.  I spoke after the run today with a gentleman who finished ten seconds ahead of me.  This man is 11 years older.  Originally from Zambia.  He lives in Edmond and is an excellent runner.  He has run a number of marathons and has qualified for Boston at least once.  He told me that he runs 3 to 4 times a week.   He advised me not to focus on the number of days I run.  So I think I will take his advice and focus on quality over quantity.  No six day weeks for me.  And at least at this point no five day weeks either.  A good long run on Saturday and good quality runs on two or three weekdays should work.   I should still be up to about 40 miles a week once I get going.   I don't think I will be able to break 3:15 in the marathon this January, but I'll just have to see where I am two weeks from now and make a new schedule.  Who knows?

Well hope everyone is enjoying the change of seasons.  A lovely Autumn day today. 

Peace

Time and the Tendon, Achilles

Well, come tomorrow morning it will be two weeks since I injured my Achilles tendon (right leg).  Over the last 13 days I have gone running just once.  Last Saturday I went to Erick, Oklahoma for the Do-Wacka-Do Trail Run.  The weather was beautiful.  Mid 60s at the start.  The run was held in the Sandy Sanders Wildlife Management Area.  I originally signed up to do the 25 K but decided it would be best not to stress my Achilles too much, so I switched to the 5 mile run.  About 20 people were there to run the 5 mile run.  The 50 K and the 25 K runs started 30 minutes earlier so I didn't see how many people participated in those.  The terrain was rugged but not too rough.  The trails were ranch roads.   Lots of short scrub mesquite bushes, with a few scattered wild flowers.  A bit hilly but not too extreme.  A few hundred feet from bottom to the mesa tops.  After the first half mile I found myself in the lead.  Just cruising along at a comfortable pace.  My Achilles was bothering me but not nearly as bad as the week before.  I reached the half way point in good time and got a cup of water from the volunteers.  One fellow asked me where everyone else was.  I told them they were about a quarter mile back.  Well after a few more miles I began to doubt I was going the right way.  Eventually I backtracked before meeting another runner.  Turned out about six runners missed a turn and got off course.  So each of us ended up running between 8 and 9 miles.  I was rather disappointed to be in the lead the whole way and not even place.   I  received no apologies from the race officials.  So took my banana, my shirt, and a bottle of water and made the long drive home. Don't think I will run this race again. 

Well in each of the discussions about Achilles tendon injuries that I read over the past couple of weeks,  the runners all stated that the recovery is a long slow process.  So, this week again no running.  But tomorrow morning I will head to Seminole for the Seminole Nation Days 5K.  http://sno-nsn.gov/index.php/culture/seminole-nation-days  Test out my legs.  Hopefully next week I can ease back into my marathon training.  A BQ time may still be a possibility for Houston. 

Achilles Tendon

Had a couple of weeks of good running since my last post.  Missed a couple of days here and there however.  Sunday night the day after Saturday's orientation had to pick up my son at the airport just before midnight.  That the day after getting up at 4:55 AM was pretty tough.  Really tired.  So the next morning I slept in till 7:30 and skipped my morning run.  Rest of the week was pretty much to schedule.  43 total miles with 14.5 coming on my Saturday long run. (Was going to do a little more but had to take my son to the airport for his morning flight to Pittsburgh.)  I was looking forward to this week as I was scheduled to run over 50 miles.  ( I would have last week except I didn't run my 7.5 mile run on Monday.)  So 7.5 Monday and 10 on Tuesday.  First mile is always about 8:30 pace with succeeding miles under 8:00 and usually under 7:00 toward the end.  Feeling a bit stiff I decided to take Wednesday as a rest day and not to the 5 "recovery" miles.  Thursday another 10 miles and Friday an easy 5.  This morning headed out for my long run hoping to do about 17.5 miles.  As I started out felt a little faint discomfort in my right ankle but no big deal.  I often have these minor discomforts.  But about 1.5 miles or so in, I had a sharp pain in my right Achilles tendon.  So sudden and painful that I hopped on my other leg for a step.  The pain lessened considerably but was still there as I continued running.  Kept hoping that it would go away or fade to something barely noticeable but it remained.  Didn't get noticeably worse so I kept going.  Made it home for my half way point pit stop in my driveway.  Had a glass of water and some Accel gel.  Back on the road all was well.  But the pain was still there.  After a few miles it seemed to be just a little more noticeable.  Not a good sign.  Kept going for another mile then decided to shorten my route.  Cut a few miles off and ran home.  So just a little over 14 miles total.  But wish I had done less.  Seems the pain is some sort of Achilles Tendonitis.  Resting a little but had a few chores to do.  Took a couple of ibuprofen earlier today.  Did a fair amount of reading online about Achilles injuries.  Seems I am going to need to rest and not just a couple of days this time.  Darn.  Right now I am hopeful that I can give it a try next Saturday as that day is the Do Wacka Do Trail Run near Erick, Oklahoma http://www.dowackadotrailrun.com/  I signed up a few weeks back to do the 25K.  Sure hope I can go.  But if I'm still feeling discomfort then I will have to cancel.  Better a little temporary disappointment, than multiple weeks of injury and recovery.   The ibuprofen is not recommended as it can slow healing of injuries.  http://myrunningdoc.blogspot.com/2010/05/nsaids-why-runners-should-think-twice.html  So guess the two I had this morning will be all for the day.  In hindsight I should have taken Friday as a rest day.  I was feeling pretty stiff and achy the evening before, having run 10 miles with an increasing pace that morning.  I'm starting to think that at my age perhaps the recovery miles are not really helping and that I would be better off just resting on those days.  That would have me running about 4 to 5 days a week.  A lot closer to what the FIRST training program teaches.  http://www2.furman.edu/sites/first/Pages/default.aspx
Their program is 3 intensive runs per week.  Maybe 4 per week would work best for me.  We'll see if I can adapt my Pfitzinger 18/70 schedule to a 4 run per week plan.  ( I was planning to start that a week from now.) 
Happy Trails y'all!

Building up the miles

Back to school time!   Orientation was this morning at my university so I had to get up extra early to do my long run.  So a little after 5 AM I was on the road.  Not a bad time to run.  Quiet.  Hardly any cars and few people.  If I could get to bed earlier I might do this more often. 

Well last Saturday night, (August 11),  I ran the Midnight Streak at the Oklahoma City fairgrounds (5k).  Weather was a little cooler than I expected, but still pretty warm, probably around 80 degrees by the time the gun went off.  Tried to stay on my kilometer splits but at times it was hard to read my watch.  So think I was few seconds behind my target pace at the 4 KM marker.  Anyway picked up the pace as I headed toward the space needle.  Then after the space needle I kicked it in to high gear, made the turn to the finish and sprinted it in.  Crossed the finish line in 21:55.  Woohoo!  Finally broke 22:00 in the 5k.  Best time so far in the 3 years that I have been running regularly.  Still have a ways to go to be in the kind of shape I need to be to run a 3:10 marathon.  But feels good to be making progress.  Less than five months to go till Houston. 

The Extensor Tendonitus seems to be pretty much gone.  Still being cautious however.  Wore my Saucony Grid Type A4s on the shorter runs and the Brooks Green Silence on the longer runs.  Haven't worn my Adidas Adizeros in over two weeks now.  And I didn't wear my black dress shoes all week as I wore khaki pants everyday. 

This week I ran 48 miles.  Just a couple of miles short of 50 miles a week.  Need to have a four weeks of 50 plus miles before I try the Pfitz 18/70.  Looks like I will have just three but guess I can count this 48 mile week as one  to fill out the four weeks.  (September 10 is the first day of the 18 week schedule that ends with the Houston marathon on January 13, 2013.)  Takes time to build up to 50 miles a week.  Little bit longer than I planned.  Little injuries along the way,(extensor tendonitus), slowed the progress but now I am almost to the start of my marathon plan.  I can always make a few small adjustments to the marathon plan if needed.

Cooler weather has arrived.  It was cooler this afternoon than it was a 5:30 this morning while I as running.  Guess I will need to wear a shirt in the mornings from here on out.  Hope everyone is enjoying the cool air. 

Peace.

Foot pain, getting better

Well it has been a week and half since my last post.  My right foot seems to be getting better but feeling a little discomfort this evening.  My black dress shoes, (Oxfords), seem to cause me a little discomfort by the end of the day even when they are tied loosely.  Anyway, prior to today all seemed to be going well. Been somewhat regular in stretching my calf muscles and exercising my extendors. http://www.wayne.k12.in.us/athletictraining/pdf/PDF%20Rehab%20Files/Ben%20Davis%20Student%20Handout-Medial%20Tibilial%20Stress%20Syndrome.pdf  Try to do these in the evenings while watching the Olympics.  Last Saturday did a long run of 15 miles with no noticeable discomfort, at least related to my extendors.  Ran in my blue Brooks Green Silences.  Monday  ran 7.5 miles in my Saucony Grid Type A4s.  Then Tuesday 10 miles in the Green Silences.  Today being a rest day I slept in just a little.  Tomorrow I'll do 9.2 miles, probably wear the Brooks GS.  Then Friday an easy 5.0 miles in the Saucony(s).  Saturday night is the Midnight Streak at the Fairgrounds in OKC.  http://cityartscenter.org/Web_v2/events/midnight-streak/   Actually starts at 11 PM.  I'm planning to be on the way home by midnight.

Hoping and planning to run under 22 minutes.  Seems I can run a faster pace in my neighborhood after running a few miles, than I have been able to manage in any of my previous 5Ks this year. I've only run 2 so far this year.  But based on my goal marathon time I should be able to run a 20 minute 5K.  (See calculator at http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/index.php/site/index )With the hot weather Saturday night (mid 80s)  I don't expect to make that much of an improvement, but I should be able to run 21:45. I'll try and stop by 7 Eleven on the way there to get me an Icy drink (Slurpee for those in other states).  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/health/nutrition/27best.html?_r=1