Mileage Reporting 14th Week of 2013

[Barefoot Dama]

Tried to do a 7 mile tempo run, but may have started out too fast. First mile was 8:30 pace, but the next 5 were progressively slower until I depressed myself with 9:05. I made up for that some by kicking out the last mile at an 8:40 pace. All STG, which was wonderful.

One of those days ah? I used to do that a long time ago and I wouldn't last for too long. Now when I start too fast I tell myself to slow down because I am going long. I see people in the FH(fieldhouse) pick up the pace when I passed them and they don't last long either. Something about other runners not liking to be passed by a barefoot runner-weird.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

.25 mi bf on the outdoor track at my university, temp 25F, windchill 18. However, it was so sunny this morning, and there I was, parking in front of the thing, so I figured, why not? It was pins and needles horribly painful. I thought it was my lack of conditioning and not being used to the "stimulation" of the rubberized track pointies. Well, when I gave up after the one lap, I looked down at my soles and found an even coating of those little pebbles that are embedded in the rubber, embedded into my skin. That would explain the ouchies. Still felt kind of hard core in a weird way for doing it.

A little over 3 mi in my little socks on the rectangular track indoors at the gym. Yes, the one where I think I tweaked my ankle rounding the corner too tight and fast. Took it fairly slow, was ready to stop at the slightest sign, but got none.

about 20 min abs and a few weights. Too busy at the gym to get much else done.

about 2o min swim.

getting ready to pick up kids then rush back to campus for my swim lesson. Bought sandwiches, fruit, and cupcakes to bribe my children into being patient in the bleachers for me after they've had a long exercise filled day at the local nature center spring break camp.

I don't know were you get the energy to workout as much as you do with such little sleep. Glad you are able to do it, when I don't sleep well I can barely lift a foot.
I have ran on the outdoor track and it does feel weird. Is your ankle ok now?

 

[Go Barefoot]

Went for a run during lunch today on a new trail. Ran 4.2 miles and walked 3/4 of a mile. Nice day to as it was in the 50's and negligible wind. Upon the start of my run my feet immediately told me these are not the same trails we are used to running on then I noticed these trails were pavement but had been finished by brooming the surface with a coarse broom where as the trail I normally run has a much smoother finish. I continued to "keep on keeping on" and thought if my feet get sore early I'll just walk the rest of the route. Didnt really experience much soreness until the very end of the run and even then it wasn't bad. (Didnt have to crawl back to the car at least.) This trail had more than its share of small pebbles on much of it as nearly half of it had a gravel road along side it. Ending up dodging from side to side to miss stepping on the larger stones.
Usually I stay away from trails near roads as they usually have glass from careless people tossing out their trash. This trail was free of glass. Go figure? All in all I would run it again as this section headed out of town so there wasn't the issue of TMP. (Too Many People) My pace was 8min 51 sec. This was 1 mile further than my usual run.... maybe its time to start increasing my distance a tiny bit.

 

[Spiderweb62]

nice and wet 10.7km today, very slow, but I get the feeling I could run for hours at that tempo (about 6'/km)

 

[scedastic]

1 hr swim lesson. flip turns were suddenly horrible, though they were doing better every time i practiced them this week. ah well. breast stroke, butterfly, and lamentable backstroke were still lacking, but hopefully less so. I find the backstroke downright exhausting. weird.

 

[scedastic]

I don't know were you get the energy to workout as much as you do with such little sleep. Glad you are able to do it, when I don't sleep well I can barely lift a foot.
I have ran on the outdoor track and it does feel weird. Is your ankle ok now?

Ankle fine.
Wish I had more sleep. Gotta work on that. LOOOOOOVE a good 8 hours.
My body kind of got used to having these little workouts spread throughout the day. I don't do anything at a high intensity. When I get tired, the exercise wakes me up. Thought for a second about going for a little sunset run when I got home tonight, in fact, but even I need to get reasonable and get work done.
Speaking of, I will do ANYTHING to avoid deskwork. A third round of exercise is the most pleasant way to avoid it, but I've been known to clean, do laundry, even scrub a bathtub in the avoidance of computer work.

 

[scedastic]

I don't know were you get the energy to workout as much as you do with such little sleep. Glad you are able to do it, when I don't sleep well I can barely lift a foot.
I have ran on the outdoor track and it does feel weird. Is your ankle ok now?

oh, i also eat a lot.

 

[Bare Lee]

Tuesday afternoon
1.7 mi / 2.7 km
37 F / 3 C
30 F / -1 C windchill

I was planning on a 7-mile circuit on the suburban county roads by my son's new day care. Park the car there, then run east down one county road, cut 1/2 mile south and come back west on another. But just as I was about to head out, my wife came home with a leaky water pump, the car about ready to overheat. So had to deal with that.

By the time I left, I only had about 15-20 minutes to run before I had to pick up our son. So I parked the car near the day care, without going into its parking lot so I could avoid having to wait for the light just before, and then ran south down the road I had come up on, and then returned north back to the car. I ran about as fast as I could, which, when I got home, I saw was 8mm pace on the dot--a little over it on the way down, a little under it on the way back.

I surprised myself a bit, but I knew once conditions improved it would be easier to run faster, and it was a perfect day for running--sunny, dry surfaces 99% of the time, just a little wind. Plus, unlike my neighborhood and the fairgrounds, the terrain in this first-tier suburb is close to flat.

So, I guess being forced to run fast with little time has officially inaugurated the season's return to tempo runs and intervals. After finishing my 1.7 mile tempo run, I definitely needed a little breather, but I wanted to do more, felt very unsatiated, so perhaps that's what I'll do on tomorrow's run. Maybe try 6 miles' worth, with a couple of stretching breaks, and see how that feels. Or maybe try something closer to 9mm pace and see if I can sustain it the whole way. It sure felt good to open up the range of motion a bit, and feel my form become smoother and more powerful. I really need to live somewhere where's there's no real winter!

It still amazes me how much difference a minute a mile can make. At 10mm I feel like I can run forever, like Andy describes--only my legs' joint, tendon, and ligament conditioning holds me back. At 9mm pace, I'm ok, but my cardio-vascular system can only go so far like that before it needs to rest. My leg muscles and heart and lungs conk out at about the same time, around 6-7 miles. And then at 8mm pace my CNS starts asking me to stop soon after I begin. It requires real mental effort to keep going at that pace, like doing max weight on a lift, and feels like a real workout. I like all three kinds of runs. The question is if I'll try to incorporate all three types into a week of running -

Tu: Tempo 6-7 mi
Th: Intervals/Fartleks/Hills 6-7 mi
Sa: LSD 9-10 mi, and increasing

or may try a biweekly routine to make sure I don't overdo it:

Tu: LSD 6-7 mi
Th: Tempo or Intervals/Fartleks/Hills 6-7 mi
Sa: LSD 9-10 mi, and increasing

I read somewhere that middle-aged people should only have one challenging run per week, as we require more time to recover, but I wonder if that's being overly cautious. Thoughts anyone?

Something about other runners not liking to be passed by a barefoot runner-weird.

Yah, it seems like the equivalent of being 'chicked', and then the humiliation for them is even worse if it's a middle-aged barefoot runner! And so absolutely the worst if it's female middle-aged barefoot runner.

 

[dutchie53]

3.5 flat minshod miles. Noticed my HR is coming down, think it is about time to start speeding up if I want to keep up to Lee and Dama this August. If I am to slow all the beer might be gone by the time I get to the finish. Road conditions and weather (winter still sticking around) still on the iffy side for serious STG, temps yesterday afternoon were still -10C.

 

[DNEchris]

I read somewhere that middle-aged people should only have one challenging run per week, as we require more time to recover, but I wonder if that's being overly cautious. Thoughts anyone?


Yah, it seems like the equivalent of being 'chicked', and then the humiliation is even worse if it's a middle-aged barefoot runner! And so absolutely the worst if it's female middle-aged barefoot runner.

I suspect that that sort of advice comes from the same kind of person who would recommend the ultimate in cushioned, motion control running shoes to everybody! I find if I run the pace my body wants I'm just fine - and that can be anything from 6.30 to 11 minute miles. I found that as my aerobic conditioning improved I could run harder, more often and my sustainable cruising speed is probably 2 minutes a mile faster now than it was 3 years ago.

There's nowt wrong wi' being chicked - it can lead to great feats of athletic endeavour!

 

[Bare Lee]

I suspect that that sort of advice comes from the same kind of person who would recommend the ultimate in cushioned, motion control running shoes to everybody!

Ha! Yah, sounds about right. And there seems to be a general tendency to counsel over-caution, to avoid injury and blame for injury.

Most of the routes that have opened up to me now that the snow is pretty much gone are amenable to all three kinds of run, so I could just go by feel, as you suggest, although the longer, one-hour-plus LSD run does have to be on the weekend when I have no time limits, in case I need to stop and stretch or walk home if the ITBs starts to strain. Plus once the nearby hs track dries up, I'll prefer to do my intervals there. I really like the feeling of the sandy gravel, as an alternative texture, and enjoy running exacting distances and paces once in a while as well. But when running roads during the week I can just let the mood du jour dictate whether I'm running tempo, fartleks, or slow-steady.

I find if I run the pace my body wants I'm just fine - and that can be anything from 6.30 to 11 minute miles. I found that as my aerobic conditioning improved I could run harder, more often and my sustainable cruising speed is probably 2 minutes a mile faster now than it was 3 years ago.

Yah, I feel like my conditioning is just about back to where it was last fall before the MCL sprain, and if I can finally shake these last 20 pounds and get down to 200 lbs, that should help up the pace as well. Seems to be coming off lately as I push the running and st more, so there's still hope.

There's nowt wrong wi' being chicked - it can lead to great feats of athletic endeavour!

When I run down by the river I'm chicked once in a while. Which is great, because it's always a young althete from the nearby UofM campus who leaves behind a lot of hindsight.

Noticed my HR is coming down, think it is about time to start speeding up if I want to keep up to Lee and Dama this August.

Yah, right. One month of serious running and you'll be lapping me.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

oh, i also eat a lot.

This is what's different for me, when I don't sleep well my appetite is no where to be found. Maybe the lack of food makes me feel the way I do.

 

[skedaddle]

I read somewhere that middle-aged people should only have one challenging run per week, as we require more time to recover, but I wonder if that's being overly cautious. Thoughts anyone?

I certainly wouldn't limit myself because I'm getting old, in fact the opposite seems to be true for me, the older I get the more pig headed and determined I get to prove all these life sucking article writers wrong.
Sure there are physical changes to getting older but you just adjust accordingly, at least until bits start falling off you but by then you'll be too senile to give a sh!t.
The truth is there are no definitive answers to anything outside of life and death just a balancing of risk Vs reward, you've just got to find your own level that makes you feel strong, happy, inspired and take confidence from that.
To me life doesn't have to stop when you reach a certain age, hell I'm looking down the barrel of sixty, listening to Norwegian death metal and running 40 miles a week barefoot, if I crash and burn at least it won't be with a whimper, and from what I've seen Lee you're doing the very same thing so I think 'overly cautious' doesn't even register on the awesometer.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

1 hr swim lesson. flip turns were suddenly horrible, though they were doing better every time i practiced them this week. ah well. breast stroke, butterfly, and lamentable backstroke were still lacking, but hopefully less so. I find the backstroke downright exhausting. weird.

All those swimming drills as tough as they might be you're learning a lot and your body's getting an all over conditioning, what else can you ask for?

 

[Bare Lee]

I certainly wouldn't limit myself because I'm getting old, in fact the opposite seems to be true for me, the older I get the more pig headed and determined I get to prove all these life sucking article writers wrong.
Sure there are physical changes to getting older but you just adjust accordingly, at least until bits start falling off you but by then you'll be too senile to give a sh!t.
The truth is there are no definitive answers to anything outside of life and death just a balancing of risk Vs reward, you've just got to find your own level that makes you feel strong, happy, inspired and take confidence from that.
To me life doesn't have to stop when you reach a certain age, hell I'm looking down the barrel of sixty, listening to Norwegian death metal and running 40 miles a week barefoot, if I crash and burn at least it won't be with a whimper, and from what I've seen Lee you're doing the very same thing so I think 'overly cautious' doesn't even register on the awesometer.

Well-put Ske! I'm on board with all that (except for the part about my distant cousins' death metal).

I guess I got a little spooked by last fall's nigglefulness, but I'm regaining the old confidence, now tempered with just a bit more age-related commonsense as well as a greater appreciation for the repetitive nature of running and the attendant necessity of a bit more prep and post-run attention. Guys like you and DNEChris are inspiring examples of what's possible.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

3.5 flat minshod miles. Noticed my HR is coming down, think it is about time to start speeding up if I want to keep up to Lee and Dama this August. If I am to slow all the beer might be gone by the time I get to the finish. Road conditions and weather (winter still sticking around) still on the iffy side for serious STG, temps yesterday afternoon were still -10C.

Hey, don't you start putting that kind of pressure already! I am slow as molases lately so I advice you that you keep your current comfortable pace and if the beer is gone by the time you finished the race-so what?

 

[Barefoot Dama]

[quote="Bare Lee, post:

Yah, it seems like the equivalent of being 'chicked', and then the humiliation for them is even worse if it's a middle-aged barefoot runner! And so absolutely the worst if it's female middle-aged barefoot runner.[/quote]


Guys for sure take it specially hard I remember this guy passed me once but I kept my pace as I was doing a recovery run and he said to me as he passed "I know you have another gear" I just laugh, I thought that was a funny comment.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

I certainly wouldn't limit myself because I'm getting old, in fact the opposite seems to be true for me, the older I get the more pig headed and determined I get to prove all these life sucking article writers wrong.
Sure there are physical changes to getting older but you just adjust accordingly, at least until bits start falling off you but by then you'll be too senile to give a sh!t.
The truth is there are no definitive answers to anything outside of life and death just a balancing of risk Vs reward, you've just got to find your own level that makes you feel strong, happy, inspired and take confidence from that.
To me life doesn't have to stop when you reach a certain age, hell I'm looking down the barrel of sixty, listening to Norwegian death metal and running 40 miles a week barefoot, if I crash and burn at least it won't be with a whimper, and from what I've seen Lee you're doing the very same thing so I think 'overly cautious' doesn't even register on the awesometer.

That's exactly how I feel and do things and you took the words out of my mouth, well most of the words as I never write anything lenghty(my time is limited).
Not saying that your post is lenghty(not like Lee's) but is more than I ussualy write.

 

[Bare Lee]

That's exactly how I feel and do things and you took the words out of my mouth, well most of the words as I never write anything lenghty(my time is limited).
Not saying that your post is lenghty(not like Lee's) but is more than I ussualy write.

It actually probably takes us about the same amount of time to write a comment. I took a year-long typing class in high school. I was laughed at at the time, but my handwriting is so terrible, I knew I'd never get through college otherwise. And then the PC revolution happened and now I'm golden.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

It actually probably takes us about the same amount of time to write a comment. I took a year-long typing class in high school. I was laughed at at the time, but my handwriting is so terrible, I knew I'd never get through college otherwise. And then the PC revolution happened and now I'm golden.

Golden is an understatement-I'll say. You didn't correct my mispelled words though.
My husband also types super fast I am always rushing when I type replies or posting anything I don't want my shop mates to see what I am doing- I should be working though