Mileage Reporting 26th Week of 2013

[Vampire]

3.2km this morning at 0530, I started off in bare feet but only made it about 1km before my soles decided they hadn't recovered enough from Mondays run. Luckily I'd tucked my Luna's into the back of my shorts so continued the rest of the run in those.

 

[Go Barefoot]

Well had another good run very late last night. Was busy with things and didn't start my run until after 8:00 pm and had planned on 5mi. The humidity was very high and could be seen in the air with temps in the upper 80's. Once the sun was nearly down ever so often I could feel cool air pockets that must have drifted from the low depressions along side the trail up onto my running path and was quite refreshing. It began to get quite dark around my 4.5 mile point and decided instead of running 5 miles and walking the last 1mi back to the car I would run the last mile and thats what I did so ended up running 6 miles total. This was way past my usual bed time of 9:00pm and would like to run in the mornings as to take advantage of the cooler temps but must be to work by 6:30am so that means getting up darn early.

Intended on a run the night before (Monday night) but was tired and was late again when I started. Ran in my neighborhood and only ran .5 miles and decided I was to tired and walked the rest of the way home.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

Wow- I think I'm going to gag! Lol!

Go ahead, make my day

 

[Barefoot Dama]

intervals today. was supposed to run at 8:29-8:04 pace but couldn't. i must've avg 7:30 or so.

I hate it when that happens...NOT. Nice job!

I can relate to that, find it really hard to keep a 'slower' pace than my program recommends

Barefooters follow their own program

Nah, I think there are benefits from running slower than what your body feels !

true

5km this morning, on the beach, by moonlight, with a nice thick fog. Quite freaky and surreal - at times I couldn't see the water and there was nobody around.

On the downside, I seem to have picked up a knee problem. My 12km shod run on Sunday morning left me with an ache on the inside of my left knee that I picked up right near the end. I took a couple of days off until it felt OK, but after 2.5km today it started to feel tender. I turned around straight away, but it's strange - walking on flat ground is fine, running was just OK, but it throbbed a little when I went up the stairs this morning. I'll take a few more days off, and hit up the docs forum. I'm a bit bummed though - I've been humming along very well in the last few months and was starting to think about distances.

Oh,oh, you know what that means right? No more shoes for you!

10 miles on the trails during some kick-butt rain! Yay rain! I did 15 mm on the first 5 miles and ran the steepest parts that I usually walk! The first half is the incline and I took it really easy on the way back and it took me 30 minutes longer.

Nice! and you said that you're not ready for a half? but if you say you're not, then you aren't.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

Well had another good run very late last night. Was busy with things and didn't start my run until after 8:00 pm and had planned on 5mi. The humidity was very high and could be seen in the air with temps in the upper 80's. Once the sun was nearly down ever so often I could feel cool air pockets that must have drifted from the low depressions along side the trail up onto my running path and was quite refreshing. It began to get quite dark around my 4.5 mile point and decided instead of running 5 miles and walking the last 1mi back to the car I would run the last mile and thats what I did so ended up running 6 miles total. This was way past my usual bed time of 9:00pm and would like to run in the mornings as to take advantage of the cooler temps but must be to work by 6:30am so that means getting up darn early.

Intended on a run the night before (Monday night) but was tired and was late again when I started. Ran in my neighborhood and only ran .5 miles and decided I was to tired and walked the rest of the way home.

Work always gets on the way, doesn't it.
I've be meaning to run to work but I can't bring myself up for it, I am definitely not an early runner. I am a morning person(up by 5AM)but not a runner.

 

[dutchie53]

Last couple of days just short runs. Had to cut runs short after a 1 1/2 mile. Instep on left foot would not loosen up, so I cut it short at sign of discomfort rather then wait for pain. As it happens we had a phisio therapist visit our plant, so I went and talked to her. She asked if it was painful in the morning, which it isn't, she said that rules out PF. But than she asked if I had trouble with my calves or hamstrings. I said no to the calves but yes to struggling with tight ham strings. She said she thought so just by the way I stand. So off to a physical therapist I go to see if I can get my hamstrings back in order. If due to this set back I can not get a run of 8 miles or more before the half in August I will have to drop out of that one Lee. I will still come to Minneapolis that weekend as my daughter is signed up for the 5k that weekend, so we will still try to meetup with you Lee.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

Last couple of days just short runs. Had to cut runs short after a 1 1/2 mile. Instep on left foot would not loosen up, so I cut it short at sign of discomfort rather then wait for pain. As it happens we had a phisio therapist visit our plant, so I went and talked to her. She asked if it was painful in the morning, which it isn't, she said that rules out PF. But than she asked if I had trouble with my calves or hamstrings. I said no to the calves but yes to struggling with tight ham strings. She said she thought so just by the way I stand. So off to a physical therapist I go to see if I can get my hamstrings back in order. If due to this set back I can not get a run of 8 miles or more before the half in August I will have to drop out of that one Lee. I will still come to Minneapolis that weekend as my daughter is signed up for the 5k that weekend, so we will still try to meetup with you Lee.

You'll be just fine. How about some hot baths with epsom salts and some massaging? Is worth a try.

 

[Bare Lee]

Monday afternoon & evening 6/24/2013

Our garage flooded a bit last weekend during one of the storms. No damage but the carpet in my home gym got wet. So had to dig a shallow 50-foot ditch in the driveway and part of the yard for the pvc pipes coming off of two new pumps in the rainwater well. Part of the work was tunneling into hard-compacted gravel under two slabs of cement with a power washer, ice scrapper, and shovel, and then to finish things off, a little masonry work using the meager skills I picked up in Mozambique overseeing the construction of my house there.

Spent eight hours on the project and man, was I sore afterwards, and I got a nasty little knot at the top of my pelvis towards the end too. It really hurt acutely to bend over to pick something up if I was at a certain angle. I guess it’s true that you’re never really absolutely fit; you can only become relatively fit at what you do on a consistent basis. Still, being relatively fit certainly helps get through these on-off projects without killing yourself.

I rewarded myself afterwards with several cold bottles of beer, and then watched the last NHL playoff game over at my younger brother’s place on his home theater screen. I never watch hockey so I was lucky that it turned out to be a terrific game—two goals in the last minute or so to give Chicago the championship.

So anyway, no regularly scheduled lower body deadlifts, squats or other stuff that day.


Tuesday afternoon 6/25/2013
11.28 mi / 18.15 km
Mid 80s and humid

I woke up feeling a little sore but the knot in my hip was gone. The previous day’s honest work had taken a bit of a toll on me though, and by noon I was starting to fade at work. So I decided to cut out early, some 15-20 minutes before 3pm, and go on a long run, since I had missed my long run over the weekend.

I first hydrated by guzzling water until I had to pee every 10-15 minutes. I’m kind of like a camel that way. I can store up on water until I’m saturated and then as soon as I start running in the heat my body flips on a switch, goes into water-conservation mode, and stops sending water to my bladder. So I don’t need to bring any water with me if I’m going to be out 2-3 hours or less.

I drove down to the Mississippi River to try a route I’ve been daydreaming about for some time now. I first ran down towards Ford Parkway on the East River Road foot/bike path I often take on my river runs, and then, instead of crossing over Ford Parkway Bridge to the Minnehaha Falls side, in Minneapolis, I continued down the river parkway on the St. Paul side, past Lock & Dam No. 1, until I got to a park on the other side of where Minnehaha Creek drains into the Mississippi, a park called Hidden Falls. From there I descended off the river road, which runs on top of the steep bluffs, down into the park, close to riverside. A little farther on this city park merges with a regional park called Crosby at a bend in the river.

At that point the foot/bike path turned from mild chipseal to real rough chipseal and was flooded at three different points. At each point there was a barrier on either side of the flooded area with a sign that said “Park Closed: High Water.” But the signs only appeared in the middle of the trails, right before the flood water, not at the trailheads, and I didn’t really feel like backtracking. So I waded through each flooded area as I came upon it, and each time was able to make it to the other side, no problem. Two of the floodings came up over my knees though, and the water was murky so I had to slow to a cautious creep in case there was broken glass or something lurking in the murkiness. It was pretty cool to look over at the fast flowing river by my side just a few feet away, past the partly submerged trees and bushes. The last flooded section of the path was just ankle-deep, and then a little farther on I was able to rescue a few small fish stranded in a streamlet running across the path, pushing them off to the side with my foot. My wife later asked me why I didn’t bring them home for dinner.

In the middle of Crosby Park you can almost imagine you’re far from the city, even though it’s just a few miles from downtown St. Paul. Mostly woodsy birdsong with only a very distant hum of traffic in the background. Still, it was difficult to enjoy myself with the harsh, eroded chipseal underfoot. My cadence naturally picked up and I found myself landing with a much more pronounced forefoot strike. At some places my pace was over 12mm, close to 13mm. Ouch, ouch, ouch. I think my training on the JHS track’s sandy gravel was helping me get through it, but it wasn’t much fun. I was still making OK time despite the impediments but I started to think a little bit about whether I’d be able to pick up my daughter from summer Discovery Club in time. I also thought about how long it would take to adapt to running on this kind of surface all the time. It’d be cool to be one of those hardcore barefoot runners who can run decent paces on any surface.

Finally I came to a clearing and could see the park exit on Shepard Road (the road where Dutchie will be running most of his half in August) in the distance. Whew. I had already run close to seven miles so I was more than halfway there, with nothing but neighborhood sidewalks before me. Still, there were lots of hills ahead, and by that time there was a lot of rush hour traffic too, so it was hard to stay in my zone and push on through to the end. If I didn’t have the time constraint of having to pick up my daughter, I probably would’ve walked the last few miles back to the car. The heat was getting to me, and the harsh chipseal in Crosby Park had made my feet pretty sensitive. I didn’t really mind it while I was running, but every time I had to stop to wait for a traffic light and pick it up again, it took a while to block out the post-chipseal sensitivity once more. All the small scattered tree debris from the storms didn’t help.

Then, just before I got to my car, my wife called to tell me she could pick up our daughter after all. So I guess I could’ve walked the last few miles. Oh well, I’m glad I slogged through. I was pretty tired by the end but I didn’t experience any real strain or feeling like my legs had been wound up. And I had only stopped to stretch twice--once after the first two miles or so, after warming up, and then again upon leaving the Hidden Falls-Crosby park system, past the halfway mark. So that was a real confidence booster. Under more favorable conditions I could probably run this distance continuously without having to fear repetitive stress injury. Which means I could probably run a half mary if I really had to, which in turn makes me hypothetically happy.

And now this morning, a day later, I feel some muscle stiffness but no soreness in my joints or ligaments. On previous long runs this year, one or both of my MCLs would always feel a bit sore for 12 to 24 hours afterwards. So the adaptions are continuing. My rate of progress has been a lot slower than I anticipated when I first started getting back in shape in earnest over two years ago, but I seem to have learned when I can push it, and when I need to hold back. There’s no real rhyme or reason to my method other than to stay injury-free and mix up the kinds of runs I do on a regular basis. Other than that, I trust my body to make the appropriate adaptations and tell me what kind of stimulus it needs next. Right now it’s telling me I need to do some intervals tomorrow, but it also seems to be suggesting that I need to continue with the longer runs, something like 2-3 times a month.

Last couple of days just short runs. Had to cut runs short after a 1 1/2 mile. Instep on left foot would not loosen up, so I cut it short at sign of discomfort rather then wait for pain. As it happens we had a phisio therapist visit our plant, so I went and talked to her. She asked if it was painful in the morning, which it isn't, she said that rules out PF. But than she asked if I had trouble with my calves or hamstrings. I said no to the calves but yes to struggling with tight ham strings. She said she thought so just by the way I stand. So off to a physical therapist I go to see if I can get my hamstrings back in order. If due to this set back I can not get a run of 8 miles or more before the half in August I will have to drop out of that one Lee. I will still come to Minneapolis that weekend as my daughter is signed up for the 5k that weekend, so we will still try to meetup with you Lee.

I know it's unfashionable, but my clownish recommendation for tight hamstrings would be stretching. My hamstrings were always tight back in my karate days, sometimes really uncomfortably so, but a good stretch always did the trick.

Anyhow, it made me feel better about the only slight weight loss lately and made me think that maybe I am just building muscle nearly as fast as I am losing fat, hence only a slight weight change in the last 3 weeks or so.

I think that's often the case, because muscle weighs more than fat. I think the belt measure is much more accurate than the scale measure.

Look for a different programme then - or create your own. It's your body after all!

My body, my program, I'm on board with that!

Nah, I think there are benefits from running slower than what your body feels !

I dunno, for me at least, I've become a firm believer in the JRLTYB (Just run/Listen to your body) school of running, but if more programmatic running works for someone else, that's a beautiful thing too.

5km this morning, on the beach, by moonlight, with a nice thick fog. Quite freaky and surreal - at times I couldn't see the water and there was nobody around.

On the downside, I seem to have picked up a knee problem. My 12km shod run on Sunday morning left me with an ache on the inside of my left knee that I picked up right near the end. I took a couple of days off until it felt OK, but after 2.5km today it started to feel tender. I turned around straight away, but it's strange - walking on flat ground is fine, running was just OK, but it throbbed a little when I went up the stairs this morning. I'll take a few more days off, and hit up the docs forum. I'm a bit bummed though - I've been humming along very well in the last few months and was starting to think about distances.

Sounds like some beautiful running territory you got there Larry. I'm envious.

I agree with some of the others, time to ditch the shoes for a while. But even bare, I would scale back for a while till your body has had time to adapt more before you push distance again. I reduced for several months and have just recently been bumping up the distance again, and the patience seems to be paying off, as I can run longer distances now without any MCL/knee soreness afterwards.

 

[NickW]

I think the belt measure is much more accurate than the scale measure.

I wish I was losing the weight in the belt region... Seems I am losing the fat in my arms, chest, and legs right now and only very mildly losing some in the stomach. As I age it seems to get harder to lose weight off the belt line.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

Lee, I finally finished reading your book, I mean your workout report.
Whew! that was a scary time about your hip, glad is all good. Nice run!
Your wife is funny. Fish for dinner

 

[Bare Lee]

Lee, I finally finished reading your book, I mean your workout report.
Whew! that was a scary time about your hip, glad is all good. Nice run!
Your wife is funny. Fish for dinner

Yah, remember: it's not required reading and there will be no reading comprehension test afterwards, so always feel free to skim or skip! I've been using this forum as motivation to keep a workout journal. It's fun writing loosely and spontaneously. So different from the kind of writing I usually do.

The hip was just one of those things, spending a lot of time bent over trying to pry compacted gravel loose. Mostly, it happened because I forgot a lesson I keep having to learn every once in a while, and that's to treat projects or yard work just as you would a workout, and make sure you stretch out before, during, and afterwards.

I think you'd get along swell with my wife, you both have a no-nonsense sensibility and uninhibited sense of humor.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

Yah, remember: it's not required reading and there will be no reading comprehension test afterwards, so always feel free to skim or skip! I've been using this forum as motivation to keep a workout journal. It's fun writing loosely and spontaneously. So different from the kind of writing I usually do.

The hip was just one of those things, spending a lot of time bent over trying to pry compacted gravel loose. Mostly, it happened because I forgot a lesson I keep having to learn every once in a while, and that's to treat projects or yard work just as you would a workout, and make sure you stretch out before, during, and afterwards.

I think you'd get along swell with my wife, you both have a no-nonsense sensibility and uninhibited sense of humor.

I can't wait to meeting her and this is going to sound strange but for some odd reason I feel connected to her like if I akready "know" her isn't that weird?

 

[Go Barefoot]

Work always gets on the way, doesn't it.
I've be meaning to run to work but I can't bring myself up for it, I am definitely not an early runner. I am a morning person(up by 5AM)but not a runner.

Ive tried to get up earlier (4:30am) than usual (5:00 to 5:30am) to run before work but it has'nt worked out well yet. I seem to need about 20-30 minutes of being awake and moving around before my legs are ready for a good run. It would sure be nice to have an early run before work (work starts at 6:30am) done so that it did not have to be scheduled in for the evening. Maybe I just have TMP syndrome (Too Many Projects)! I think its a problem for most guys! I've tossed around the idea of hitting the hay earlier but I already aim for 9:00pm. Any earlier would just be too early. Its hard to fall asleep when the suns up and the birds are singing yet. Guess I need to work on building a time machine..... Oooooh that would be yet another project added to the list of projects now wouldn't it! See what I mean! It never ends!

 

[Go Barefoot]

I wish I was losing the weight in the belt region... Seems I am losing the fat in my arms, chest, and legs right now and only very mildly losing some in the stomach. As I age it seems to get harder to lose weight off the belt line.

Funny you mention loosing weight in the belt region. Since the first of the year i've been running more consistantly and have really lost some circimference around my waist as my belt has had to be set in two holes (and sometimes 3 depends on if the shirt is tucked in) but my overall weight has not fluctuated all that much maybe about 8 lbs less. Ive also been eating healthier and laying off snacks too. Most of my jeans are a bit baggy now. Guess I need to get me some of those Red Green show suspenders!

 

[Barefoot Dama]

Ive tried to get up earlier (4:30am) than usual (5:00 to 5:30am) to run before work but it has'nt worked out well yet. I seem to need about 20-30 minutes of being awake and moving around before my legs are ready for a good run. It would sure be nice to have an early run before work (work starts at 6:30am) done so that it did not have to be scheduled in for the evening. Maybe I just have TMP syndrome (Too Many Projects)! I think its a problem for most guys! I've tossed around the idea of hitting the hay earlier but I already aim for 9:00pm. Any earlier would just be too early. Its hard to fall asleep when the suns up and the birds are singing yet. Guess I need to work on building a time machine..... Oooooh that would be yet another project added to the list of projects now wouldn't it! See what I mean! It never ends!

I do have no problem whatsoever getting my run early since I start work at 8AM but my body just can't move and it will be a miserable run...I think.
Hitting the hay early is not a problem for me I go to sleep when my body tells me regardless of the time.
I still think that chickens never sleep they are awake when I go to bed and still awake when I get up in the AM. Go figure.

 

[happysongbird]

Spent eight hours on the project and man, was I sore afterwards,

heh heh, you said you envied some of our "more active" lives.

BTW, I've been wanted to encourage you some by mentioning that when I had little kids running around, I was feeling pretty good about getting in 20 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 days a week. Weight lifting was when I carried them or stirred whatever I was cooking. And I could do some gardening while they played.

On to my report for the day:

My run today was different in a couple ways. It was 88% humidity, for one thing. Not something I'm used to around here. All the thermometers were not agreeing, so I'm going with the one in the shade on my back patio, which said 80°F. That makes it an officially warm run!

It was both hard and good. I started off trying to relax for a long run, but seemed to fall into about an 8:40 mm pace, so decided to try to feel that rhythm as long as I could, which was amazingly for 8 miles. The 7 -8 miles felt like they were getting hard, so to avoid accidentally slowing down, I tried to push it a bit and did 8:30 mm miles. So, after that I let myself do a cool down for mile 9 and ended with a 9:07 pace. All flat around my local ponds. I believe that makes it my fastest 8 miles ever, by a smidge, if I compared correctly to last week's run.

 

[mokaman]

Easy recovery trail run at Harbins Park hiking trails, 5.2 miles about an 11:40 pace for the whole run. Walked a few times...only breathed thru my nose to help keep the pace down. Foot conditioning is very good now on the gravel sections...going to have to look for for tougher trails soon.

 

[Bare Lee]

heh heh, you said you envied some of our "more active" lives.

BTW, I've been wanted to encourage you some by mentioning that when I had little kids running around, I was feeling pretty good about getting in 20 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 days a week. Weight lifting was when I carried them or stirred whatever I was cooking. And I could do some gardening while they played.

On to my report for the day:

My run today was different in a couple ways. It was 88% humidity, for one thing. Not something I'm used to around here. All the thermometers were not agreeing, so I'm going with the one in the shade on my back patio, which said 80°F. That makes it an officially warm run!

It was both hard and good. I started off trying to relax for a long run, but seemed to fall into about an 8:40 mm pace, so decided to try to feel that rhythm as long as I could, which was amazingly for 8 miles. The 7 -8 miles felt like they were getting hard, so to avoid accidentally slowing down, I tried to push it a bit and did 8:30 mm miles. So, after that I let myself do a cool down for mile 9 and ended with a 9:07 pace. All flat around my local ponds. I believe that makes it my fastest 8 miles ever, by a smidge, if I compared correctly to last week's run.

Yah, it feels great! I do a lot of light yard work and some household maintenance-type stuff, but there's nothing like a day of honest manual labor . . . once in a great while! I was a construction chump/gopher during summer/winter/spring breaks at college, and that stuff gets old quick. Carpentry is still fun, but when it comes to digging ditches, or doing hardcore mechanical stuff, I prefer to watch. My vision of a more active lifestyle is more recreational--like hikes and bike rides on weekends--than functional I guess. I am making an attempt to commute by bicycle more though.

Thanks for the encouragement on the kids front. It does get a bit overwhelming sometimes, but at least my wife is up to speed now on the American lifestyle, so that helps. I'm also taking care of my aging parents, but they're pretty low maintenance for the most part. I really need about an hour a day of exercise to function well, but I'm lucky that I only need to sleep about five hours, so it's pretty easy to justify timewise. Plus I'm only raising two kids, quite manageable compared to the seven you had under wing.

Sounds like you had a great run. It's really cool and inspiring to keep track of everyone's progress here. Just gotta make sure I don't get too inspired and reach beyond my current capacity!

 

[Barefoot Dama]

Tough stair workout today, it'll be intersting to see how well my body, particularly my hips will react to it since I haven't done stairs in a long, long while. Feeling all good so far. I might have to do a slow recovery run tomorrow.

 

[NickW]

No exercise today as I am giving my calf a day off. It seems to be better today than it was yesterday so that is good, but for good measure I will let it rest another day and will just do my long run tomorrow or Saturday (assuming the calf feels ok). I also scheduled an appointment for Friday with the doc to get my thyroid checked out. Seems I have a lot of the symptoms of hypothyroidism and I have a pretty strong family history of that on my moms side. At least if I do have it I will have caught it early and not have gotten, um, as big as my mom did before she found out. Also, from reading about hypothyroidism, apparently a symptom can be pf and muscle and joint pains, not to mention lack of focus, not feeling like you slept despite sleeping 8-10 hours (I feel , trouble remembering things, high cholesterol, and a whole host of other things. My nutritionist buddy has been telling me for a little while that I need to get checked out but I guess I've been procrastinating on it. I figure I'm not getting any younger so I probably should find out as everyone of those symptoms I listed here I have. Man it sucks getting older...