Mileage Reporting 8th Week of 2013

4.11 miles today. Such a beautiful day- sunny and cool with a nice breeze!

pics! :)

really, though, sunny, cool, light breeze ... does sound like the kind of day I wish for every day
 
more gym, but just a bit, 40 min or so

45 min swim, almost all freestyle. First few laps continuous, teeny tiny breaks in between for most of the rest, some nearly continuous. I wasn't tired at the end, but my toe cramped on one of my kickoffs from teh wall, then I realized I had lost track of time and had to get ready to teach. It was an enjoyable swim, felt normal, relaxing, like not a big new deal. Persistence paying off? I hope so.
 
Monday: 75 minutes spinning bike early in AM, swam 20 minutes midday
Tuesday: 4 mile Fartlek run went well, nearly half barefoot
Wednesday: 45 minutes spinning bike. Had a swim planned, but felt tired and decided I had already increased my work out enough for the first part of the week, plus, I hope to go on a longish run tomorrow. Am so glad to have my voice back, so spent some time singing at the top of my lungs!
 
1.2 miles on a treadmill at the PT's office today. Then they did the astym treatment on my shin which hurt like he%& and then they did the stem shocking thingy for 15 minutes. He also figured out that I have a leg length discrepancy and he silenced my run by adding an 1/8 of an inch insole to my shoe. It's amazing how much that affected my gait and the way I ran. I was much smoother and much quieter after that. It felt awkward at first but I did notice that my hips felt leveled out after that which is what I think smoothed out the rest of my gait.
 
35min pool. Getting a bit better at the backstroke, but still trying to figure out how to stay in a straight line. Made it across the pool with the freestyle, after getting a bit better at breathing properly on the left. I think that my endurance is getting better, too!
I think that I might have some upper body imbalances, however those are improving, too. It happened with the lower body, when I started running. That got better after a couple of years. My swimming is progressing faster than my running did, although I was trying to lose weight back then, too.
 
Wednesday afternoon
Shoulder and lats st, and micro run in Neo Trails down to pick up my daughter. We saw a dead squirrel on the way back. I think that means it's going to snow for six weeks or something. My daughter let me carry her on my shoulders again. I guess that means she no longer fears daddy is going to play earthquake, as S. Cedastic would say. The strength-training went OK, and I got something of a pump, but I held back a little bit because my left shoulder is still a bit sore.

Thursday afternoon
6.5 mi / 10.5 km
2.2 mi bare, the rest shod in my new Merrell Vapor Gloves
21 F / -6 C
9 F / -13 C windchill

My new Merrell Vapor Gloves came today. They run a half size big so I couldn't use the ones that came last week. I really liked these and the run with them went well. They're comparable to the Moc3s, but feel a bit snugger, have a little better grip, and are a bit cheaper. I think I've finally found the perfect minimalist running shoe! The grip isn't as good as I had hoped, but I guess no shoe is really going to give you much traction on pure ice. The Neo Trails are still good for snowy conditions, but for compacted snow, ice, and dry asphalt when it's too cold to run bare, I think I prefer the Vapor Gloves over everything else I've tried so far. (Granted, I haven't tried that many minimalist shoes.) Besides the reduced proprioception, they are pretty close to being bare, in terms of how the foot lands and moves.

Nonetheless, I ran a bit more than two miles bare. I thought about running out to Como Lake and back, one of my favorite routes, for the first time in months, now that my mileage is creeping back up, but decided to stick to the fairgrounds so that I could get in a little sole conditioning on its clear streets. We're supposed to get more snow a coupla times over the next 4-5 days, so I might not get another chance to run bare for another week or so. I ran back and forth on the same section I ran on Sunday. The asphalt was completely dry today, but the wind really whips up up there, so I put my shoes back on when the metatarsals started to stiffen. My toes were still nice and red, but pretty cold to the touch, and I didn't want to push it. It took about a mile back in the shoes and socks before my feet had completely regained their warmth. It's kind of cool how the feel of the shoe slowly comes back into focus.

I felt myself getting stronger towards the end of the run, which is a good sign my running fitness is starting to come back, but my MCL still hurt later when I got horizontal in bed, so I guess I won't push the distance much farther until that resolves itself. Still, during the day and on the run the MCL felt 90% OK--just a little sore--so I guess I won't worry about it too much.

I had Gangnam Style running through my head for most of the run, then got a little relief when Yes's Close to the Edge took over. I might have to bring headphones next time if more pop pollution pops up in my head.
 
I had Gangnam Style running through my head for most of the run, then got a little relief when Yes's Close to the Edge took over. I might have to bring headphones next time if more pop pollution pops up in my head.
Haha, seems like they have almost the same bpm, maybe it helped you keep your pace ? :rolleyes:
 
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Having a hard time finding motivation lately. I spent this past weekend up in Seattle to visit a friend of mine who is not doing so well and is at UWMC and it looks like I am going to be heading back this weekend too. Not to sure how much time he has left. Crazy to think he is 2 weeks older than me (35 yrs old) and he is near the end. We've been friends since the 3rd grade. Maybe tomorrow I will find the motivation to go to the gym or run.
 
25min of doing the basic exercises in the Anatomy for Runners book. Lots of glute work. Need to get a balance board for when I get to the more advanced exercises.

Got up early enough, but skipped the pool, as my upper body feels a bit sore after 6 straight days. Maybe tomorrow. Also, going to Discovery Cove tomorrow, so I can test out my new skills. Still haven't gotten to how to tread water yet in class, so I'll be using a safety vest just in case for the deep areas.

I'm noticing that my upper body posture is better after all this swimming. I do a lot of typing at work and am trying to unlearn decades of bad sitting posture. I had a tendency to bring the shoulders forward and hike the shoulders up from work stress.
 
Haha, seems like they have almost the same bpm, maybe it helped you keep your pace ? :rolleyes:
Yah, I don't know. When the song is heard abstractly I don't know if it has as much somatic influence as its aural version. That sure is a catchy tune though. I have almost no contact with the pop world these days, but my wife played it on our way back from dinner last Saturday night, something like three times, because the kids were digging it, and that was enough to implant it in my head (she connects her ipad to our car's USB port).

And then on the run Yes comes out of nowhere. Yes was my favorite band in ninth and tenth grade, and I saw them four times in concert in high school, starting with the Relayer concert with Patrick Moraz, but I haven't listened to them much since. So how did my unconscious disc jockey decided they were an appropriate follow-up to Korean pop?

25min of doing the basic exercises in the Anatomy for Runners book. Lots of glute work. Need to get a balance board for when I get to the more advanced exercises.
I got this last week:
j/fit 16" Round Fixed Angle Balance Board


It works pretty well. My five-and-a-half-year-old daughter is already better at it than me, but at least I have more mastery than my almost-two-year-old toddling son. He likes to get on with me.

Not to sure how much time he has left. Crazy to think he is 2 weeks older than me (35 yrs old) and he is near the end. We've been friends since the 3rd grade.
Sorry to hear that Nick. When you lose a friend in the prime of life, it leaves a permanent hole in your soul.
 
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23 freestyle laps! I counted this morning. Break in the middle. Though the lanes are wide enough for two to share, I was sharing with an older lady who had a tendency to drift to the middle of the lane. No problem really until some lady comes up and gets in our lane. She says "we will swim round all three" I say "that's not a good idea. I'm a beginner and can't change my pace or anything" she says "I'm sorry, there's no other choice" and before I can say anything begins swimming on my side of the lane, apparently I'm supposed to follow.
On the way back, I notice the older lady treading water a few feet in front of me. I swerve to avoid her, but we end up colliding instead. Older lady in pain, big goozle. I've got a face bump. We both get out, older lady mad at me, me apologizing. Lady who took lane says "what happened" I say "you got your lane." Lady who took lane keeps swimming. Grrrrrr.
There was no reason for it. There were other lanes who could have shared easier than the beginner and the elderly. She didn't go there. She also could have waited about 5 minutes, since on Fridays people are comign and going after short swims. Lanes opened up moments after she did her thing.
I'm typically assertive with these things, but lady was so rude I didn't get a chance.
OH yeah, then afterwards,
2 miles RUNNING, dreadmill.

A few ab exercises then had to go. Will finish st later. OOdles of grading to do this weekend.
 
Not to sure how much time he has left. Crazy to think he is 2 weeks older than me (35 yrs old) and he is near the end. .

Damn, that's really rough, Nick. Don't know what else to say :(

Dog and I ran today. Didn't do the planned 22km because I'd spent too much time noodling around with my guitar and we started late. So I decided to push the pace a little and keep it to about 2hrs. Ended up doing 19km in 1:53, which sounds pretty moderate except the terrain was really, really difficult. All the mucky forest tracks and fields we run on had frozen solid overnight, making it very uncomfortable and even painful to run on. Add high winds, ice and snow, bitter cold and 300m of climb and I feel pretty good about it. Pace on the flats was in the 5:40 min/km range, just over 9 min/mile, faster than I'd expected. I'd label the effort 'moderate but sustainable', would probably have been able to do it again, if it were a race. But it was faster than I need for my May ultra. Feel fine now, no aches, pulse is relatively quiet. Beer tastes good :)

Sat/Sun I'll be at a Taiji Ball seminar, and Sat night at a concert, a Deep Purple cover band, should be great!!! And Sunday ... SAUNA!
 
Thursday afternoon
6.5 mi / 10.5 km
2.2 mi bare, the rest shod in my new Merrell Vapor Gloves
21 F / -6 C
9 F / -13 C windchill.

I don't get the time to read and much less reply to most of the posts here, but Lee, you seem to be doing really well! Getting some decent mileage in, good for you! :)
 
Having a hard time finding motivation lately. I spent this past weekend up in Seattle to visit a friend of mine who is not doing so well and is at UWMC and it looks like I am going to be heading back this weekend too. Not to sure how much time he has left. Crazy to think he is 2 weeks older than me (35 yrs old) and he is near the end. We've been friends since the 3rd grade. Maybe tomorrow I will find the motivation to go to the gym or run.

Very very difficult time. There is something especially hard to fathom about such a thing when it happens at a young age.
 
Thanks Willie, Lee, and Sced, it's really hard for me to fathom. Stupid rare viruses and then cancer springing up on top of that.

Forced myself to go for a mile run on the treadmill. Today was a real chore so I didn't force myself to keep going. I started at 5.5mph and ended the last quarter mile at 7.5 mph. Was trying to just hurry up and finish my mile. Tried to roll out my legs with the stick afterwards but my shin on the right leg is bruised pretty good from the astym the other day and hurt like hell. Wasn't able to roll it out very well. Hopefully it's not this painful Monday or that PT session is going to be brutal...
 
Damn, that's really rough, Nick. Don't know what else to say :(

All the mucky forest tracks and fields we run on had frozen solid overnight, making it very uncomfortable and even painful to run on. Add high winds, ice and snow, bitter cold and 300m of climb and I feel pretty good about it. Pace on the flats was in the 5:40 min/km range, just over 9 min/mile, faster than I'd expected.
You're making me feel like a wuss for cutting my run home short last night!
7 miles became 4.5 after I'd nearly got blown over early on - and I was running on city streets.
30 mph gusty winds, right around freezing and high humidity - very 'interesting' conditions.
My pace was fine but I didn't feel the need to inflict more distance on myself.
 
I don't get the time to read and much less reply to most of the posts here, but Lee, you seem to be doing really well! Getting some decent mileage in, good for you! :)
Thank for the encouragement Willie! I know I write too much, so always feel free to skim or skip. Lately I've been listing the reporting essentials first. All that follows is just me shamelessly using this forum as my blog. (But I have been trying to get better at breaking things up into smaller paragraphs.)

I've been enjoying you and Leni's adventures, I must admit. I like to picture myself running in the German countryside instead of St. Paul's neighborhoods and river and lake paths. I once stayed with my brother outside his air force base in Bitburg for several weeks, and did a lot of hiking during the day listening to french language tapes. I really like those rolling, intimate landscapes of central Europe.

And you're right, I do feel on top of things lately. I've become much better at keeping my exuberance in check! I stop to stretch at the first sign of tightness/strain, and have become a lot better about massaging and stretching pre- and post-run. I don't really do that much, but a little of that sort of thing seems to go a long way. This MCL sprain continues to be a bit of a mystery, but it's mostly a matter of making sure it's never stretched awkwardly.

I guess if you have to stop running enough times, due to stupid injuries, tmts, frost nip, and whatnot, you eventually learn it's much better to progress more slowly than to constantly regress. It feels great right now; I have almost no expectations at all when I set out to run. I know eventually I'll get restless, and want to push pace or distance, but right now I just want to log another few weeks of consistent, easy running in the 5-to-7-mile range. The crummy weather, of course, makes it easier to hold back.

I still doubt I'll ever be a high-mileage or long-distance kind of guy but I should be able to sustain a 25-30 mpw routine in the not-too-distant future, with a long run max distance of 15 miles or so by the end of the year. I'll be plenty happy if I can get to that, along with somewhat faster paces.

Happy trails!

@scedastic, it's really amazing how many a$$holes there are in the world, isn't it? Especially driving. I know it's not practicable for most people to swim by themselves, but the hassle of public pools, changing, cholorine, etc., is probably the main reason I never took much of an interest in learning how to swim better. It's too bad, because swimming is one of the coolest athletic things humans do.
 
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