The Long Run

I started this run with a mix of hope and apprehension.  I can't afford any more mistakes right now and I didn't want to undo any progress that I had made but was hopeful I can pull things together.

I wanted to do 8 miles but left work a little bit late and hit some traffic on the way to the Y so only had time for 7 by the time I had to leave to bring Noah home.

Warmed up 8 minutes on the elliptical (all the arc trainers were busy), then got onto the treadmill.  I didn't feel great at first and thought about playing it safe but figured I would see if I'd feel better once I had loosened up.  By 6 miles I was starting to feel back to normal, maybe not 100% but getting closer.

I finished up the 7 miles in 62:52 (just under 9:00 minute pace, yay!), then got Noah from the Tae Kwon Do classroom where Jenny and Andy were also.  Noah and I headed home then got into the pool.  We swam for a while, nothing too demanding just having fun and loosening up.  Spent about 15 minutes in the hot tub.   Hour after the run and still felt ok.

Slept in a little bit while Jenny got up to do her run.  Had breakfast with the family (some awesome pancakes that Jenny made!) then headed to my PT appointment.  He adjusted me some more and stretched me out too.  Still feeling ok from yesterday's run.  Two good things about this are that my hip area does not feel any worse than yesterday and I don't feel any other soreness from running 7 miles after not running for a few weeks.  I was afraid it would be a big shock to my system but fortunately it was not.

It felt like it had been forever since I did a long run. I set my stuff out the night before but still hadn't decided on where I was going to run until I left the house. I went to Starkey park and brought my bike so I could warm up before running. I rode the bike around for about 10 minutes before stretching. The air was a chilly 58° with a little bit of fog in the air.  I saw a deer while riding the bike.  I was dressed for running, not bike riding so it felt quite chilly while I was riding.

I walked down the path to the main bike trail. I chatted a bit with a guy I had run into before who was going to do 14 miles. I was hoping to get 10 miles done today. I started running, very slowly at first.  I saw the man with the well behaved doberman.  I'm not sure what time he starts but he's always on his way back when I see him.  It hurt a little bit but felt like it might loosen up. It got better after a mile. At 3 miles I ran into Eudair coming back from her run. I hadn't seen her in quite some time. We chatted for a few minutes and then I got going again. That was the first test, I was afraid it would be tough to get going again after stopping but actually it felt easier. At 4 miles I was feeling even better and was soon at 5.  Sometime around 4 miles, Eudair's husband came zipping by on his bike and said hi as he passed me.  I decided to keep going until I hit 6 miles. It felt good but I was a little bit afraid that I would pay for it on the way back.

I turned around and started back. 7 miles, so far so good. Now the sun was up and it was getting a bit warmer especially in the open areas. At 9 miles everything was still good. Actually it felt pretty good until sometime just past 11 miles. Both my legs were hurting but not due to my injury, just from the lack of running. It wasn't terrible but I was glad when the run was done.  The temp at the end of the run was 76º .  I stretched for a bit then headed home and swam in the pool about 15 minutes to try and loosen up.

So, it wasn't my best run ever but considering the circumstances it was a great run. In some ways it felt like I was "back" but then again I'm not quite there yet.  Hopefully I can have a good recovery tomorrow and be ready for a shorter run on Monday.

Average pace: 9:05

Today was another test.  The monday after the long run.  It went pretty good.  I spent a lot of time warming up and did the run on the treadmill.  First mile was slow and painful until I started to loosen up.  I did 3.2 miles, then the treadmill stopped at 30 minutes, so I got off and stretched for a little bit.  Got back on and it was much easier to get started again.  Did 3.8 miles in 32:20, but this time I was ready for it stopping at 30 minutes and hit the quick start button to keep things going.

Now, if I can just get rid of that pain in the first mile.... 

Average pace: 8:55

 Went to another PT appointment.  He did some more adjustments on my back and lots of stretching on my left hip flexor and then showed me some stretches.  He cleared me for more running.

Yesterday I was planning on either not running today or doing something very short and light.  However, my PT said try and get back into your normal routine, which would be 8, so that's what I did today.

I went to the Y and did a good warm up on the arc trainer and rower, then did some stretching.  

As a little bit of a compromise, I decided to do half on the treadmill and half outside.  I got on the treadmill and it only took a half mile before it did not hurt.  Did 4 miles in 34:30.  One of the miles was at 7:53 to see what it would be like.

Then I headed outside, first mile was a little bit slower then I got back into an almost normal pace with a very slight pickup at the end.  Just over 4 miles at 8:45 pace.

As I was running it occurred to me what one of my main problems is with running around neighborhoods.  I couldn't think of it before because I knew I was frequently varying my route so that wasn't the problem.  But, the problem is that when running on a road, and running against traffic like you are supposed to do, the left leg is always on the edge of the road.  When I see a car coming I always move over as far to the left as possible which means running with one leg in the gutter.  This may not be my only problem but it really must have been aggravating things. 

Went back inside did some cool down and more stretching.

 So far so good.  I'm starting to get some more cautious optimism :)

I went to the Y this morning and warmed up on the arc trainer and then stretched a bit.  Next, I got onto the treadmill for 1.1 miles.   First 1/2 mile hurt a bit with the pain subsiding after that.

Then I headed outside to run.  Thankfully, it was a very nice morning outside to run.  Run went ok, a little bit of pain, not much, just enough to remind me that it is there.  The pace was actually pretty good.  I'm slowly getting faster.  Average pace was 8:35 with one of the miles at 7:40 to test out how it felt at that speed.   For some reason I felt a little bit disappointed, although I should not have.   Just being able to run 7 miles is huge progress from where I was at.

Another PT appointment.  He worked on my spine a little bit.  That seemed to help as he had me  go on the treadmill before and after the adjustment.  He also showed me another stretch to do.  This one is asymmetrical  so I'm sure I probably won't be doing it forever.  As usual he commented on how tight I am.  Actually he said that I'm probably the tightest person he has ever worked on.  I'm not sure if he says this to all of his patients but if that is true I must be way too tense.

So, looking back on the morning I can see that I am getting better, and that further running is not damaging my body.

I was mainly going to just do some non-running cardio and some weights.  But, I wanted to see if any of yesterday's adjustments would allow me to start out pain free.  I warmed up on the arc trainer and then stretched, including the new stretch I was shown yesterday.  

Then I got onto the treadmill, but it was about the same as yesterday, moderate pain for 1/2 mile which then tapers off to very mild pain and eventually almost unnoticeable.

Then a did 10 minutes on the bike and then some upper body weights.

Ok, once more on the treadmill.  Same thing as first time, oh well.

Overall it was a pretty good workout since it was just over an hour of constantly doing stuff and getting my shirt drenched in sweat. 

 I woke up a few minutes earlier than yesterday, fed the dogs and made it over to the Y.  I warmed up on the elliptical, did some stretching, got on the bike a few more minutes and did a little more stretching.  Then I got onto the treadmill, and for the first time it did not hurt starting out.  It felt like what it had been feeling after the first 1/2 mile on other days.  I gradually increased the pace but kept it nice and slow for a total of 1.1 miles.

I did just a little bit more stretching and headed outside, cautious at first, but still no pain.  I wanted to do at least 5 but the route I took added a little more on than I thought. 3 of the miles were at around an 8:00 pace.  Total run outside was 6.34 miles.

Average pace: 8:26

This was by far my best run since my problems started.  It was a bit hot and humid this morning but that didn't seem to bother me too much. 

Then I went to physical therapy, no harsh adjustments today, mainly observation and stretching.  I was a little bit rotated but he said that it stretched right out - by stretching my left hip flexor.  He then had me run a little bit on the treadmill for evaluation, just over 1/2 mile.

I can't believe I did it!  One more milestone.  Last week's 12 was pretty hard, this week's 16 might have actually been slightly easier if it wasn't so warm and humid this morning.

I woke up at 6:00.  My alarm was set for 5:40, unfortunately that was 5:40 pm.  I'm glad I didn't sleep in too late.  When I stepped outside it already felt warm.  I drove over to Starkey park, already the temp was 78° , humidity was in the 90's, it felt more like July or August.   Looks like summer is here.

I got to the parking lot about 6:45 and wanted to get going right away.  I walked quickly on the path to the bike trail for my warm up.  Then stretched at a bench.  The bugs were bugging me so I didn't spend too much time stretching.  There were mosquitoes and horse flys.  I wish I had put on some bug repellent, oh well.   Start of the run was much better than one week ago.  It wasn't quite as good as yesterday though but I didn't have time for a huge elaborate warm up.

I was finally off, at a slow speed, but not that slow, first mile just under 10:00, then some miles in the low 9:00's  I stopped often.   They have some nice ice cold water every 2-3 miles.  I had accelerade with me but I would drink some and top it off with cold water.

I made it to the end of the Starkey park trail and was at the Suncoast trail.  I went right instead of left like I usually do just to be different.  I was finally starting to feel a little bit faster.  I went south about 1.5 miles then turned back, went past the Starkey trail entrance to the water cooler.  Stopped there for a bit to wet myself down with cold water and chatted with a cyclist.  Started out again and felt very fresh.  Made it to the next water stop, with 4 miles left to go and repeated the last stop.

I took the last miles one mile at a time, feeling fairly miserable at the time.  For the final mile I picked it up just a bit and finished it just under 8:00.

I headed home and spent quite a bit of time cooling down in the pool and loosening up.  I was glad to be able to finish the full 16 miles (I was hoping for 14-16 miles).

Looking back on the run now I'd say it went pretty well.   I feel like I'm way off from where I used to be but I'm getting back there.  I'm pretty happy with my mileage for the week also.

Average pace: 8:47  (I did not count all the breaks, I wanted to make myself feel better about the time )

The whole family ran this race today. It was almost just Jenny running it but Andy said he wanted to do it and therefore Noah reluctantly agreed. I was going to stay with the boys and count this as a recovery run from yesterday's long run.

Andy, Noah, and I did about a 1/2 mile warm up before the race.

We started out together and Jenny took off. Andy, Noah and I were together about the first 1/2 mile. I told Andy that if Noah needed a walk break he could go ahead, so at about the 1/2 mile mark he pulled away from us. Noah was hanging in but was feeling very discouraged at about 1 mile. We made it to the water stop and saw Andy coming the other way after the turnaround, he looked really strong. Jenny was doing great also.

This was Noah's first 5k race so I did have to resort to some bribery. I offered him 5 oz. of Jelly Belly jelly beans, he said "Six!", so I said ok. Approaching 2 miles I had to up the ante a little bit and added one more ounce. There was a boy we kept on catching up to who would then surge ahead past us until he got tired. This went on a few times and was probably a good distraction for Noah. Soon we saw the little parking lot where we turned around for our warm up, this helped out Noah because now he knew we were close. Then we saw the 3 mile sign and he really perked up. Next, we saw Andy who had already finished and was looking out for us, he said "The finish line is just up ahead Noah!". Once Noah saw the finish line he took off faster than a speeding bullet. Up to this point I was worried that I was pushing Noah too hard (it was kind of warm and humid this morning). With Noah charging towards the finish chute people were cheering. I crossed right behind him.

We stuck around for the prizes. While we were waiting we saw 3 baby alligators in the lake. They had Dunkin Donuts as well as some healthy things like bananas, but they ran out of coffee.

Here's the results:

Jenny: 26:03 (PR)

Andy: 31:46

Noah: 37:32

Mark: 37:33

Jenny and Andy submitted their results as a Mother-Son team. They won! Andy was so excited.

Andy's time was a little slower than last year, but this year he did it all by himself. No pacer, no watch, no ipod. There are several small bridges in the park. He said he would read the weight limit signs on the bridges on the way out and back to keep his mind busy. Noah said that he couldn't run this far several times, now he knows he can, and Jenny had a PR and was able to watch her boys finish strong on Mother's Day. I got to have two donuts :)

Woke up earlier than usual because I had an 8:00 PT appointment. Went to the Y, warmed up on the elliptical, stretched a bit, biked some, then stretched some more. Ran 1.2 miles on the treadmill then headed outside.

It was only a couple degrees cooler this morning than the past few mornings but the humidity was way down so it was a very pleasant 75° at the start. It was also nice to be running pre-dawn. I did 4.8 miles. Typical level of pain, small amount at first, tapering off to a lot less but enough to keep me slower. Felt pretty good at the end.

Average pace: 8:55

Went to PT appointment, I got there about 4 minutes late, but the PT was a couple minutes later than that so my tardiness was excused. Did a couple new stretches on my back, told me that I have some scoliosis (which I already knew). He asked if I thought I could complete a marathon at the level I am it. I said that I could - maybe not in best form but not too bad. He canceled my Wednesday appointment and told me to get a sports massage sometime before Friday and then come in for the Friday appointment.  I did 1/2 mile of running on the treadmill for usual before and after adjustment evaluations.

I was traveling today on a one day trip.  I didn't run at all which is good in a way since I needed a day off from running since I did not take Sunday completely off.

I went to the Y this morning again.

Warmed up 8 minutes on arc trainer, stretched, 5 minutes on bike, stretched some more then got onto the treadmill.

Ran 2.1 miles on the treadmill at an easy pace (started out slow and didn't go too fast at the end). Still a little bit of pain at first.

Ran about 6.35 miles outside. Some of it almost felt good. I had a couple of miles where my speed had picked up to about 7:50 pace.

Average pace (outside): 8:29

The weather was great this morning, I'm enjoying the cool front while it lasts (morning temps in the high 60's).

Another trip to the Y again this morning.  I would like to just run from my house but I have been playing it very safe.  I'm trying to do two things that are usually seen as contrary to each other - recover and ramp up my miles.

Usual new routine - elliptical warm up 8 minutes, stretch, bike 5 minutes, stretch some more then get on the treadmill.  Did 3.25 miles at a nice easy pace starting out slow 12:00 pace and gradually working up to 8:30 pace at the end.

Next I headed outside.   Did 5 miles.  Pace was slightly higher than last time, although I was more warmed up at the start of the outdoor portion.

Average pace (outside): 8:20

Another nice morning outside today. 

Some more treadmill miles today.

This morning's run was significant because it is the second day in a row where I have been able to start my run virtually pain free. I still start out very slow, but it is nice to not have the first mile hurt.

Elaborate warm up and stretch routine followed by 5 miles on the treadmill, with an overall average pace about 8:50.

I had one last PT appointment. Might schedule more after the marathon he thinks he has pretty much done all he can without risking any drastic changes.

Also, I'm going to get a good massage today. I had one earlier this week but I don't think it was thorough enough. The person I'll see for today's massage comes recommended by two of the most experienced runners that I know in person - also two of the people that I know have had plenty of injuries in their time.

Then tomorrow I'm going to try for 20 miles, if it doesn't feel right I might cut it short to 18 but for that I'll have to make the call at 9 miles. It is supposed to be a little bit warmer tomorrow morning than it has been the past few mornings, however still a few degrees cooler than last Saturday's hot and humid run. Will try and get a nice and early start.

PM 

Ran one mile with the boys - Andy and Noah as well as dog Sammy - 11:20 

I can't believe I actually did this run today based on how I felt at the beginning of this month, but I'm extremely grateful I was able to finish all 20 miles with no more than the usual difficulty involved in running 20 miles.

Earlier in the week the weather forecast predicted nice starting temperatures for the run but the forecast gradually got worse during the week and it was pretty much exactly the same conditions as last Saturday, about 78° and humidity in the high 90's.  Fortunately I did get an earlier start than last week.  I started out at the SR 54 entrance to the Suncoast parkway trail, arriving just before 6:00.  Warmed up and stretched a little and got going about 6:05.

Starting out slowly, there was hardly any pain, first mile in 9:50, second mile in 9:01.  There were a few drops of rain here and there which felt very nice, although I was slightly worried that it would start dumping on me but that never happened.

I turned left on the Starkey park trail after going past the entrance to a water stop.  About 8 miles into my run I saw Eric, who was heading out from Starkey park, he said Keith and Dixie were just behind him but I never saw them, they must have turned around before I caught up to them.

As I approached the 10 mile turn around point I was having some doubts about this run but I made it finally and turned around.  At that time I saw Eric once again since he had turned around, asked him to say hi to Keith and Dixie for me.  As I got to 11 miles I was starting to feel more confident.  I had one mile at 7:47 but that may have been a Garmin glitch as the miles before and after it were a lot slower.

I continued picking off the miles and made it back to the Suncoast trail and stopped at the water stop.  Just under 4.5 miles to go now.   I put my ipod on for the rest of the trip.  Kept picking off the miles.  The last 2 miles are always tough on this route because it is straight, boring, very little shade and running alongside the toll road.   I call this good mental toughness training.

Finally I made it.  Drank lots of water at the parking lot, walked around and loosened up enough so I'd be able to drive home without bunching up too much.

 Average pace: 8:35

Run around the neighborhood loop.  Whole family went (except for Chelsea dog).  I had Barbie and Sammy.  Noah and Andy started out in front with Jenny following along with them on the bike.  After getting Sammy to not pull so much, I caught up to Noah and Andy.  Noah would slow down here and there to look at things.  Andy kept on going ahead and I hung back with Noah.

Noah and I finished the loop in 21:32 (12:40 pace).  I'm not sure about Andy but when we were close to finishing he ran back towards us to run with Noah to the finish.  A little bit warm and humid out but good family Sunday after dinner fun. 

Not so bad run this morning considering.

Big deluxe warm up followed by 3.6 miles on the treadmill and then 4 miles outside.

Average pace outside: 8:38

Some soreness in the legs this morning and it was typical Florida morning in May warm and humid.  On the plus side I did the job and I'm over the hump for training with the 20 miler out of the way.  Want to get some good base miles in the next two weeks of running and continue recovering so I can be as close to 100% as possible by June 1st. 

Rest day today.

It worked pretty well last week with Tuesday off so I'll try it again this week.

I did do some bike riding and some stretching this morning. 

This morning's run went a little bit better than expected. I hope I don't pay for it later as I did a few faster miles but nothing too crazy. I warmed up inside on the bike, then stretched and then got onto the treadmill. Slow start with gradually faster speeds until up to 8:20 pace. Total of 2.45 miles on the treadmill averaging a 9:15 pace.

Headed outside, high 70's out already, partly sunny, 75% humidity - could have been worse. Wanted to do a total of at least 8 miles today including treadmill. First mile felt pretty good at 8:37. Next two miles slightly faster. Mile 4 my pace had picked up so I decided to hold it for one mile, that turned into two and then three. Part of this was due to excitement of having a new(ish) Garmin 205. Jenny's friend Kathryn just bought a new Garmin 405 so she sold me her 205 at a price I would have been crazy to turn down - thanks Kathryn!

Miles 4, 5, and 6 were: 7:31, 7:43, 7:34

So the speed is slowly coming back, but there is still a little bit of pain left over which I need to keep an eye on. Mile 7 was slower.

Average pace outside: 8:01

PM 

Ran 1 mile in the evening with Noah, Andy and Sammy.  Trying to get the kids to run 3 days a week. 

This morning I did all my miles on the treadmill.  It's not so bad and seems to have helped my recovery quite a bit.   Warmed up and stretched before getting on the treadmill and then started out slowly.  Played with the speed a little bit here and there, but overall it was kept at a slower pace.  6 miles in 51:30.

I finally took my bike to a repair shop today.  I've been meaning to do this for a while.  This way I could either bike to the Y or just bike around the neighborhood for my running warm up.  It's much nicer when you can just start your run from the front door of your house.  Jenny has been making an extra effort to reduce the number of miles that she drives and has been doing a great job partly by using her bike more.  I feel kind of silly driving my truck 3.5 miles each way so I can go for a run.

Pretty good run from home this morning.  I did one loop around the neighborhood first on my wife's bike (mine is not fixed yet) for a warm up, then I did some stretching.  Started my run nice and easy with a 9:30 for the first mile.  Ran down the old road to Trinity Blvd, then into Thousand Oaks neighborhood with a loop through there, back across Little Road, then through the other Thousand Oaks neighborhood, back onto Trinity blvd and then home.  Kept the pace pretty consistently around 8:30.

Average pace: 8:41

I'm going to get another massage today, the last one was a huge help. 

This morning's run was great, I loved it.  This is as close to back to normal as I have felt in some time.  I woke up early and made it to Starkey park exactly at 6:30 by the time I pulled into the parking lot.  I had called Eudair the night before to see if she wanted to run but she wasn't home so I left a message on her machine.  

I also remembered to bring bug spray as I hate the large buzzing insects that fly around me usually the first 1 or 2 miles.  The weather was actually pretty nice at first, about 71 degrees and slightly foggy.  Starting out didn't hurt but I took it slow and easy.  At about 5 miles I saw Eudair.  She had gotten to the trail about 10 minutes before me.  She was going slow hoping I would catch up.  We went to the end of the Starkey park trail where it tees to the Suncoast trail and we turned back.  Now, it was getting hot, but fortunately the sun was at our backs.  We picked the pace up slightly and did 3 miles at about a 7:50 pace.  It was nice to run with someone else for a change.

Average pace: 8:27 

So, overall, the run went pretty well and I think I'm where I had hoped to be at this point in my recovery/training.  Just one week till the marathon!

I went to the Y so I could do some treadmill miles and then run a little bit outside. First, I warmed up on the bike for 10 minutes then stretched for a bit. I got on the treadmill, starting out slowly at first although maybe slightly faster than on previous days. Felt pretty good. Did 4.25 miles - probably around 8:40 pace average but I'm not entirely sure.

It was a very nice morning today with temps in the mid 60's, finally a nice reprieve from the warm and humid air. Did 3.5 miles at an 8:06 pace.

I got home just after 8:30 (I was supposed to be home between 8:00 and 8:30, sorry Jenny) so that Jenny could bike to the Y with Jodi.

The boys and I headed out for a 1 mile run, about an 11:30 pace overall but with a nice pickup the last 0.2 miles.

Counting down the days now before the marathon.  Went to the Y this morning, warm up, stretch, treadmill.   Got onto one treadmill and it stopped abruptly at 0.45 miles with "Err6" on the screen, so I got onto the one next to it.  Stayed on that one for 4.6 miles.  I had wanted to run outside as it was another very nice morning (about 63º) but I noticed there was nothing on my wrist - no Garmin or watch.   So, it was decided for me that I would run without a watch.

I did the same 3.5 mile loop I did the day before.  I did look at the clock when I left and when I returned but didn't know any of the paces while I was running.  Did the 3.5 miles in 28 minutes (8:00 pace). 

Rest day.  Bike around the neighborhood loop then spent about half an hour stretching.

I ran on the treadmill at the Y this morning.  First, warmed up on the bike for ten minutes and then did some stretching.  Got onto the treadmill, starting out slow.  Slow is getting a little bit faster each time and I need to do slow for a little bit less time.   I had just started to get into a good rhythm about 0.5 miles into the run when I saw one of my shoes was coming untied.  I stopped the treadmill, retied it, but was not fast enough to get going without losing the data, so I started it again.   Stayed on for 6 miles, averaging right at an 8:00 pace, with a little bit faster here and there, followed by slower.   The faster speeds of course felt faster but didn't feel that bad.

When I got home, it was still nice outside, but the nice quickly turns warm by about 9:00 so I agreed to take the kids to school so Jenny could start her run at 8:30.  I biked the kids to school and then came back, then left for work.  Besides being a small activity with the kids its also a good post run cool down. 

One last run before the marathon. It was good get my self acclimated especially after the cross country flight. I ran from my brother's house down to the beach. It was a nice run through town and then onto a beach side path, although there were lots of lights, but I wasn't going for speed, just stretching out my legs. Returned back the same way, it was more uphill than I thought it would be but didn't feel too tough. I checked the elevation at my brother's house - about 280 feet. That was good news because I knew that I would have a similar climb spread out over 4 miles at the marathon and I had just done it spread over 2.5 it it wasn't all that bad. Obviously I don't get much practice on any type of uphill so this was a good confidence booster.

Average pace: 9:07

It was a pretty good month considering the slow start with the injury.  I somehow managed 193 miles and still got better.  Lots of easy miles, some of them on the treadmill,  some help from Joe, my PT, and 3 massages over 3 weeks.