Posted on Monday, January 28, 2008 by moorereason
I set out to do an easy, 3-mile run today, but I got off track after the first mile. It all started when I took a walk break on mile #2. The argument that raged in my head was that I need to pick up the pace for a little bit to make up the lost time from my walk break. My arrogance always assumes that I am in better shape than I am, so I ended up breaking my “distance over speed” rule. In turn, my Achilles started hurting toward the end of mile #2, so I had to quit prematurely. It’s been almost two hours since my run, and my Achilles is still pretty sensitive. Hopefully, it’ll be ready for an real easy run on Wednesday. I’m going to try to stop checking my stopwatch during my runs for a while run.
If you feel inclined to do so, shoot up an arrow prayer for God to help me beat back my pride and impatience (and not just in running but in everything).
Stats: 2mi in 20:08 @ 10:04 pace
Filed under: Injuries, Runs | Leave a comment »
Posted on Saturday, January 26, 2008 by moorereason
I decided to venture over to Red Bud Park here in Abilene today to get in my run. Red Bud is a popular place for hosting 5K and 10K runs here in Abilene. I’d been to the park before, but not since I started running. It’s like I didn’t even notice that there were running paths at the park. Anyway, it was my first time to be there and I was checking out everything. They have a nice 1-mile asphalt loop with a little 0.1-mile alternate hook you can take to get your extra tenth of a mile for the 5K. I had planned on just running as long as I could, but when I noticed the 0.1 loop, I decided to get a PR in the 5K.
I started my run about 10:45 and noticed that the Abilene Runners Club still had their sign and water/gatorade station out. They do a run every Saturday at 7:00am — way too early for me. I was a little surprised that a few of them were still running. I wanted to stop and chat with them before they left but I had a PR going! They left before I was done with my 5k, but I’m sure I’ll get another chance to meet some folks. I’m contemplating making this a weekly thing. The park has a nice playground area inside the loop for my boys. I think I could bring the whole family out and get my run in while they play. Brilliant!
PS – I updated my Goals page to reflect the new PR. My next goal for the 5k is 25:00, which is a hair over an 8-minute pace. I’ll get there soon enough.
PPS – I forgot to mention on my last post that I had to tighten the chest strap on my Polar RS100 heart rate monitor. It was getting loose! Loose, I tell you! Woohoo!
Stats: 5k in 26:38 @ 8:36 pace
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Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2008 by moorereason
I’ve two good reports today: I put in a “long” run and got a chance to catch Spirit of the Marathon.
The movie was great. I originally heard about it on Joe’s main blog and then noticed on the Abilene Runners Club site several days ago that there would be a showing of the movie at one of our local theaters. I’m not big on buying a lot of movies. I normally only buy what I consider to be significantly important movies (Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, Mr. Bean). I left the theater tonight thinking I need to buy this movie when it comes out on DVD. It was that good. The thing is…I can’t tell if I liked it so much because I can relate to it as a runner (and I use the term loosely) or if it would be compelling and inspirational to just and ole’ couch-sitting Joe off the street. Anyway, if you missed it, you missed it.
Now, on to today’s run. I ran immediately after work so I’d have time to shower and get the movie. It was about 34° with sleet off and on. I had intended to run 3 miles, but I was feeling pretty good, so I pushed on for one more mile. I finished in 42:17 with a 10:35 pace. That’s slower than I would like, but I’m wanting to focus on getting my miles up. Everything I’ve read recently is pointing me to working on distance first, then pace. Since I took off 4 weeks during the holidays and have been very irregular this month, I’ve conceded the fact that I should train like a beginner again and slowly build up my distance. Once my endurance is back up to par, I’ll start working on my speed.
Stats: 4mi in 42:17 @ 10:35 pace
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Posted on Monday, January 21, 2008 by moorereason
We are off work today to commemorate MLK Day, so I had an opportunity to run while the sun was up. The run went “so-so.” The first mile was okay, but I was running at a faster pace than I probably should have. It’s hard to pace myself sometimes, and I outrun my endurance early. The second mile was tough, and I added a little wrinkle to the run that made my legs tire quickly. I’m about halfway through reading “Runner’s World Guide To Injury Prevention,” and they warn against constantly running on streets with a lot of camber, which I do. So, I decided to run on the wrong side of the street were the camber goes the opposite direction. It didn’t long for my lower legs to start feeling the heat.
This camber thing presents a bit of a problem. I always try to run on the correct side of the street, and the only place I run is in my neighborhood where most of the streets have a pretty big camber (our roads double as drainage systems around here). Most of Abilene is void of sidewalks as well (although I think the city is contemplating making them mandatory on new construction sites…but that makes the builders mad). I do try to run as close to the center of the street as possible, but I have to keep a sharp eye on what’s happening behind me, which tends to be more of annoying than just running on the camber.
Speaking of new construction, I noticed that the power company installed street lights on the newest street on my route. I’ll miss the stars being so clear, but now I can finally run that leg of my route without worrying about plowing over something. Good Day Low-Pressure-Sodium-Lamp Shine!
Stats: 2mi in 18:56 @ 9:28
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Posted on Friday, January 18, 2008 by moorereason
I haven’t been on a run since Monday. On Tuesday, our 2-year old son started running a fever. On Wednesday, we found out he has Influenza Type-B. Type-B?! You mean there’s different types?? Apparently so. Type-B is not as bad or as common as Type-A, but the flu shots everybody gets is meant to ward of Type-A. So, it feels like we’re one of those virus carriers you’d see in 24 (stinkin’ writers strike!). Maybe I need some new running gear:
I’ve stayed home with him since Wednesday, and my wife and I started taking Tamiflu yesterday. I’ve felt “weird” since Wednesday, so I’ve opted not to go out in the cold weather (that’s right, Topher…it was 23° this morning…is that better?). It may be a few more days before I go running again, since we’ve basically quarantined ourselves in the house for a while. What makes this a little more annoying that it would otherwise be is that I had a great run on Monday. I’m hoping I can get back to running soon so I don’t have to go through another one of the “rebuilding” weeks — those are brutal.
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Posted on Monday, January 14, 2008 by moorereason
Joe Thorn had a post a few days ago describing how it took him a few runs to rebound from a 2-week break in his running. I think I made a similar turn today. I took a 4-week break during December and then put in a difficult, 3-run week last week. Last week’s runs felt like it would take me weeks to get back in shape, but today I put in 2 miles at a 8:31 pace! That’s my best pace yet!!
I mainly stayed on my toes for about 1.5 miles into the run. At that point I started getting a little winded, but I fought to keep my heels from hitting the pavement too hard (thinking that may be causing some of my occasional arch pain). If I had pushed a little harder, I may have been able to post an 8-minute mile, which finally has me excited about running this year. I did a few things differently today:
- I took my MP3 player (which I’ve done before) but I listed to the FM radio this time. It was a nice change of pace from my previous two modes: sermons or silence. I often forget that my little Sansa m250 has an FM tuner on it. Just for fun I tried my best to rub that fact into my wife’s face since she has a Nano (I have to take what comes to me in the the little MP3-Player Duel. I’ve mainly been getting my tail kicked on that one).
- I took my Polar but didn’t look at the time until I was done. I normally check my pace every quarter mile or so, but today I just focused on running. It was nice to just run and push myself without over-thinking my pace. I’ll have to do this more often.
I forgot to mention that I picked up some new gear last week. Target had some good deals on their Champion C9 running gear, so I got a long-sleeve base layer and a long-sleeve outer layer. I don’t know how visible it is, but the outer layer has some reflective strips built into it. With those two pieces and another short-sleeve C9 shirt as the middle layer, I was still freezing for the first mile in 53° temperatures, which bring to a question: Do any of you guys wear gloves? If so, what do you do? If not, why not? My hands are always freezing when it gets below 60°, so I’m curious about how other people deal with that.
Stats: 2mi in 17:02 @ 8:31 pace
Filed under: Gear I Use, Runs | 9 Comments »
Posted on Friday, January 11, 2008 by moorereason
I hadn’t going running with Piper in quite some time, so I thought I’d find a recent sermon of his and run until he was done. I loaded up his December 30th sermon entitled “Pray Like This: Hallowed Be Your Name” and took off running. It didn’t take long until my run was in jeopardy. I often describe Piper’s preaching as “hitting me between the eyes,” but it seemed like it was jab after jab after jab today — he was pummeling me! So, I soon forgot about running and starting taking walk breaks to pray and contemplate what Piper was saying. I ended up going for 4 miles, but my time took a beating. I finished at an 11:01 pace, but I really enjoyed the run. Today it as more renewing-the-mind than renewing-the-body, but there was some body renewing going on.
Stats: 4mi in 44:01 @ 11:01 pace
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Posted on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 by moorereason
Well, not that cold. It was 57° tonight — down from 72° on Monday. And can I just say: I don’t like it. I like it when it’s over about 68° — that’s the threshold. When it’s below 68°, I have to talk myself into going outside to run. I’m looking forward to spring.
Anyway, the run went pretty well. The first mile was a good steady pace. Mile 2 saw my foot start cramping up (or whatever it’s doing) like it has in the past. The foot pain caused me to walk some, which put me in jeopardy of going over the 10-minute mark. So, the last quarter mile I decided to kick it up a notch and run faster, up on my toes. Surprisingly, my foot didn’t hurt while running faster. So, I’m wondering (again) if it has to do with my arch. Which reminds me…one sec… Okay, I’m back. I just ordered Runner’s World Guide to Injury Prevention from the Amazon Marketplace for $5.49 (I also learned was a publisher’s remainder mark is). Pretty good deal. Brandon recommend that book a several weeks ago, and I finally realized that I probably need it.
Anyway, the run ended up being good. My foot isn’t bothering me after the run. I’ll see what the book has to say about it once it comes in.
Stats: 2mi in 19:04 @ 9:32 pace
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Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 by moorereason
I was unusually tired after work today and probably would have wussed out, but the warm temperatures (72°) with a cold front supposed to hit tonight helped convince me to run. The run started out pretty good with about a 9 minute pace, but the second mile wound up being pretty difficult. The first mile was a 9:06 pace and the second was 9:56 — mainly because I took some walk breaks. I did have a long day at work today, but I think the overriding factor in my fatigue was the fact that this is only my second run after a month layoff.
Here are some lessons I’ve learned over the past few weeks:
- Taking breaks ends up being harder than just consistently running.
- Committing to a race in the near future is a great motivator for me.
I think #2 will help keep #1 in check, so I’m going to look for some kind of race in the near future.
Stats: 2mi in 19:02 @ 9:31 pace
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