Total Distance So Far: 300.0 miles
Tuesday this week, we had the "send-off" party for the Portland Marathon by the TNT group. It was a potluck where we picked up our race-day jerseys, tickets to the spaghetti feed before the marathon, and victory party tickets for after the marathon. Coach Joe went over a number of things here... around what to expect of race day.
Some of the items of interest he discussed:
* go to the marathon expo and peruse (where we'll be picking up our official marathon packets, numbers, and timing chips). You can find cheap layering-clothes there for like $5 that would be good to wear before, or atleast at the beginning of the race while you're still cold. It's a long wait before the race begins, just standing around. The idea is to shed these clothes either at the beginning, or at the first aid station. The Portland Marathon will be collecting discarded clothes and donating it all to a non-profit charity like goodwill or something, so it won't end up in a landfill.
* it was suggested to wake up 2 hours early and get a good breakfast in you on race day. A good 4 hours atleast before you step off.
* on the week leading up to event day, try to get more sleep and drink more water than normal. Pretty much no one can sleep well on the night-before the marathon, so if you have a lot of sleep prior to that, you should still be in good shape. And, preparing your body for good-race-day hydration starts several days prior. Your body will already be "storing" most of the water it'll want to use on race day, and you will only absorb a small amount from the stuff you drink during the race. Better to have stored-up water.
* at the finish line, resist the urge to look at your watch as you cross it. There is a professional photographer there waiting to capture your photo, and it's amazing the number of these photos are ruined because the runner is looking down checking his or her time, and you can't see their face. Keep your head up, enjoy crossing the finish line, and strike an inspirational pose for the camera!
* After the marathon, DO NOT CURL UP INTO A BALL AND GO TO SLEEP. The previous marathon runners were stressing this. It is very important to stay awake and stay active afterwards. Your muscles will hurt a lot less if you force yourself to stay semi-mobile doing things. They said your legs will hurt twice as much if you skip the victory party and just sleep after the race.
That was pretty much most of the advice I walked away with. The potluck was fabulous. I stuffed myself silly. Oh, and Coach Joe asked me about my foot. I told him about the trouble I had on the 12 mile run... and he suggested I skip the 8 miler this weekend. He said better to be healed than anything else. Oh! Really? Skip the 8 miler? huh. I'm still mulling over this option. I feel like I need to stay active... but I'm also (I'll admit) getting a little burned out from training, and I'm ready for the marathon to be over.
I went swimming on Wednesday.
I started out with a more solid plan of what I was going to do, but then I got bored most of the way through the workout, and stopped swimming seriously... and was just playing around on a lap (doing a flip mid-pool) when my calf cramped up on me violently. It took everything I had to straighten my leg out mid-lap, and will my muscles to relax enough to allow me to get to the side. I vowed to drink more water and eat more bananas after that happened prior to the race. I need my muscles to work!!!
Anyway, I think this was my workout... I stopped keeping track after a while...
Warm-up: 400m breaststroke
Laps:
* 100m kickboard (flutter kick)
* 100m wait-for-it
* 250m breaststroke
* 100m crawl
* 300m breaststroke
Total: 1250 meters
Friday, September 28, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
swimming tonight
Total Distance So Far: 298.0 miles
Went lap swimming tonight only for about 35 minutes or so. I pushed myself a little, but didn't swim for very long. Just really got my heart rate up for a little bit.
Here is what I was up to:
* 300m breaststroke
* 6 x 50m crawl
* 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
* 100m paddles
* 100m breaststroke
Total distance: 1100 meters
Went lap swimming tonight only for about 35 minutes or so. I pushed myself a little, but didn't swim for very long. Just really got my heart rate up for a little bit.
Here is what I was up to:
* 300m breaststroke
* 6 x 50m crawl
* 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
* 100m paddles
* 100m breaststroke
Total distance: 1100 meters
my foot hurts
Total Distance So Far: 296.0 miles
Group run again on Saturday. We're tapering now, so the distance was supposed to be 12 miles for the Portland Marathon group. My foot has been sore since the 20 miler. Worse initially, but slowly getting less painful. Still, I was feeling it Saturday morning before we stepped off for the run.
This pain is not where my plantar fasciitis is located, but rather along the left side of my left foot (not on the bottom of my foot). Sometimes it feels like a cramp, sometimes it feels like sore ligaments or something, sometimes it hurts like my foot has a hairline fracture... but I do know: it doesn't hurt when I'm not moving my foot or standing on it, and it doesn't hurt when I swim.
On Saturday morning, I decided to just try running on it; See if the pain went away as it warmed up. It kinda sorta started feeling better after 1 mile. But then at around 3 miles it cramped up on me so that I had to walk for a while. Once that sensation went away, I tried running again. Val accompanied me as I ran/walk past the halfway point (where it painfully cramped up on me again). Finally I decided what I was experiencing was lame, and I should stop. Luckily I was able to get the message (via bicycle) to Karl, who came to get me in his car. That was sweet. I called it a day at 7.5 miles.
When I first told Karl I was having trouble with my foot (around 4 miles) he seemed to indicate that I should tough it out. When he rescued me at 7.5 miles he apologized and said the better advice was to avoid injurring yourself further. We are tapering right now, which means the purpose of the next couple of weeks is to recover from that 20 mile run, and heal, and be ready on Oct 7 to face 26.2 miles.
Hopefully I didn't hurt myself too bad. My foot still hurts, but I'd like to imagine it hurts less every day. I'll go lap swimming tonight, and probably also on Wednesday and Thursday evenings this week. Keep my activity level up and my impact on my foot down.
MARATHON IS IN LESS THAN 2 WEEKS!!!! AHHH!
Group run again on Saturday. We're tapering now, so the distance was supposed to be 12 miles for the Portland Marathon group. My foot has been sore since the 20 miler. Worse initially, but slowly getting less painful. Still, I was feeling it Saturday morning before we stepped off for the run.
This pain is not where my plantar fasciitis is located, but rather along the left side of my left foot (not on the bottom of my foot). Sometimes it feels like a cramp, sometimes it feels like sore ligaments or something, sometimes it hurts like my foot has a hairline fracture... but I do know: it doesn't hurt when I'm not moving my foot or standing on it, and it doesn't hurt when I swim.
On Saturday morning, I decided to just try running on it; See if the pain went away as it warmed up. It kinda sorta started feeling better after 1 mile. But then at around 3 miles it cramped up on me so that I had to walk for a while. Once that sensation went away, I tried running again. Val accompanied me as I ran/walk past the halfway point (where it painfully cramped up on me again). Finally I decided what I was experiencing was lame, and I should stop. Luckily I was able to get the message (via bicycle) to Karl, who came to get me in his car. That was sweet. I called it a day at 7.5 miles.
When I first told Karl I was having trouble with my foot (around 4 miles) he seemed to indicate that I should tough it out. When he rescued me at 7.5 miles he apologized and said the better advice was to avoid injurring yourself further. We are tapering right now, which means the purpose of the next couple of weeks is to recover from that 20 mile run, and heal, and be ready on Oct 7 to face 26.2 miles.
Hopefully I didn't hurt myself too bad. My foot still hurts, but I'd like to imagine it hurts less every day. I'll go lap swimming tonight, and probably also on Wednesday and Thursday evenings this week. Keep my activity level up and my impact on my foot down.
MARATHON IS IN LESS THAN 2 WEEKS!!!! AHHH!
Friday, September 21, 2007
another dip
Total Distance So Far: 288.5 miles
Since I ran really far on Tuesday, and I have our next group run on Saturday, I was only going to exercise one other time mid-week... and that was last night. I opted for lap swimming again. I've been achy since Tuesday's run (duh), so I thought the swim would feel really good, and I was right!
Here was the workout...
Warm-up: 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
Laps:
* 300m breaststroke
* 150m wait-for-it
* 300m breaststroke
* 100m paddles
* 300m breaststroke
* 150m crawl
* 300m breaststroke
Cool-down: 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
Total: 2200m in an hour.
The outside of my left foot is still very sore today, and still makes it hard to walk. I'm really hoping it heals quickly so I can run the 12 miles tomorrow....
Since I ran really far on Tuesday, and I have our next group run on Saturday, I was only going to exercise one other time mid-week... and that was last night. I opted for lap swimming again. I've been achy since Tuesday's run (duh), so I thought the swim would feel really good, and I was right!
Here was the workout...
Warm-up: 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
Laps:
* 300m breaststroke
* 150m wait-for-it
* 300m breaststroke
* 100m paddles
* 300m breaststroke
* 150m crawl
* 300m breaststroke
Cool-down: 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
Total: 2200m in an hour.
The outside of my left foot is still very sore today, and still makes it hard to walk. I'm really hoping it heals quickly so I can run the 12 miles tomorrow....
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
20 mile attempt 2
Total Distance So Far: 283.5 miles
Since I had to get my 20 mile run in by Wednesday if at all, Coach Joe had told me to try again on Tuesday. I was admittedly nervous about this: a solo run, a very long distance solo run. No aid stations, no running partners.
In preparation I used mapmyrun.com and came up with 3 loops that started and ended at my house that added up to 20 miles. I got my coworker/friend Paul to agree to come get me if I needed help, and he had the courses I was planning on running, and the approx times I thought I would be done with each. The weather forecast was cold and wet. I wasn't looking forward to that aspect, but I was prepared for it.
Tuesday morning, bright and early, I layered on the clothes: 1 pair of Hind running capris, my TNT training jersey covered by a long sleeve exercise top, my windwall vest covering this for heat retention, and ontop of everything else my motorcycling reflective vest so motorists can see me better.
I had all my gear: cap on my noggin, ipod, Garmin on my wrist, slathered on sunscreen (just incase), snacks in my pocket, cellphone & $20 bill in my arm wallet for emergencies, and my waterbottle in my hand. I was ready.
I set out just as the sun was rising.
My first out and back was a 9.07 mile (total) route north of my house. I was attempting to run the Discovery Trail, an area I'd never been to before. I had found an access point onto the trail that was less than 2 miles from my house, so that's what I was headed for. To get there I had to pass a Hospital, cross over I-5 into a nice residential area, and then cross a busy commuting intersection that was controlled by stop signs (that makes it easier for a runner, let me tell you!). Once past that intersection it was a half block onto the Discovery Trail in Leverich Park. Wow, what a neat route!
Leverich Park is a nice rolling green space with a creek running through it (burnt bridge creek). It had picnic tables, picnic shelters, a beautiful rock-masonry BBQ pit, big open grassy areas, large old trees covering it, and I swear I saw a baseball field up on a hill. It is a pretty and well-maintained park! The Discovery Trail just skirted along the park on the north side. Here is a link to the PDF trail map of the Discovery Trail section that I ran.
Once you go over I-5 on the dedicated pedestrian bridge, you cross into a pretty greenway area, and it's easy to forget you're in the middle of the city!
According to the blurb on the trail map, "This shared-use hard surface trail offers excellent opportunites for walking, biking, jogging, commuting, and viewing the Burnt Bridge Creek Greenway. It meanders east along the creek through thick forests and grass bottomlands, and crosses over two bridges to end at Hazel Dell Ave."
It was simply a lovely run, even at 7am. As I approached NW Fruit Valley Rd I passed about half a dozen dog walkers. Even tho I could see my breath fogging in front of me, I was really happy on this part of my run. Also, fall was in the air, and there were some newly fallen leaves covering the trail in parts. That really added to the charm of this place. Oh, I should mention that I got lost. I missed the trail on NW Hazel Dell Ave (it's up the street maybe a quarter mile from where you find yourself on the street), so I kept going... up this big ol' hill probably an additional quarter mile before it occurred to me that the elevation chart from mapmyrun.com didn't include a spike in elevation at this point in the run. I must have missed the trail somewhere at the bottom of the steep hill! I turned around and backtracked down the hill till I found the innocuous unmarked trail. Ugh.
On the way back to my house I found the Evergreen Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. It was in a humble little brick house. This really isn't relevant to anything, I just thought I'd mention it.
I found myself back at my house at about 9am. With the extra 1/2 mile "mistake" I made I had gone about 9.5 miles at this point.
I refilled my water bottle, took off my reflective vest, shoved some gummy bears in my mouth, and headed back out on the next stage of the journey.
This route was an easy 5.65 mile out and back to Vancouver's Waterfront Park on the Columbia River where I ran a stretch of the Waterfront Renaissance Trail.
According to the Parks & Recreation website blurb on this trail, "This 14-foot-wide, shared-use concrete trail is the crowning jewel of Vancouver's Columbia River Waterfront Renaissance, connecting the downtown area to the city's long-neglected shoreline. The trail follows the Columbia River, passing Vancouver Landing, the Captain Vancouver Monument and the plaza dedicated to Ilchee, a Native Indian chief's daughter."
The river was a little breezy, so I was glad I had my vest on. There were also a good deal more walkers on this stretch of my run. On the way out to the river I stopped at the Washington Department of Licensing to use the government building bathrooms. I also stopped to stretch a bit and enjoy some gummy bears at the turn around point on the riverside. On the way back to my house (a slight but constant uphill) my legs were starting to feel the burn (passing the 14 mile point I think). I also ALMOST witnessed a car accident when a silver SUV, altho stopped at a stop sign, thought it was a good idea to try to go directly in front of a red sports car who didn't have a stop sign. Both cars screeched to a halt (as I crossed the street quietly behind the silver SUV) and the two female drivers glared at each other for a moment before the red car moved on and the silver SUV finally was able to cross that intersection.
Around this part of my run I was noticing the SUN trying to break through the heavy cloud cover! GASP! Note, at this point I hadn't felt one raindrop. This is a good thing. I was getting a little hot by the time I got back to my house.
Back home, my legs were really feeling the run. My right calf was trying to cramp up on me so I took a longer stretch break, refilled my water bottle, changed into shorts and a shirt (and the windwall vest), and was ready for the last leg of my journey (even tho I'll admit I was tempted by the lure of just... staying home at this point, hee!).
The last route was a 5 mile loop that wandered past Clark College, Hudson Bay Highschool, Officer's Row (next to Fort Vancouver), up Columbia St to Carter Park, and then back to my house.
I was just dragging myself at this point. I think I was TRYING to go at a 13 minute mile pace, but sometimes I just slowed down to 15-16 minute miles on occasion. My foot that the shot was in was starting to ache on the side, but luckily my knees were both holding up pretty well.
I slogged past the newly renovated Marshall Community Center and Leupke Senior Center. There were construction crews installing the sprinkler system, and newly dusted green stuff on the dirt that will eventually become a lush community center lawn. I noticed a lot of the people I passed gave me a smile as they witnessed me creep past them.
Then I passed Clark College. It's hard to miss the college as it's well labelled.
Across the street from Clark College is Hudson Bay High School. I remember attending a few colorguard events here over a decade ago. It looks pretty much the same now from the street as then. School was in session, but even tho it was around 11am, there were a number of students just arriving to school in cars. I even got cat-called by some students pulling into the parking lot as I dragged myself down the street! I found this amusing considering I most likely was in high school the year they were born.
Finally, I looped around to head back to the downtown area, through Officer's Row.
Again, according to the Parks & Recreation website, "Located just north of Ft. Vancouver National Historic Site. Walk in the footsteps of presidents & generals along this tree-line land of 21 stately turn-of-the-century homes built for officers at Vancouver Barracks. It is the only entire row of officer's preserved historic homes in the nation."
Well, I slogged instead of walked. But I also enjoyed the trees and green lawns. This stretch home was probably the most challenging for me. I had to convince myself to keep going, and noticed when I took walking breaks for the pain, the pain continued. Thus, I might as well keep pushing myself to run as fast as I could manage. There really was no relief from the feeling of having gone this far, the kindest thing I could do for myself was not make it drag on longer than it had to. I DID notice here though that I broke my 18 mile time by about 10 minutes. So, I was doing fairly well all in all.
The last little detour before home on this route was a pass by my neighborhood park, Carter Park.
A slightly less bombastic blurb on the Parks & Recreation website, "This small, 0.7-acre park serves the residents of the Carter Neighborhood with facilities that include play equipment, benches, and picnic tables."
From here it's 1/2 mile to my house. It was good to be home.
Originally I planned a 4th excursion on a small 4 block loop to finish up the 20 miles, but with the mistaken 1/4 mile hill climb, and then the inevitable 1/4 mile descent looking for the trail I missed, I was satisfied that I had gone 20 miles total.
I ended my run with my Garmin showing 4:18:53 as my time. That comes out to 12:57 minute miles. I wouldn't have been able to manage that without the stretching breaks tho, so my time doesn't include any amount of time I wasn't progressing along the course. All in all it looks like it took me nearly 5 hours to run my 20 miles, but none of it was in the rain.
Today, I'm sore. But hey! I think 20 miles are SUPPOSED to hurt. I think it's a law.
A good run. An amazing effort. It's all tapering from here until event day!
Since I had to get my 20 mile run in by Wednesday if at all, Coach Joe had told me to try again on Tuesday. I was admittedly nervous about this: a solo run, a very long distance solo run. No aid stations, no running partners.
In preparation I used mapmyrun.com and came up with 3 loops that started and ended at my house that added up to 20 miles. I got my coworker/friend Paul to agree to come get me if I needed help, and he had the courses I was planning on running, and the approx times I thought I would be done with each. The weather forecast was cold and wet. I wasn't looking forward to that aspect, but I was prepared for it.
Tuesday morning, bright and early, I layered on the clothes: 1 pair of Hind running capris, my TNT training jersey covered by a long sleeve exercise top, my windwall vest covering this for heat retention, and ontop of everything else my motorcycling reflective vest so motorists can see me better.
I had all my gear: cap on my noggin, ipod, Garmin on my wrist, slathered on sunscreen (just incase), snacks in my pocket, cellphone & $20 bill in my arm wallet for emergencies, and my waterbottle in my hand. I was ready.
I set out just as the sun was rising.
My first out and back was a 9.07 mile (total) route north of my house. I was attempting to run the Discovery Trail, an area I'd never been to before. I had found an access point onto the trail that was less than 2 miles from my house, so that's what I was headed for. To get there I had to pass a Hospital, cross over I-5 into a nice residential area, and then cross a busy commuting intersection that was controlled by stop signs (that makes it easier for a runner, let me tell you!). Once past that intersection it was a half block onto the Discovery Trail in Leverich Park. Wow, what a neat route!
Leverich Park is a nice rolling green space with a creek running through it (burnt bridge creek). It had picnic tables, picnic shelters, a beautiful rock-masonry BBQ pit, big open grassy areas, large old trees covering it, and I swear I saw a baseball field up on a hill. It is a pretty and well-maintained park! The Discovery Trail just skirted along the park on the north side. Here is a link to the PDF trail map of the Discovery Trail section that I ran.
Once you go over I-5 on the dedicated pedestrian bridge, you cross into a pretty greenway area, and it's easy to forget you're in the middle of the city!
According to the blurb on the trail map, "This shared-use hard surface trail offers excellent opportunites for walking, biking, jogging, commuting, and viewing the Burnt Bridge Creek Greenway. It meanders east along the creek through thick forests and grass bottomlands, and crosses over two bridges to end at Hazel Dell Ave."
It was simply a lovely run, even at 7am. As I approached NW Fruit Valley Rd I passed about half a dozen dog walkers. Even tho I could see my breath fogging in front of me, I was really happy on this part of my run. Also, fall was in the air, and there were some newly fallen leaves covering the trail in parts. That really added to the charm of this place. Oh, I should mention that I got lost. I missed the trail on NW Hazel Dell Ave (it's up the street maybe a quarter mile from where you find yourself on the street), so I kept going... up this big ol' hill probably an additional quarter mile before it occurred to me that the elevation chart from mapmyrun.com didn't include a spike in elevation at this point in the run. I must have missed the trail somewhere at the bottom of the steep hill! I turned around and backtracked down the hill till I found the innocuous unmarked trail. Ugh.
On the way back to my house I found the Evergreen Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. It was in a humble little brick house. This really isn't relevant to anything, I just thought I'd mention it.
I found myself back at my house at about 9am. With the extra 1/2 mile "mistake" I made I had gone about 9.5 miles at this point.
I refilled my water bottle, took off my reflective vest, shoved some gummy bears in my mouth, and headed back out on the next stage of the journey.
This route was an easy 5.65 mile out and back to Vancouver's Waterfront Park on the Columbia River where I ran a stretch of the Waterfront Renaissance Trail.
According to the Parks & Recreation website blurb on this trail, "This 14-foot-wide, shared-use concrete trail is the crowning jewel of Vancouver's Columbia River Waterfront Renaissance, connecting the downtown area to the city's long-neglected shoreline. The trail follows the Columbia River, passing Vancouver Landing, the Captain Vancouver Monument and the plaza dedicated to Ilchee, a Native Indian chief's daughter."
The river was a little breezy, so I was glad I had my vest on. There were also a good deal more walkers on this stretch of my run. On the way out to the river I stopped at the Washington Department of Licensing to use the government building bathrooms. I also stopped to stretch a bit and enjoy some gummy bears at the turn around point on the riverside. On the way back to my house (a slight but constant uphill) my legs were starting to feel the burn (passing the 14 mile point I think). I also ALMOST witnessed a car accident when a silver SUV, altho stopped at a stop sign, thought it was a good idea to try to go directly in front of a red sports car who didn't have a stop sign. Both cars screeched to a halt (as I crossed the street quietly behind the silver SUV) and the two female drivers glared at each other for a moment before the red car moved on and the silver SUV finally was able to cross that intersection.
Around this part of my run I was noticing the SUN trying to break through the heavy cloud cover! GASP! Note, at this point I hadn't felt one raindrop. This is a good thing. I was getting a little hot by the time I got back to my house.
Back home, my legs were really feeling the run. My right calf was trying to cramp up on me so I took a longer stretch break, refilled my water bottle, changed into shorts and a shirt (and the windwall vest), and was ready for the last leg of my journey (even tho I'll admit I was tempted by the lure of just... staying home at this point, hee!).
The last route was a 5 mile loop that wandered past Clark College, Hudson Bay Highschool, Officer's Row (next to Fort Vancouver), up Columbia St to Carter Park, and then back to my house.
I was just dragging myself at this point. I think I was TRYING to go at a 13 minute mile pace, but sometimes I just slowed down to 15-16 minute miles on occasion. My foot that the shot was in was starting to ache on the side, but luckily my knees were both holding up pretty well.
I slogged past the newly renovated Marshall Community Center and Leupke Senior Center. There were construction crews installing the sprinkler system, and newly dusted green stuff on the dirt that will eventually become a lush community center lawn. I noticed a lot of the people I passed gave me a smile as they witnessed me creep past them.
Then I passed Clark College. It's hard to miss the college as it's well labelled.
Across the street from Clark College is Hudson Bay High School. I remember attending a few colorguard events here over a decade ago. It looks pretty much the same now from the street as then. School was in session, but even tho it was around 11am, there were a number of students just arriving to school in cars. I even got cat-called by some students pulling into the parking lot as I dragged myself down the street! I found this amusing considering I most likely was in high school the year they were born.
Finally, I looped around to head back to the downtown area, through Officer's Row.
Again, according to the Parks & Recreation website, "Located just north of Ft. Vancouver National Historic Site. Walk in the footsteps of presidents & generals along this tree-line land of 21 stately turn-of-the-century homes built for officers at Vancouver Barracks. It is the only entire row of officer's preserved historic homes in the nation."
Well, I slogged instead of walked. But I also enjoyed the trees and green lawns. This stretch home was probably the most challenging for me. I had to convince myself to keep going, and noticed when I took walking breaks for the pain, the pain continued. Thus, I might as well keep pushing myself to run as fast as I could manage. There really was no relief from the feeling of having gone this far, the kindest thing I could do for myself was not make it drag on longer than it had to. I DID notice here though that I broke my 18 mile time by about 10 minutes. So, I was doing fairly well all in all.
The last little detour before home on this route was a pass by my neighborhood park, Carter Park.
A slightly less bombastic blurb on the Parks & Recreation website, "This small, 0.7-acre park serves the residents of the Carter Neighborhood with facilities that include play equipment, benches, and picnic tables."
From here it's 1/2 mile to my house. It was good to be home.
Originally I planned a 4th excursion on a small 4 block loop to finish up the 20 miles, but with the mistaken 1/4 mile hill climb, and then the inevitable 1/4 mile descent looking for the trail I missed, I was satisfied that I had gone 20 miles total.
I ended my run with my Garmin showing 4:18:53 as my time. That comes out to 12:57 minute miles. I wouldn't have been able to manage that without the stretching breaks tho, so my time doesn't include any amount of time I wasn't progressing along the course. All in all it looks like it took me nearly 5 hours to run my 20 miles, but none of it was in the rain.
Today, I'm sore. But hey! I think 20 miles are SUPPOSED to hurt. I think it's a law.
A good run. An amazing effort. It's all tapering from here until event day!
Monday, September 17, 2007
20 mile attempt 1
Total Distance So Far: 263.6 miles
Woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to attempt our one and only 20 mile run. We were going to do it on part of the actual Portland Marathon course too, which was exciting.
Val and I stepped off. Val asked how my foot felt. I told her I wanted to wait a bit before commenting on it. About a mile in tho, I said, yeah. This is nice being able to run for once without constant pain in my foot. REALLY nice. I guess I spoke too soon.
At 2.25 miles I started experiencing little stabbing pains in my heel right about where I had the shot. I stopped running. I encouraged Val to continue with the others instead of running alone (she offered to walk with me back to the start, but that didn't make any sense, plus I was SO CLOSE to the start so it was no big deal to walk it), and I took myself out of the run for the day.
On the 1.7 mile walk back to the start I had 2 more more acute stabbing pain experiences that passed after a couple seconds. The coaches all said I made the right decision to not continue running.
See, my doctor didn't want me running on Saturday. He said it was too soon, and 20 miles was too much. He was adamant, and I told him I'd play it by ear. The coaches just before the run told me that I should really pay attention to how my foot felt for the beginning of the run in particular. So all in all, they were all right. I think my foot wasn't done recovering from the shot just yet.
Once I had taken myself out of the run, I had some breakfast and coffee, then went home and had a little nap, then got up and put my dog in the car, and went back to the meeting point at around 11:30am to pick up Val. She came in all smiles, she had a very strong run. I'm proud of her!
Coach Joe wants me to attempt the 20 miles again on Tuesday morning by myself. I was considering 5 laps on a 4-mile loop from my house, but he suggested doing something a touch more interesting than that so the run is more fun (and not miserable). He also told me Wednesday was the latest I should attempt the 20 miler... any later than that and I'd be hurting my chances for running the marathon successfully. Also, Karl and Joe both told me that since I was able to run the 18 mile run, I SHOULD be ok for the marathon even without this last group run.
Nonetheless, I'd LOVE to have a 20 miler under my belt before attempting 26.2.
So since things went the way they did on Saturday, I went lap swimming on Sunday afternoon.
Same workout as last time:
Warm-up: 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
Workout:
* 300m breaststroke
* 100m wait-for-it
* 300m breaststroke
* 100m paddles
* 300m breaststroke
* 150m crawl
Cool-down: 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
Total: 1850m
After this I was playing around with mapmyrun.com trying to figure out a good course to run on Tuesday morning. I think I have a good candidate. I'll be running with a waterbottle in hand (because no aid stations) and a cell phone in my pocket. My friend Paul knows the routes I intend to run and in what order, so if I get into trouble I'll call him for a pick-up.
Unfortunately, it also looks like it's going to be cold and raining tomorrow morning.
poo.
Woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to attempt our one and only 20 mile run. We were going to do it on part of the actual Portland Marathon course too, which was exciting.
Val and I stepped off. Val asked how my foot felt. I told her I wanted to wait a bit before commenting on it. About a mile in tho, I said, yeah. This is nice being able to run for once without constant pain in my foot. REALLY nice. I guess I spoke too soon.
At 2.25 miles I started experiencing little stabbing pains in my heel right about where I had the shot. I stopped running. I encouraged Val to continue with the others instead of running alone (she offered to walk with me back to the start, but that didn't make any sense, plus I was SO CLOSE to the start so it was no big deal to walk it), and I took myself out of the run for the day.
On the 1.7 mile walk back to the start I had 2 more more acute stabbing pain experiences that passed after a couple seconds. The coaches all said I made the right decision to not continue running.
See, my doctor didn't want me running on Saturday. He said it was too soon, and 20 miles was too much. He was adamant, and I told him I'd play it by ear. The coaches just before the run told me that I should really pay attention to how my foot felt for the beginning of the run in particular. So all in all, they were all right. I think my foot wasn't done recovering from the shot just yet.
Once I had taken myself out of the run, I had some breakfast and coffee, then went home and had a little nap, then got up and put my dog in the car, and went back to the meeting point at around 11:30am to pick up Val. She came in all smiles, she had a very strong run. I'm proud of her!
Coach Joe wants me to attempt the 20 miles again on Tuesday morning by myself. I was considering 5 laps on a 4-mile loop from my house, but he suggested doing something a touch more interesting than that so the run is more fun (and not miserable). He also told me Wednesday was the latest I should attempt the 20 miler... any later than that and I'd be hurting my chances for running the marathon successfully. Also, Karl and Joe both told me that since I was able to run the 18 mile run, I SHOULD be ok for the marathon even without this last group run.
Nonetheless, I'd LOVE to have a 20 miler under my belt before attempting 26.2.
So since things went the way they did on Saturday, I went lap swimming on Sunday afternoon.
Same workout as last time:
Warm-up: 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
Workout:
* 300m breaststroke
* 100m wait-for-it
* 300m breaststroke
* 100m paddles
* 300m breaststroke
* 150m crawl
Cool-down: 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
Total: 1850m
After this I was playing around with mapmyrun.com trying to figure out a good course to run on Tuesday morning. I think I have a good candidate. I'll be running with a waterbottle in hand (because no aid stations) and a cell phone in my pocket. My friend Paul knows the routes I intend to run and in what order, so if I get into trouble I'll call him for a pick-up.
Unfortunately, it also looks like it's going to be cold and raining tomorrow morning.
poo.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
an apple a day...
So, some of you know, I've been dealing with a bout of plantar fasciitis since I began training for the Portland Marathon back at the beginning of summer.
I've tried all sorts of things to make it better, but I decided today to finally take that last drastic measure: I went to the doctor to get a corticosteroid injection.
hehehe, and yes, I photo-documented it. Because I could.
Here is my foot all prepped for the procedure:
Ok, this looks pretty blah and doesn't really tell you much, does it? I took some time to fill in some information so that you have a little more context as to what you are viewing.
There. Does that make more sense now? I whipped out my camera while I was sitting on the exam room table with my foot covered in iodine or whatever (prepped by nurse), waiting for the doctor to come in and give me the injection. There was a mirror on the far side of the room, so I thought I'd capture a little self-portrait while I was at it.
There, on the counter on the other side of the room was the needle the nurse had prepared...
What too small to make heads or tails out of that picture? Ok, I've put together another situational primer to help you see better what you should be noticing.
See, after this the doctor came in and stuck the pointy end into the evil plantar fasciitis bit.
Yeah. It did kinda hurt initially, but since there was a numbing agent mixed in with the corticosteroids, I quickly stopped feeling anything. I was surprised to notice that the doctor had the needle in to my heel almost 2 inches. I only really felt the first inch of it I think.
Sorry, didn't mean to get so graphic. No worries, I didn't photograph the shot.
Anyway, I was surprised it hurt less than I was anticipating. After the shot, the doc cleaned my foot with an alcohol wipe, and then put on the band-aid.
Ta da!
So that was my morning, how was your's?
I've tried all sorts of things to make it better, but I decided today to finally take that last drastic measure: I went to the doctor to get a corticosteroid injection.
hehehe, and yes, I photo-documented it. Because I could.
Here is my foot all prepped for the procedure:
Ok, this looks pretty blah and doesn't really tell you much, does it? I took some time to fill in some information so that you have a little more context as to what you are viewing.
There. Does that make more sense now? I whipped out my camera while I was sitting on the exam room table with my foot covered in iodine or whatever (prepped by nurse), waiting for the doctor to come in and give me the injection. There was a mirror on the far side of the room, so I thought I'd capture a little self-portrait while I was at it.
There, on the counter on the other side of the room was the needle the nurse had prepared...
What too small to make heads or tails out of that picture? Ok, I've put together another situational primer to help you see better what you should be noticing.
See, after this the doctor came in and stuck the pointy end into the evil plantar fasciitis bit.
Yeah. It did kinda hurt initially, but since there was a numbing agent mixed in with the corticosteroids, I quickly stopped feeling anything. I was surprised to notice that the doctor had the needle in to my heel almost 2 inches. I only really felt the first inch of it I think.
Sorry, didn't mean to get so graphic. No worries, I didn't photograph the shot.
Anyway, I was surprised it hurt less than I was anticipating. After the shot, the doc cleaned my foot with an alcohol wipe, and then put on the band-aid.
Ta da!
So that was my morning, how was your's?
Monday, September 10, 2007
swim swim swim swim swim
Total Distance So Far: 256.3 miles
Swimming again. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it actually, when I got home from work I found myself napping on my couch. Luckily the cheap lap session is from 8-9:30pm at night. The price went up starting today tho, a crushing $0.25. Heh, so now it's $2.25 to go swimming there on week nights. Still the cheapest deal in the greater Portland area I believe, and this pool is luckily only 2 minutes drive from my house (timed it today driving home).
Today, unlike last week, I got into the zone. Maybe it was that there were less people in the pool, or the lights were dimmer today, or the mustachioed lifeguard or something... but I was able to just swim, and swim. No worries. This is the way lap swimming should be.
My workout today...
Warm-up: 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
Laps:
* 300m breast stroke
* 100m wait-for-it
* 300m breast stroke
* 100m paddles
* 300m breast stroke
* 150m crawl
Cool-down: 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
Total: 1850m in about an hour... possibly a little less.
A good workout. I'm glad I got off the couch to go swimming tonight.
Swimming again. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it actually, when I got home from work I found myself napping on my couch. Luckily the cheap lap session is from 8-9:30pm at night. The price went up starting today tho, a crushing $0.25. Heh, so now it's $2.25 to go swimming there on week nights. Still the cheapest deal in the greater Portland area I believe, and this pool is luckily only 2 minutes drive from my house (timed it today driving home).
Today, unlike last week, I got into the zone. Maybe it was that there were less people in the pool, or the lights were dimmer today, or the mustachioed lifeguard or something... but I was able to just swim, and swim. No worries. This is the way lap swimming should be.
My workout today...
Warm-up: 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
Laps:
* 300m breast stroke
* 100m wait-for-it
* 300m breast stroke
* 100m paddles
* 300m breast stroke
* 150m crawl
Cool-down: 300m kickboard (flutter kick)
Total: 1850m in about an hour... possibly a little less.
A good workout. I'm glad I got off the couch to go swimming tonight.
smile for the camera!
Total Distance So Far: 251.3 miles
Once again, I took the week off from further training last week following my swim. I was saving my energy for the group run on Saturday. I was pretty sure the group run would go well, but at the same time I was nervous because I hadn't had 3 successful group runs on consecutive weekends since we were running less than 6 miles! This run was a milestone for me, even if it is a distance I've gone twice before and exceeded once.
Our run on Saturday started at OMSI, went over the Steele Bridge and up into NW Portland, or more specifically, up Thurston all the way to Leif Erickson Drive in Forest Park... and then ran 2 miles into Forest Park. Then we simply turned around and went back the way we came.
5 miles to the gate at Leif Erickson Drive, 4 miles in Forest Park, 5 miles back to OMSI = another 14 miler.
Val wanted to attempt to run this 14 miler nonstop, so we gave it a good go. I personally felt like we had a really strong run, but our time came out to... oh 3 hours almost on the dot. Which means we did about the same as the last two 14 mile runs! However, I have to keep in mind that this run went up Thurston.... which is a serious hill. Infact it's probably a bigger hill than anything we'll be seeing on the marathon course, truth be told. The fact that my knee held out for this run was brilliant.
Also, I should mention, to make sure we were being smart, Val and I walked down the steep bits. Our knees just weren't going to be able to cushion our descent if we tried it any faster.
Oh yes, and as an added bonus, I brought my camera along... just to see what it was like to run with it in my hand. Turned out, it wasn't really inconvenient at all. I totally didn't mind carrying it with me! So, for once... I have pictures of this run!!!
Not many mind you, we were just goofing around with the camera cause I had it.
Here is coach Joe addressing the runners before the run (it was really cold at that point in the morning... approx 7am). I believe he was talking on the topic of what to expect from the marathon course, how the aid stations are setup, and more on the fact that food isn't really going to be provided at the aid stations like we had grown accustomed to in our TNT training.
Not being fed is a serious subject.
Oh, also it's about time I've shown you who Val is! Here is an action shot of her running next to me.
Ok ok, here are some better pictures of us... one including Coach Joe even!
Once we were down the Thurston hill and heading back to OMSI, I had to stop for a bit to adjust my ace bandage wrap on my knee... it had been slipping a touch, and I was having trouble getting it back on in the right place with the right amount of constriction.
Here you can see me struggling with it, and then posing for a pic. Val was trying to get a different pic earlier, but then the bandage decided to hold me tight around my ankle and not let go, so I'm actually wrestling the thing in the first photo...
Whew! Isn't it nice when inanimate objects don't outsmart you?
So yeah, only a couple photos, but maybe you'll feel more like you've been on the run with us now!
Once again, I took the week off from further training last week following my swim. I was saving my energy for the group run on Saturday. I was pretty sure the group run would go well, but at the same time I was nervous because I hadn't had 3 successful group runs on consecutive weekends since we were running less than 6 miles! This run was a milestone for me, even if it is a distance I've gone twice before and exceeded once.
Our run on Saturday started at OMSI, went over the Steele Bridge and up into NW Portland, or more specifically, up Thurston all the way to Leif Erickson Drive in Forest Park... and then ran 2 miles into Forest Park. Then we simply turned around and went back the way we came.
5 miles to the gate at Leif Erickson Drive, 4 miles in Forest Park, 5 miles back to OMSI = another 14 miler.
Val wanted to attempt to run this 14 miler nonstop, so we gave it a good go. I personally felt like we had a really strong run, but our time came out to... oh 3 hours almost on the dot. Which means we did about the same as the last two 14 mile runs! However, I have to keep in mind that this run went up Thurston.... which is a serious hill. Infact it's probably a bigger hill than anything we'll be seeing on the marathon course, truth be told. The fact that my knee held out for this run was brilliant.
Also, I should mention, to make sure we were being smart, Val and I walked down the steep bits. Our knees just weren't going to be able to cushion our descent if we tried it any faster.
Oh yes, and as an added bonus, I brought my camera along... just to see what it was like to run with it in my hand. Turned out, it wasn't really inconvenient at all. I totally didn't mind carrying it with me! So, for once... I have pictures of this run!!!
Not many mind you, we were just goofing around with the camera cause I had it.
Here is coach Joe addressing the runners before the run (it was really cold at that point in the morning... approx 7am). I believe he was talking on the topic of what to expect from the marathon course, how the aid stations are setup, and more on the fact that food isn't really going to be provided at the aid stations like we had grown accustomed to in our TNT training.
Not being fed is a serious subject.
Oh, also it's about time I've shown you who Val is! Here is an action shot of her running next to me.
Ok ok, here are some better pictures of us... one including Coach Joe even!
Once we were down the Thurston hill and heading back to OMSI, I had to stop for a bit to adjust my ace bandage wrap on my knee... it had been slipping a touch, and I was having trouble getting it back on in the right place with the right amount of constriction.
Here you can see me struggling with it, and then posing for a pic. Val was trying to get a different pic earlier, but then the bandage decided to hold me tight around my ankle and not let go, so I'm actually wrestling the thing in the first photo...
Whew! Isn't it nice when inanimate objects don't outsmart you?
So yeah, only a couple photos, but maybe you'll feel more like you've been on the run with us now!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
more swimming
Total Distance So Far: 237.3 miles
Eh, I was in the water for 45 minutes, so I'll just add 4 miles to my "running total." I decided to try out a new pool today, the one near my house that offers $2 lap swimming from 8-9:30pm. A good deal!
I'm between soccer sessions right now, so I didn't have anything else going on tonight. Also I opted to not swim last night cause my stomach wasn't feeling too great. I blame the leftover sushi I deemed suitable for dinner.
So, tonight I was in this pool:
It was alright. There were kids playing at one end, other lap swimmers present (impressive for being kinda late at night), and the pool was certainly clean and well lit, and most certainly near my house (less than 5 minutes away by car). It just didn't have to same energy as the other pool did tho. I'm not sure how to describe it... I think I was painfully aware of the laps I was swimming tonight, where in the other pool I've been going to, I kinda lost myself in the pool and just was swimming.
I tend to not like it when I'm aware of the exercise I'm getting. That's why I like soccer. Oh well... I think my body is benefiting from the swimming sessions (or more specifically my bad foot and knee), so I'll keep it up anyway, even if I do find it tedious. Only what? 5 more weeks to go?
Yes... about 4.5 weeks until event day! Oof... this is kinda getting real, isn't it?
Eh, I was in the water for 45 minutes, so I'll just add 4 miles to my "running total." I decided to try out a new pool today, the one near my house that offers $2 lap swimming from 8-9:30pm. A good deal!
I'm between soccer sessions right now, so I didn't have anything else going on tonight. Also I opted to not swim last night cause my stomach wasn't feeling too great. I blame the leftover sushi I deemed suitable for dinner.
So, tonight I was in this pool:
It was alright. There were kids playing at one end, other lap swimmers present (impressive for being kinda late at night), and the pool was certainly clean and well lit, and most certainly near my house (less than 5 minutes away by car). It just didn't have to same energy as the other pool did tho. I'm not sure how to describe it... I think I was painfully aware of the laps I was swimming tonight, where in the other pool I've been going to, I kinda lost myself in the pool and just was swimming.
I tend to not like it when I'm aware of the exercise I'm getting. That's why I like soccer. Oh well... I think my body is benefiting from the swimming sessions (or more specifically my bad foot and knee), so I'll keep it up anyway, even if I do find it tedious. Only what? 5 more weeks to go?
Yes... about 4.5 weeks until event day! Oof... this is kinda getting real, isn't it?
Saturday, September 1, 2007
lovely lake oswego
Total Distance So Far: 233.8 miles
Can you believe it? I've finally succeeded at 2 long group runs on 2 consecutive weekends!!! It's the first time since before my knee started locking up!! This makes me optimistic for event day. Maybe everything I've been doing for the knee/foot issues I've been having is paying off!!
Today's run was out in Lake Oswego. As an added treat, my mom is in town for the weekend, and she is training to walk the Portland Marathon, and I was able to bring her to the TNT group run to walk with the walkers. She was really nervous about the prospect of walking with people who have been training (up till now she's been training on her own out in Eastern Washington, and she had no idea how she was doing compared to how she should be doing). Everyone agreed though, my mom is looking strong. She was averaging faster than a 15 minute mile pace, and she went 20 miles today!!! I think she'll do great on event day.
It was kinda cold when we all convened. Coach Joe was giving us a pep talk about the end of the training, and what to expect as the sun rose behind him in George Rogers Park. What a pretty park, situated pleasantly on the Willamette River just off downtown Lake Oswego.
After the review of the route (the short-hand directions that they gave the runners were very cryptic and difficult to parse), we set off. The first bit was an out and back south of the park along the Willamette River, a 4 mile length. Very pretty! Val and I were practicing the 8 minute run and then a 1 minute walk for this first bit. We continued to take regular walk breaks throughout the rest of our run too, but not as often as during this first bit.
The second bit was through a residential area around the lake (Lake Oswego itself... you know all this time it never occurred to me that the town Lake Oswego was situated on a Lake named Oswego... but it makes alot of sense). This loop (with some additional little loops to up the mileage somewhat) was supposed to be 9 miles back to the park. However, the directions, as I mentioned before, were hard to follow. Several times Val and I questioned where we were supposed to go next, and whether we were hopelessly lost or not. For the most part we were actually correctly on the route, but there was one right turn onto A Street that wasn't marked as a turn. Infact the directions said "straight", so we crossed A Street and went straight. We were on 10th Street at this time... and as we got further in (B Street and 10th, C Street and 10th, etc) I started questioning our decision to go straight so I asked some guy working on his front yard whether we were indeed headed to State Street like we were supposed to be. He said nope. Infact we were going the exact wrong way. oh. He gave us directions back to A Street, insisting that we go his way instead of back track the way we came, so we followed his directions and approached A Street from several blocks further away from State Street than where we were before when we missed the turn... all in all when we got back on the route, according to my Garmin, it was about a 1 mile detour... so our loop around the Lake took Val and I 10 miles... and also allowed a good amount of the faster walkers to pass us. Oof.
While running along A Street toward State Street tho, we came across a large SUV stalled halfway onto the street. There were 2 large guys trying to push it, altho it didn't seem like they were getting anywhere, and a woman behind the wheel turning it in whatever direction the guys told her to. Val and I took one look at eachother, and got infront of the car on the outsides of the guys and helped push. It was mostly uphill, and that SUV was big, so it took a good amount of effort. Finally tho we got the vehicle into the parking lot over the highest bit, and the rest of the parking lot looked downhill or flat, so Val and I decided to continue on our way and leave them to finish taking care of their stalled car. We had about 5 and 1/2 or 6 miles left to go at this point.
The last bit was an out and back along the same course (but supposedly 1/2 mile further up) to round out the last 5 miles... but since Val and I had gained 1 mile through a missed turn, we repeated the first out and back of 4 miles to round out our run.
I was starting to experience noticeably aching knees and feet with about 6 miles left to go in our run... which is about the same distance from the end that my knees and feet started aching last week... so I was able to get 4 miles further this week before my joints started complaining! That was an interesting revelation. They ached so much tho that I was having trouble continuing running, and Val decided to walk with me everytime I declared that I needed yet another walk break. On the final out and back, we walked nearly all of the 2 miles out. At the turn around point I encouraged Val to go ahead and run back if she wanted to, so she took off (mind you, when we turned around I found my mom marching up the hill about 50 feet behind us!). Before she left me, Val encouraged me to try running if the mood struck me, and then took off at a good clip down the hill.
I walked for a little while, and then decided I was bored and wanted the 18 miles over, so I was going to try running again, and took off down the hill after Val, altho I could no longer see her. And, I actually managed to run the entire way back to George Rogers Park at about an 11:30 minute mile! Granted it was mostly downhill, but still it felt good to know I had that in me, even with sore knees and feet.
According to Carl, who was hanging out at the aid station in the parking lot, I was only about 6 minutes behind Val too. She apparently put nearly everything she had left into that 2 mile run back to the parking lot. She hauled butt! heh.
By the time we were done, the sun was high, it was approaching 1pm, and the day CLEARLY was a hot one. My knees were having trouble bending once I stopped running, and Coach Joe urged me to ice them. I am.... right now actually. But hey! I made it! It was a really pretty route too, with beautiful neighborhoods, great water views, challenging hills, and even functioning water fountains along the run! What a charming run today!
My stats from this run:
DISTANCE: 18 miles TIME: 4:04:20 PACE: 13:34 minute miles
Pretty sweet!
Can you believe it? I've finally succeeded at 2 long group runs on 2 consecutive weekends!!! It's the first time since before my knee started locking up!! This makes me optimistic for event day. Maybe everything I've been doing for the knee/foot issues I've been having is paying off!!
Today's run was out in Lake Oswego. As an added treat, my mom is in town for the weekend, and she is training to walk the Portland Marathon, and I was able to bring her to the TNT group run to walk with the walkers. She was really nervous about the prospect of walking with people who have been training (up till now she's been training on her own out in Eastern Washington, and she had no idea how she was doing compared to how she should be doing). Everyone agreed though, my mom is looking strong. She was averaging faster than a 15 minute mile pace, and she went 20 miles today!!! I think she'll do great on event day.
It was kinda cold when we all convened. Coach Joe was giving us a pep talk about the end of the training, and what to expect as the sun rose behind him in George Rogers Park. What a pretty park, situated pleasantly on the Willamette River just off downtown Lake Oswego.
After the review of the route (the short-hand directions that they gave the runners were very cryptic and difficult to parse), we set off. The first bit was an out and back south of the park along the Willamette River, a 4 mile length. Very pretty! Val and I were practicing the 8 minute run and then a 1 minute walk for this first bit. We continued to take regular walk breaks throughout the rest of our run too, but not as often as during this first bit.
The second bit was through a residential area around the lake (Lake Oswego itself... you know all this time it never occurred to me that the town Lake Oswego was situated on a Lake named Oswego... but it makes alot of sense). This loop (with some additional little loops to up the mileage somewhat) was supposed to be 9 miles back to the park. However, the directions, as I mentioned before, were hard to follow. Several times Val and I questioned where we were supposed to go next, and whether we were hopelessly lost or not. For the most part we were actually correctly on the route, but there was one right turn onto A Street that wasn't marked as a turn. Infact the directions said "straight", so we crossed A Street and went straight. We were on 10th Street at this time... and as we got further in (B Street and 10th, C Street and 10th, etc) I started questioning our decision to go straight so I asked some guy working on his front yard whether we were indeed headed to State Street like we were supposed to be. He said nope. Infact we were going the exact wrong way. oh. He gave us directions back to A Street, insisting that we go his way instead of back track the way we came, so we followed his directions and approached A Street from several blocks further away from State Street than where we were before when we missed the turn... all in all when we got back on the route, according to my Garmin, it was about a 1 mile detour... so our loop around the Lake took Val and I 10 miles... and also allowed a good amount of the faster walkers to pass us. Oof.
While running along A Street toward State Street tho, we came across a large SUV stalled halfway onto the street. There were 2 large guys trying to push it, altho it didn't seem like they were getting anywhere, and a woman behind the wheel turning it in whatever direction the guys told her to. Val and I took one look at eachother, and got infront of the car on the outsides of the guys and helped push. It was mostly uphill, and that SUV was big, so it took a good amount of effort. Finally tho we got the vehicle into the parking lot over the highest bit, and the rest of the parking lot looked downhill or flat, so Val and I decided to continue on our way and leave them to finish taking care of their stalled car. We had about 5 and 1/2 or 6 miles left to go at this point.
The last bit was an out and back along the same course (but supposedly 1/2 mile further up) to round out the last 5 miles... but since Val and I had gained 1 mile through a missed turn, we repeated the first out and back of 4 miles to round out our run.
I was starting to experience noticeably aching knees and feet with about 6 miles left to go in our run... which is about the same distance from the end that my knees and feet started aching last week... so I was able to get 4 miles further this week before my joints started complaining! That was an interesting revelation. They ached so much tho that I was having trouble continuing running, and Val decided to walk with me everytime I declared that I needed yet another walk break. On the final out and back, we walked nearly all of the 2 miles out. At the turn around point I encouraged Val to go ahead and run back if she wanted to, so she took off (mind you, when we turned around I found my mom marching up the hill about 50 feet behind us!). Before she left me, Val encouraged me to try running if the mood struck me, and then took off at a good clip down the hill.
I walked for a little while, and then decided I was bored and wanted the 18 miles over, so I was going to try running again, and took off down the hill after Val, altho I could no longer see her. And, I actually managed to run the entire way back to George Rogers Park at about an 11:30 minute mile! Granted it was mostly downhill, but still it felt good to know I had that in me, even with sore knees and feet.
According to Carl, who was hanging out at the aid station in the parking lot, I was only about 6 minutes behind Val too. She apparently put nearly everything she had left into that 2 mile run back to the parking lot. She hauled butt! heh.
By the time we were done, the sun was high, it was approaching 1pm, and the day CLEARLY was a hot one. My knees were having trouble bending once I stopped running, and Coach Joe urged me to ice them. I am.... right now actually. But hey! I made it! It was a really pretty route too, with beautiful neighborhoods, great water views, challenging hills, and even functioning water fountains along the run! What a charming run today!
My stats from this run:
DISTANCE: 18 miles TIME: 4:04:20 PACE: 13:34 minute miles
Pretty sweet!
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