01/24/2010 - 01/30/2010
After last week, I thought maybe it wouldn't be as hard as I thought to clip back into some sort of rhythm of regular running... not so. I still kind of feel deflated and discouraged for the most part, accentuated by a heavy dose of existential ennui relating to my life outside of running. Bah, humbug.
Sunday 01/24: XC Skiing with Peter (~3 hours)
Took advantage of this lull in running motivation to enjoy some other activities. Though, I must say the weather tried its best to make this as un-enjoyable as possible. It was like 15 degrees and overcast, with snow falling intermittently. The other issue is that this place is at 9,000 feet, which pretty much makes exertion harder at all levels. Nonetheless, I was determined to enjoy myself. Did some drills with Peter until I felt more confident on the skate skis to venture farther out onto the trails. Did some nice loops, but with a lot of breaks to catch my breath. It was much more difficult than I remembered.
Monday 01/25: Off, travel. Also insanely sore in all of these strange places.
Tuesday - Wednesday (01/26 - 01/27): Off. No excuse... just useless blobbiness. Meh.
Thursday 01/28: 5.3 miles, 44:09 (8:20 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Remembered that somehow I signed myself up to run Patrician on Saturday, so I figured it would be in my best interests to run a little bit before then, just to make sure my legs still work. Felt fine, but somehow ended up being irate anyways because I figured this should have been faster due to all of the extra rest. Maybe I'm just losing fitness now :(
Friday 01/29: Off, shots. No motivation to do an evening run.
Saturday 01/30: 10 miles, 1:27:47 (8:47 min/mile) Patrician
Fun run with Kamalah (!) who's in town this weekend, Michelle, Susan, Stephanie and Ryan (Keeley, not The Brain). Super super easy except for the Patrician Hills part, where I picked it up a little in a moderately unsuccessful attempt to stay with Susan. Re-grouped at the sketchy hose water, with a short double back to collect Kamalah and we were on our way again. The hills were definitely a shock to the system, but I came out of it alright. Felt like I had energy to burn on the way back to Tech and wanted to tempo it, but dialed it back since no one else seemed amenable to the idea. Nice breakfast at Corner Bakery afterwards!
Week Total: 15.3 miles... mmmm, not so decent... though I feel slightly more motivated to start training again, I think I'm okay on the flats, but sad that I'm so weak on hills now :(
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The rain washes everything away
01/17/2010 - 01/23/2010
This is the week where, against all odds, L foot does not revert back to its injured state. This is also the week where, against all odds, I enjoy running in the torrential downpours. There's something serene and calming yet stormy and alive about this rain. I typically hate the drizzly California light rains, but these downpours--love it.
I also decided that my foot troubles are likely the result of a slight defect in my mechanics. As my L foot (aka the Runty One) is shorter than my left, it doesn't hit the ground in the same way that the R foot does. I've been landing a little bit pigeon toed in an effort to swing it over the extra bit to make it symmetrical with the other one, but as a result the little toes were kind of getting crushed (as evidenced by a lot of new blisters) and I think the third joint bore a lot of the force. I've been making an effort to land in a way that distributes the impact more equally across all toes, and its been fine so far. Fingers crossed.
Sunday 01/17: 5.3 miles, 45:15 (8:32 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Kind of weirded out by the nausea, so took it easy. Foot felt okay, the swelling hasn't returned, so hopefully that's a good indication. Nevertheless, I still felt dizzy and nauseous upon finishing. Haven't felt well in general last week, so maybe I'm sick at a low level.
Monday 01/18: 5.3 miles, 44:31 (8:24 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
I wasn't going to run today, to be cautious, and also due to general malaise... but it was so beautiful after the rains, I decided to hit the Arroyo. Felt amazing, air was fresh, arroyo was ROARING... almost did a faceplant due to the newly eroded trail surface but overall it was an awesome run. Felt much better afterwards than before, no nausea.
Tuesday 01/19: 5.3 miles, 44:43 (8:26 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Inspired by yesterday to run in the foggy morning in a light rain. Felt a little tired, but better towards the end. Still struggling with all of the new rocks. Sprained both ankles, gahhh... the R one actually is in pretty bad shape. Also, crazy blisters! Not sure why.
Wednesday 01/20: 5.3 miles, 43:31 (8:13 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Raining pretty hard. Loving it, feeling good, felt like I was cruising despite the bad footing. Only a slight tweak today on the R ankle. Got to get that under control... at least the ankle sprains are taking my mind off of wondering if my L metatarsal is going to blow up again.
Thursday 01/21: 5.3 miles, 43:05 (8:08 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
A calm morning, didn't get a lot of sleep, but the run was restorative and felt good. Also notably, I finally managed to get through the entire loop without re-spraining an ankle. I guess running 5 miles is restful, because the faster paces are coming a lot easier.
Friday 01/22: Off, shots. Travel to Denver. Since I'm not running every day anymore I didn't have to do a night run when I got there :) ... or maybe :( ... I'm not fully reconciled with how running and I are going to relate going forwards. It seemed prudent to give the L foot a day off though, despite the fact that it's been going strong so far.
Saturday 01/23: 5.2 miles, 44:01 (8:28 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Oooof, this one felt bad, cardiovascularly... like having a plastic bag over your head. Felt crappy, I guess it's been a while since I've been at altitude.
Week Total: 31.7 miles, totally decent post injury re-building
This is the week where, against all odds, L foot does not revert back to its injured state. This is also the week where, against all odds, I enjoy running in the torrential downpours. There's something serene and calming yet stormy and alive about this rain. I typically hate the drizzly California light rains, but these downpours--love it.
I also decided that my foot troubles are likely the result of a slight defect in my mechanics. As my L foot (aka the Runty One) is shorter than my left, it doesn't hit the ground in the same way that the R foot does. I've been landing a little bit pigeon toed in an effort to swing it over the extra bit to make it symmetrical with the other one, but as a result the little toes were kind of getting crushed (as evidenced by a lot of new blisters) and I think the third joint bore a lot of the force. I've been making an effort to land in a way that distributes the impact more equally across all toes, and its been fine so far. Fingers crossed.
Sunday 01/17: 5.3 miles, 45:15 (8:32 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Kind of weirded out by the nausea, so took it easy. Foot felt okay, the swelling hasn't returned, so hopefully that's a good indication. Nevertheless, I still felt dizzy and nauseous upon finishing. Haven't felt well in general last week, so maybe I'm sick at a low level.
Monday 01/18: 5.3 miles, 44:31 (8:24 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
I wasn't going to run today, to be cautious, and also due to general malaise... but it was so beautiful after the rains, I decided to hit the Arroyo. Felt amazing, air was fresh, arroyo was ROARING... almost did a faceplant due to the newly eroded trail surface but overall it was an awesome run. Felt much better afterwards than before, no nausea.
Tuesday 01/19: 5.3 miles, 44:43 (8:26 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Inspired by yesterday to run in the foggy morning in a light rain. Felt a little tired, but better towards the end. Still struggling with all of the new rocks. Sprained both ankles, gahhh... the R one actually is in pretty bad shape. Also, crazy blisters! Not sure why.
Wednesday 01/20: 5.3 miles, 43:31 (8:13 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Raining pretty hard. Loving it, feeling good, felt like I was cruising despite the bad footing. Only a slight tweak today on the R ankle. Got to get that under control... at least the ankle sprains are taking my mind off of wondering if my L metatarsal is going to blow up again.
Thursday 01/21: 5.3 miles, 43:05 (8:08 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
A calm morning, didn't get a lot of sleep, but the run was restorative and felt good. Also notably, I finally managed to get through the entire loop without re-spraining an ankle. I guess running 5 miles is restful, because the faster paces are coming a lot easier.
Friday 01/22: Off, shots. Travel to Denver. Since I'm not running every day anymore I didn't have to do a night run when I got there :) ... or maybe :( ... I'm not fully reconciled with how running and I are going to relate going forwards. It seemed prudent to give the L foot a day off though, despite the fact that it's been going strong so far.
Saturday 01/23: 5.2 miles, 44:01 (8:28 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Oooof, this one felt bad, cardiovascularly... like having a plastic bag over your head. Felt crappy, I guess it's been a while since I've been at altitude.
Week Total: 31.7 miles, totally decent post injury re-building
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
It's Complicated...
01/10/2010 - 01/16/2010
I think I may have just gone from "in a relationship" to "it's complicated" with running... The thing is, I have no idea what the injury is, so it's hard to say for sure. It's not you, its me. Really.
Time will tell, but the theories are swirling, the most obvious issue is a metatarsal stress fracture. Though Morton's neuroma is actually a close second based on symptoms. The numbness and tingling especially creep me out. Least likely, but most desirably, it could just be that I irritated the extensor tendon--my foot felt a little strange starting after I biked a little in Napa, so maybe the cycling shoe irritated it.
The facts: I can not bear weight on the outer edge of my left foot. Area around the third metatarsal is visibly swollen and tender to the touch. Rapid motion or pressure on the bone causes a dull ache.
Sunday 01/10: 3 miles, 27:33 (9:11 min/mile) Arroyo 3 mile Loop
KB's post stress fracture jog with Susan. Nice and easy, L foot is liking the soft ground and the slower pace better, but I can still feel it with every step. It's just not getting better. Felt an unhappy combination of angry and sad. Lolled around afterwards feeling sorry for myself.
Monday - Friday (01/11 - 01/15): Completely Off. Sad. Feels weird not to run, but I can't really focus on the nuances of no longer running every day because I'm really stressed out about the injury. After conducting some tests, I decided there's actually a fair chance it's not a stress fracture (axial compression = no pain --> good sign!).
Monday and Tuesday I went heavy on the strengthening exercises, until I realized that despite a reduction in pain/weird feeling, the swelling just wasn't going down. Opted for complete rest Wednesday through Friday and on Thursday, I finally saw a reduction in swelling. Friday it was basically back to normal.
Saturday 01/16: 5.3 miles, 43:56 (8:17 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Okay, so running immediately after the swelling subsided sounds kind of rash, but here's the rationale: If it's a stress fracture, it will immediately re-inflame, in which case I can start my 6 weeks off right away and not waste time cycling through resting and trying to come back multiple times. If it's NOT a stress fracture, it's probably basically okay and can be controlled with judicious PT and some slight adjustments to my stride.
Run was okay, felt a little bit forced and choppy, but foot didn't bother me. Weird thing is, the moment that I stopped running, I was clobbered by a wave of nausea and light headedness. So much so that I had to sit down and almost thought I was going to barf. Took a while to feel better. I don't think I've lost THAT much fitness in 5 days... maybe I'm getting sick.
Week Total: 8.3 miles... ehhh, at least it wasn't 0?
I think I may have just gone from "in a relationship" to "it's complicated" with running... The thing is, I have no idea what the injury is, so it's hard to say for sure. It's not you, its me. Really.
Time will tell, but the theories are swirling, the most obvious issue is a metatarsal stress fracture. Though Morton's neuroma is actually a close second based on symptoms. The numbness and tingling especially creep me out. Least likely, but most desirably, it could just be that I irritated the extensor tendon--my foot felt a little strange starting after I biked a little in Napa, so maybe the cycling shoe irritated it.
The facts: I can not bear weight on the outer edge of my left foot. Area around the third metatarsal is visibly swollen and tender to the touch. Rapid motion or pressure on the bone causes a dull ache.
Sunday 01/10: 3 miles, 27:33 (9:11 min/mile) Arroyo 3 mile Loop
KB's post stress fracture jog with Susan. Nice and easy, L foot is liking the soft ground and the slower pace better, but I can still feel it with every step. It's just not getting better. Felt an unhappy combination of angry and sad. Lolled around afterwards feeling sorry for myself.
Monday - Friday (01/11 - 01/15): Completely Off. Sad. Feels weird not to run, but I can't really focus on the nuances of no longer running every day because I'm really stressed out about the injury. After conducting some tests, I decided there's actually a fair chance it's not a stress fracture (axial compression = no pain --> good sign!).
Monday and Tuesday I went heavy on the strengthening exercises, until I realized that despite a reduction in pain/weird feeling, the swelling just wasn't going down. Opted for complete rest Wednesday through Friday and on Thursday, I finally saw a reduction in swelling. Friday it was basically back to normal.
Saturday 01/16: 5.3 miles, 43:56 (8:17 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Okay, so running immediately after the swelling subsided sounds kind of rash, but here's the rationale: If it's a stress fracture, it will immediately re-inflame, in which case I can start my 6 weeks off right away and not waste time cycling through resting and trying to come back multiple times. If it's NOT a stress fracture, it's probably basically okay and can be controlled with judicious PT and some slight adjustments to my stride.
Run was okay, felt a little bit forced and choppy, but foot didn't bother me. Weird thing is, the moment that I stopped running, I was clobbered by a wave of nausea and light headedness. So much so that I had to sit down and almost thought I was going to barf. Took a while to feel better. I don't think I've lost THAT much fitness in 5 days... maybe I'm getting sick.
Week Total: 8.3 miles... ehhh, at least it wasn't 0?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
64 and out (Part the Third)
Installment #3 (Contains Weeks 7 - 9)
Day 44 (12/20/2009): 9.3 miles, 1:20:47 (8:41 min/mile) Stables to Rose Bowl Perimeter
Wanted to enjoy some sunshine before I head back to the frigid East Coast for the holidays, so did this somewhat longer run. I felt a little less than fresh today, so just went easy and focused on keeping my upper body relaxed. A little slow, but totally felt good. A nice run.
Day 45 (12/21/2009): 6.8 miles, 1:02:57 (9:15 min/mile) Second Smallest River Loop
Out of the sunshine and into the snow storm. Literally the day after a massive snowfall, nothing is plowed, but no excuses here. Ran in the streets until the River Path after which I went tromping through the unplowed snow. Parts of it were kind of okay and packed down, while other parts you just sank in up to your knees. Felt like I was doing calisthenics a lot of the time, but on the upside the snow is the ultimate soft surface, no complaints there. Phew, a little exhausting but I made it!
Day 46 (12/22/2009): 7.3 miles, 1:05:37 (8:59 min/mile) Eliot Bridge to Western Ave.
Tried to escape the unplowed River Path by taking a longer route to get to a more populated segment. Noooo luck, this part was also unplowed. Running in the snow is hard, but spirits are still high, there's something very internally calming about being out there in the 20 degree weather tromping through snow white landscapes.
Day 47 (12/23/2009): 11.5 miles, 1:38:51 (8:36 min/mile) JFK Street to Harvard Bridge
Finally hit the jackpot of moderately plowed street! Or maybe we runners have spent the past two days packing down the snow to a neat trail like consistency... At any rate, I was so very elated to see such a nice running surface that I ended up going much farther than I had intended. It was especially cold today, I was feeling a bit chilly under my 4 layers, but overall it was pretty awesome! This is my longest run so far both time and distance, but I was so blissed out it went by pretty quick.
Day 48 (12/24/2009): 6.9 miles, 1:00:20 (8:45 min/mile) Fresh Pond Loop from house
Today I wondered why I never want to start my runs, even though I've thoroughly enjoyed every single one here so far. The cold doesn't even bother me at all... but every morning I still go through the same routine, where I dawdle eating breakfast, and have to convince myself to step out the front door. Today I got some extra encouragement to get out there, as the mail man arrived as I was dawdling by the front door, and so I couldn't NOT run after I told him I was about to head out. It was a nice run, took it easy.
Day 49 (12/25/2009): 7.7 miles, 1:07:48 (8:48 min/mile) Eliot Bridge to River Street
Merry Christmas Everyone!!! It was even warm enough to wear my lighter red jacket. I actually felt kind of tired today, like I was dragging my feet a little bit... but received some encouragement from a nice family that I ran past twice.
Day 50 (12/26/2009): 5.3 miles, 47:35 (8:59 min/mile) Smallest River Loop
Bah, its a little warmer, but drizzly and overcast.... not cool. I definitely prefer the crisp piercing cold under bright sunny skies. Fortunately, I've already run 49.5 (!) miles so far this week, so I treated myself to a short jaunt, probably through the last of the deep snow since the drizzle was starting to reduce it to mush. Felt kind of lousy but not too horrible.
Week 7 Musings: This was really an unexpectedly awesome week of running. For starters, I ran almost 55 miles, for the first time in YEARS. The snow was challenging, but overall not a terrible thing... and its presence shielded me from a lot of pounding on the pavement here. I think it also psychologically gave me the mental allowance of slower paces, so every run I did was truly comfortable and fun. In addition, while I didn't always want to get started, there was never a question of whether or not I would run... it felt much more normal and stable than 10 days ago, when there were genuine moments of doubt, where I just wanted to call the whole thing off.
Day 51 (12/27/2009): 6.9 miles, 57:58 (8:24 min/mile) Fresh Pond Loop from house
Feeling better today, but rather overdressed. It was ridiculously warm, which had the unpleasant side effect of exposing quite a bit of mud on the previously frozen trail section. Almost lost a shoe there, but was overall pleased with the run. An hour stroll on the golf course with Dad afterwards.
Day 52 (12/28/2009): 7.7 miles, 1:05:49 (8:33 min/mile) Eliot Bridge to River Street
I'm actually missing the snow a little bit. The pavement is showing through now, and it doesn't quite have that nice soft trail-like feel anymore. Felt not so great in the beginning but better towards the end. Picked it up a bit once it started raining in the last 5 minutes or so.
Day 53 (12/29/2009): 6.9 miles, 1:00:17 (8:44 min/mile) Fresh Pond Loop from house
Wow, wind makes cold disproportionately miserable! I chose the Pond loop because I thought it would be more insulated from the wind than the River path... but not so... I've never seen the pond surface so choppy. It was pretty brutal, especially returning home facing a headwind heading uphill.
Day 54 (12/30/2009): 6.5 miles, 51:33 (7:56 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/San Marino
2 days, 2 hours of sleep and 3 flights later, I am NOT a happy camper... NOT AT ALL. Night run back in Pasadena did not improve my mood, as I was supposed to be driving up to the Bay today. Thought I was cruising off of my hatred of connecting flights and Chicago O'Hare Airport, but came back and realized that I wasn't going as fast as I thought I was and that made me even more irate.
Day 55 (12/31/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:00:54 (8:35 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
I'm still exhausted from my traveling ordeals, but I got up to run in the morning and felt a little bit less downtrodden afterwards. Felt alright, a bit tired but cleared up towards the end. Drove up to the Bay today instead, feeling extremely well traveled in the past few days.
Day 56 (01/01/2010): ~5.5 miles, 45:56 (~8:20 min/mile) Random Golden Gate Park
Happy New Year Everyone!!! Celebrated a traditional Korean New Year with Randie, including stuffing my face with delicious kimchee first thing in the morning. I felt really full and a little queasy as I drove back to Piedmont to meet up with KB to go on her inaugural New Years run. Good times with tour guide Ian Shapiro along trails and paths in Golden Gate Park. Dan Feldman showed up too, it was drizzly but super fun. I felt like we were cruising, and I managed to keep the kimchee in my stomach, so all in all a good time. (FYI, I do not like overestimating mileage, so I have said 5.5 miles though its very possible we were going faster)
Day 57 (01/02/2009): 7 miles, 58:55 (8:25 min/mile) Napa cabin to golf course
Joined by KB on the bike, feeling great. Maybe it's because I got my first good night of sleep in 5 days. Napa is really pretty, but the concrete yesterday and today is bothering my ankles a little bit. I love new terrain, and not knowing what's coming up.
Week 8 Musings: Traveling has been exhausting this week, but overall I'm feeling positive on the running. Me being who I am, I should have known that it would be easier for me to increase mileage rather than pace. I'm feeling good about being able to run longer than 5 miles per day consistently now. I'm looking forwards to doing some more structured training when I get home in a few days.
Day 58 (01/03/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:01:33 (8:40 min/mile) Similar route to yesterday
Did a sweet little bike ride with KB (~25 miles) along absolutely gorgeous roads, then a very similar route to yesterday, except I was just too curious and went to the end of the mysterious dirt road. Saw some neat little trails into the hills but they were fenced off :(. Running kind of felt stilted and awful after cycling, but gradually I got back into the swing of things and finished off feeling not bad. Sprained my ankle on the way home though... arghhh.
Day 59 (01/04/2009): 6 miles, 51:00 (8:34 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Got home late from the Bay yesterday and felt kind of deathly today. Work feels like an extra bummer after a long period of freedom. Couldn't wake up early so went on this night run. I took it real easy but was sort of appalled about how slow it was. Things just didn't feel right today, my stomach hurt and both of my feet were bothering me in weird ways (numbness, tingling, burts of sharp pain).
Day 60 (01/05/2009): 6.2 miles, 49:12 (7:56 min/mile) Huntington/Oak Knoll
Another bad morning and another night run. Malaise continues, but I felt like this run was sort of cathartic. Felt really good starting on the grassy median on Huntington, and picked it up on the hill. I was trying to convince myself that my L foot didn't hurt... and it seemed like the speed helped.
Day 61 (01/06/2009): 6 miles, 49:28 (8:19 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
I'm in a rut... haven't been able to get up in the morning once this week, and work is really getting me down psychologically. Forced myself to run semi-decently today but my L foot is still bothering me, its a combination of weird tingly numbness and a dull ache... in the back of my mind its either a stress fracture or a neuroma, but I just don't want to deal with it yet.
Day 62 (01/07/2009): 8.9 miles, 1:11:37 (8:03 min/mile) Random Pasadena (shortened)
I wanted to do the same route that I did a couple weeks back at night that was so zen and peaceful. I'm desperately trying to settle my mind and my body but its not working. This is the day that I knew it was over... even though I wouldn't stop running for a few more days. The run started out feeling great, I was cruising at a good clip until somewhere along the way my stomach started to hurt horribly and then my R quad started cramping up. It took my R quad seizing up painfully for me to finally realize that I've been favoring my left leg all week. Limped back early up Marengo in significant pain. L foot is not okay... the dull ache is deepening and it's visibly swollen in the proximity of the metatarsal joint.
Day 63 (01/08/2009): 6 miles, 47:50 (8:02 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Last night run after allergy shots. The pavement is really irritating my foot, but I feel like I ran 8 minute miles out of force of habit. I can definitely tell that my gait is altered now, and my right quad still feels bad to remind me of it. I'm still vaguely hoping that I can run on the trails over the weekend and my foot will improve without having to take a day off... but we'll see.
Day 64 (01/09/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:08 (8:42 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Back on the trails, which helped a little bit, but I could still feel my L foot ache a tiny bit with every step. It's less painful and feels more like its just swollen and numb. The rest of me feels lousy too, R quad is still angry at me, which essentially means that both of my sides are out of order. Not looking good.
Week 9 Musings: I'm going to try running tomorrow with KB and Susan, and if that's still bad, I think this is it. The swelling just won't go down in the L foot, and I can feel the dull ache deepen when I do my calf stretches, which I know from my previous stress fracture is a REALLY BAD SIGN. I'm pissed though because I feel like I'm finally within a stone's throw of getting back into shape. 8 minute miles is starting to feel easy, and I did some relatively good runs even limping on one leg. I'm also a bit uneasy not knowing exactly what the problem is, but I know that I need to be mature about healing it, even if it means a premature end to my running streak.
My running streak ended the next day after I realized that my foot still hurt after 3 miles. 64 days it is, 9 weeks and 1 day, I ran 40+ miles each of those 9 weeks, which should, if nothing else give me a solid base to work off of, should my injury clear up in a vaguely timely manner.
Day 44 (12/20/2009): 9.3 miles, 1:20:47 (8:41 min/mile) Stables to Rose Bowl Perimeter
Wanted to enjoy some sunshine before I head back to the frigid East Coast for the holidays, so did this somewhat longer run. I felt a little less than fresh today, so just went easy and focused on keeping my upper body relaxed. A little slow, but totally felt good. A nice run.
Day 45 (12/21/2009): 6.8 miles, 1:02:57 (9:15 min/mile) Second Smallest River Loop
Out of the sunshine and into the snow storm. Literally the day after a massive snowfall, nothing is plowed, but no excuses here. Ran in the streets until the River Path after which I went tromping through the unplowed snow. Parts of it were kind of okay and packed down, while other parts you just sank in up to your knees. Felt like I was doing calisthenics a lot of the time, but on the upside the snow is the ultimate soft surface, no complaints there. Phew, a little exhausting but I made it!
Day 46 (12/22/2009): 7.3 miles, 1:05:37 (8:59 min/mile) Eliot Bridge to Western Ave.
Tried to escape the unplowed River Path by taking a longer route to get to a more populated segment. Noooo luck, this part was also unplowed. Running in the snow is hard, but spirits are still high, there's something very internally calming about being out there in the 20 degree weather tromping through snow white landscapes.
Day 47 (12/23/2009): 11.5 miles, 1:38:51 (8:36 min/mile) JFK Street to Harvard Bridge
Finally hit the jackpot of moderately plowed street! Or maybe we runners have spent the past two days packing down the snow to a neat trail like consistency... At any rate, I was so very elated to see such a nice running surface that I ended up going much farther than I had intended. It was especially cold today, I was feeling a bit chilly under my 4 layers, but overall it was pretty awesome! This is my longest run so far both time and distance, but I was so blissed out it went by pretty quick.
Day 48 (12/24/2009): 6.9 miles, 1:00:20 (8:45 min/mile) Fresh Pond Loop from house
Today I wondered why I never want to start my runs, even though I've thoroughly enjoyed every single one here so far. The cold doesn't even bother me at all... but every morning I still go through the same routine, where I dawdle eating breakfast, and have to convince myself to step out the front door. Today I got some extra encouragement to get out there, as the mail man arrived as I was dawdling by the front door, and so I couldn't NOT run after I told him I was about to head out. It was a nice run, took it easy.
Day 49 (12/25/2009): 7.7 miles, 1:07:48 (8:48 min/mile) Eliot Bridge to River Street
Merry Christmas Everyone!!! It was even warm enough to wear my lighter red jacket. I actually felt kind of tired today, like I was dragging my feet a little bit... but received some encouragement from a nice family that I ran past twice.
Day 50 (12/26/2009): 5.3 miles, 47:35 (8:59 min/mile) Smallest River Loop
Bah, its a little warmer, but drizzly and overcast.... not cool. I definitely prefer the crisp piercing cold under bright sunny skies. Fortunately, I've already run 49.5 (!) miles so far this week, so I treated myself to a short jaunt, probably through the last of the deep snow since the drizzle was starting to reduce it to mush. Felt kind of lousy but not too horrible.
Week 7 Musings: This was really an unexpectedly awesome week of running. For starters, I ran almost 55 miles, for the first time in YEARS. The snow was challenging, but overall not a terrible thing... and its presence shielded me from a lot of pounding on the pavement here. I think it also psychologically gave me the mental allowance of slower paces, so every run I did was truly comfortable and fun. In addition, while I didn't always want to get started, there was never a question of whether or not I would run... it felt much more normal and stable than 10 days ago, when there were genuine moments of doubt, where I just wanted to call the whole thing off.
Day 51 (12/27/2009): 6.9 miles, 57:58 (8:24 min/mile) Fresh Pond Loop from house
Feeling better today, but rather overdressed. It was ridiculously warm, which had the unpleasant side effect of exposing quite a bit of mud on the previously frozen trail section. Almost lost a shoe there, but was overall pleased with the run. An hour stroll on the golf course with Dad afterwards.
Day 52 (12/28/2009): 7.7 miles, 1:05:49 (8:33 min/mile) Eliot Bridge to River Street
I'm actually missing the snow a little bit. The pavement is showing through now, and it doesn't quite have that nice soft trail-like feel anymore. Felt not so great in the beginning but better towards the end. Picked it up a bit once it started raining in the last 5 minutes or so.
Day 53 (12/29/2009): 6.9 miles, 1:00:17 (8:44 min/mile) Fresh Pond Loop from house
Wow, wind makes cold disproportionately miserable! I chose the Pond loop because I thought it would be more insulated from the wind than the River path... but not so... I've never seen the pond surface so choppy. It was pretty brutal, especially returning home facing a headwind heading uphill.
Day 54 (12/30/2009): 6.5 miles, 51:33 (7:56 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/San Marino
2 days, 2 hours of sleep and 3 flights later, I am NOT a happy camper... NOT AT ALL. Night run back in Pasadena did not improve my mood, as I was supposed to be driving up to the Bay today. Thought I was cruising off of my hatred of connecting flights and Chicago O'Hare Airport, but came back and realized that I wasn't going as fast as I thought I was and that made me even more irate.
Day 55 (12/31/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:00:54 (8:35 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
I'm still exhausted from my traveling ordeals, but I got up to run in the morning and felt a little bit less downtrodden afterwards. Felt alright, a bit tired but cleared up towards the end. Drove up to the Bay today instead, feeling extremely well traveled in the past few days.
Day 56 (01/01/2010): ~5.5 miles, 45:56 (~8:20 min/mile) Random Golden Gate Park
Happy New Year Everyone!!! Celebrated a traditional Korean New Year with Randie, including stuffing my face with delicious kimchee first thing in the morning. I felt really full and a little queasy as I drove back to Piedmont to meet up with KB to go on her inaugural New Years run. Good times with tour guide Ian Shapiro along trails and paths in Golden Gate Park. Dan Feldman showed up too, it was drizzly but super fun. I felt like we were cruising, and I managed to keep the kimchee in my stomach, so all in all a good time. (FYI, I do not like overestimating mileage, so I have said 5.5 miles though its very possible we were going faster)
Day 57 (01/02/2009): 7 miles, 58:55 (8:25 min/mile) Napa cabin to golf course
Joined by KB on the bike, feeling great. Maybe it's because I got my first good night of sleep in 5 days. Napa is really pretty, but the concrete yesterday and today is bothering my ankles a little bit. I love new terrain, and not knowing what's coming up.
Week 8 Musings: Traveling has been exhausting this week, but overall I'm feeling positive on the running. Me being who I am, I should have known that it would be easier for me to increase mileage rather than pace. I'm feeling good about being able to run longer than 5 miles per day consistently now. I'm looking forwards to doing some more structured training when I get home in a few days.
Day 58 (01/03/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:01:33 (8:40 min/mile) Similar route to yesterday
Did a sweet little bike ride with KB (~25 miles) along absolutely gorgeous roads, then a very similar route to yesterday, except I was just too curious and went to the end of the mysterious dirt road. Saw some neat little trails into the hills but they were fenced off :(. Running kind of felt stilted and awful after cycling, but gradually I got back into the swing of things and finished off feeling not bad. Sprained my ankle on the way home though... arghhh.
Day 59 (01/04/2009): 6 miles, 51:00 (8:34 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Got home late from the Bay yesterday and felt kind of deathly today. Work feels like an extra bummer after a long period of freedom. Couldn't wake up early so went on this night run. I took it real easy but was sort of appalled about how slow it was. Things just didn't feel right today, my stomach hurt and both of my feet were bothering me in weird ways (numbness, tingling, burts of sharp pain).
Day 60 (01/05/2009): 6.2 miles, 49:12 (7:56 min/mile) Huntington/Oak Knoll
Another bad morning and another night run. Malaise continues, but I felt like this run was sort of cathartic. Felt really good starting on the grassy median on Huntington, and picked it up on the hill. I was trying to convince myself that my L foot didn't hurt... and it seemed like the speed helped.
Day 61 (01/06/2009): 6 miles, 49:28 (8:19 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
I'm in a rut... haven't been able to get up in the morning once this week, and work is really getting me down psychologically. Forced myself to run semi-decently today but my L foot is still bothering me, its a combination of weird tingly numbness and a dull ache... in the back of my mind its either a stress fracture or a neuroma, but I just don't want to deal with it yet.
Day 62 (01/07/2009): 8.9 miles, 1:11:37 (8:03 min/mile) Random Pasadena (shortened)
I wanted to do the same route that I did a couple weeks back at night that was so zen and peaceful. I'm desperately trying to settle my mind and my body but its not working. This is the day that I knew it was over... even though I wouldn't stop running for a few more days. The run started out feeling great, I was cruising at a good clip until somewhere along the way my stomach started to hurt horribly and then my R quad started cramping up. It took my R quad seizing up painfully for me to finally realize that I've been favoring my left leg all week. Limped back early up Marengo in significant pain. L foot is not okay... the dull ache is deepening and it's visibly swollen in the proximity of the metatarsal joint.
Day 63 (01/08/2009): 6 miles, 47:50 (8:02 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Last night run after allergy shots. The pavement is really irritating my foot, but I feel like I ran 8 minute miles out of force of habit. I can definitely tell that my gait is altered now, and my right quad still feels bad to remind me of it. I'm still vaguely hoping that I can run on the trails over the weekend and my foot will improve without having to take a day off... but we'll see.
Day 64 (01/09/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:08 (8:42 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Back on the trails, which helped a little bit, but I could still feel my L foot ache a tiny bit with every step. It's less painful and feels more like its just swollen and numb. The rest of me feels lousy too, R quad is still angry at me, which essentially means that both of my sides are out of order. Not looking good.
Week 9 Musings: I'm going to try running tomorrow with KB and Susan, and if that's still bad, I think this is it. The swelling just won't go down in the L foot, and I can feel the dull ache deepen when I do my calf stretches, which I know from my previous stress fracture is a REALLY BAD SIGN. I'm pissed though because I feel like I'm finally within a stone's throw of getting back into shape. 8 minute miles is starting to feel easy, and I did some relatively good runs even limping on one leg. I'm also a bit uneasy not knowing exactly what the problem is, but I know that I need to be mature about healing it, even if it means a premature end to my running streak.
My running streak ended the next day after I realized that my foot still hurt after 3 miles. 64 days it is, 9 weeks and 1 day, I ran 40+ miles each of those 9 weeks, which should, if nothing else give me a solid base to work off of, should my injury clear up in a vaguely timely manner.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
64 and out (Part the Second)
Installment #2 (Contains Weeks 4 - 6)
Day 23 (11/29/2009): 6.8 miles, 58:06 (8:33 min/mile) Second Smallest River Loop
Lousy and tired continues. Vaguely feeling like how I did on my last day in Colorado. I think part of it is related to a build up of allergies (my family has a long haired cat), towards the end of the week, I just start to feel not so good as a whole. R arch seems mostly healed up now though.
Day 24 (11/30/2009): 6 miles, 46:46 (7:52 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Red eye back to Boston, followed by work, followed by a really nice night run. The red eye was actually surprisingly much more pleasant than from Denver, because you actually get 5 consolidated hours of sleep, even if its crappy airplane sleep. I didn't feel so deathly at work, and felt positively exuberant on my run. Started out easy but naturally picked it up, feeling great! Yay my first sub-8 min/mile run--aerobic fitness feels like its maybe actually within reach now. Also of note: fancied that I saw Chief and Anton running the opposite way on California, but it was dark and I have poor voice recognition.
Day 25 (12/01/2009): 5.3 miles, 47:01 (8:52 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Yikes, I guess I'm feeling that red eye today. Feeling beat, so went super easy... thought I was hoping it would have been a little faster. Sore legs and felt a twinge in the L hipflexor again, gotta keep on top of those PT exercises...
Day 26 (12/02/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:33 (8:36 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
I guess I needed another day to recover. Still feeling lousy, though this time I was bothered to pick it up a little bit at the expense of breathing a little harder than I would have liked. L foot a bit tweaked out, but I've learned that this is fairly easily fixed by taping the metatarsals together for a few days. I would worry about this more, but it always seems to clear itself up pretty quickly.
Day 27 (12/03/2009): 7.1 miles, 59:02 (8:19 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
Finally, a solid day. Cruising at a nice steady pace, feeling pretty good. I'm excited to finally get this run under an hour--I hadn't been seeing improvement over 7 miles really until now, so hopefully that indicates my endurance is improving. R foot was unhappy this time in the beginning, but I've identified the cause of why my feet have been complaining a lot this week: my shoes are getting past the 350 mile mark, and both have significant holes on the outer edges, from which rocks enter and my little toes sometimes protrude.
Day 28 (12/04/2009): 6 miles, 49:54 (8:23 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Super easy in the PM (allergy shots in the morning), proactively avoiding fatigue, since that seems to be an issue for me recently. This was one of those runs where I secretly hoped the pace would be faster than it was, despite the extremely mellow effort. Was disappointed on that account, but did confirm another Chief/Anton sighting. I think Anton secretly likes running more than he may care to admit.
Day 29 (12/05/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:28 (8:23 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Some easy days does a body good. Felt alright, but apparently a little unbalanced today--almost ate it twice. Gah, ran out of time to buy new shoes!
Week 4 Musings: What does this all mean? This week has seen a few minor breakthroughs, good pace/effort ratios on Monday and Saturday, a solid 7 miler on Thursday... but also a fair share of painful slogs. Say 8:30 pace is where I started, I'm having more variance on that than in weeks past. Does that mean I'm becoming more fit, more fatigued... or both? This is going to be a long process, isn't it...
Day 30 (12/06/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:19 (8:33 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
New shoes arrive! They're hot pink! I don't think I'm really fast enough to pull off this look... but here goes. Got a late start, which meant that I ran into some horses in the Arroyo, which is always really annoying bc you have to slow down/stop and hope that you don't get kicked. Also sprained L ankle, gah. Not really feeling it today...
Day 31 (12/07/2009): 6 miles, 46:21 (7:47 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Mmmm, you can really feel the difference new shoes make on the pavement. I'm not liking this new trend of sleeping in on Mondays and running in the evening, but this was a pretty good run. A moderate effort yielded my second sub-8 min/mile run. Improvement is good!
Day 32 (12/08/2009): 6 miles, 48:23 (8:04 min/mile) 2 x Arroyo 3 mile Loop
Terrain a little rough due to the rains yesterday, and got up a little bit late, so there were a lot of dog walkers, but I felt inspired to push it a little bit. Wasn't expecting much due to the 12 hour recovery, but felt pretty good. Effort was definitely higher than yesterday, but it felt controlled, and the second lap came in under 24 minutes, so I was hitting a decent pace by the end.
Day 33 (12/09/2009): 7.8 miles, 1:08:21 (8:46 min/mile) California around RB trail perimeter
Gah, I knew a bad day was coming... having some GI tract issues. Ran in the early afternoon after going to the doctor. It was uncomfortably warm, and I was feeling uncomfortably weak. As I was slogging as quickly as I could to get home on the last little stretch in the Arroyo, a large dog jumped on me, causing me to fall pretty hard. I was already unamused at that point, so I unleashed a tirade on the owner, who didn't appear to speak much English and looked terrified. I felt bad afterwards, but not while my knee and hip hurt while trudging even more unhappily the rest of the way back.
Day 34 (12/10/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:57 (8:29 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Still feeling a little bit low on energy, but no where near as horrible as yesterday. Picked it up a little bit on the second half, was a somewhat decent run. Nothing more to report.
Day 35 (12/11/2009): 6.7 miles, 54:16 (8:06 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Chester
I really didn't want to run today. Felt tired, physically and mentally, so I dragged myself out the door promising myself I'd just do the shortest circuit, but when I got to Allen where I usually turn around, I realized that I felt calm and re-energized. Continued on to the end of Orlando and came around on Chester. Felt really zen and blissed out the rest of the way back. I must have picked up the pace significantly when I started feeling better, because I was surprised to see the pace at the end.
Day 36 (12/12/2009): 6.2 miles, 51:05 (8:14 min/mile) Huntington/Oak Knoll
There was a break in the rain just long enough for me to squeeze this run in. Somehow I really didn't want to run nonetheless. I sat in my car in the parking lot for a while even after the rain started to let up. Went out too hard and felt lousy and tired the majority of the way. Coming uphill on Oak Knoll was especially crappy feeling. I also felt irate because I've done this run so many times, there's just too much data. I can't believe I used to finish this in 46-48 minutes.
Week 5 Musings: I kind of feel this emotional funk coming on.... like running every day is this unstable equilibrium, and I'm just not really in control of what's going on. Part of it too is the unclear trajectory. I guess this week contained 3 good runs, and a few horrible runs. Sort of like last week. If you stand on your head and look just right, maybe there's some improvement? But its still sort of nebulous. Still, I'm over 35 days in now, and it's much better that my head's a little broken than my body. There's still some aches and pains, but I feel like I've got it under control.
Day 37 (12/13/2009): 6 miles, 49:06 (8:15 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Ski date with Peter, Will and Ruby. The timing just didn't work out for me to run before, so I had to run after we got back. Ooof. Got home with no broken bones and my 1.5 ACLs still intact, but quads were a little thrashed. The motion of running felt a little bit unnatural, but honestly this run didn't feel as bad as I expected and the pace was decent all things considered.
Day 38 (12/14/2009): 6.2 miles, 49:55 (8:03 min/mile) Huntington/Oak Knoll
Gah, another morning slept through... but this turned out to be a surprisingly good run. Quads and calves still angry at me from the skiing, but I started out real easy and they loosened up nicely. Started feeling actually very good on the grassy part and picked it up on the hill at the end. Much, much better than two days ago!
Day 39 (12/15/2009): 5.3 miles, 47:24 (8:57 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Maybe all exercise hits you two days afterwards, because today was downright miserable. I felt a little bit foggy from lack of sleep, and just generally weak in the legs. It was really all I could do to stumble through this run and narrowly avoid running my first 9 minute mile since this experiment started.
Day 40 (12/16/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:45 (8:38 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Gahhhhh, still feeling weak and tired. To add to the disgruntlement, I got tripped by ANOTHER dog in the Arroyo. I guess this is what happens when I don't get up early enough. But seriously, curb your friggin dog people!!!
Day 41 (12/17/2009): 10.2 miles, 1:27:15 (8:33 min/mile) Random Pasadena
A truly inspired, calm, relaxing, awesome run at night that started out with a bad day and a desire to just run for a really long time. I didn't really have a plan for this run, but just went where-ever I felt like, and it was great. Started out pretty easy but felt better and picked it up towards the end. Relaxed and easy, despite the fact that this is my longest run in a pretty long time.
Day 42 (12/18/2009): 6 miles, 50:20 (8:28 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
R glut a little bit tight and sore, so went easy, but wasn't intending to go quite so slow. Felt a little bit irate when I got home, but since I did an out of the ordinary run yesterday, I'll let this slide.
Day 43 (12/19/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:01 (8:30 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
R glut better but still a little sore, gave it another day to just take it easy. Focused on really keeping my shoulders relaxed and breathing calm and realized that this helps a LOT when one is tired. Kind of felt like I discovered something completely new... I guess I'm kind of a tense person to begin with.
Week 6 Musings: When I look back on this, there were some pretty (mentally) tough weeks in there, but I really think the turning point for me was that 10 mile run on Thursday. This is when the emotional funk started to dissipate, and the whole "running every day" thing really snapped together for me. I always thought that it would happen when my body was ready, that one day I'd comfortably start churning out 7:30 miles, and then it would all come together, but it was more of a mental shift more than anything else. That was the day that "running" truly felt like it integrated into my daily life, in a primal way like eating and sleeping.
Unfortunately, I would have to stop the experiment before I reached any sort of a physical breakthrough, but the next few weeks of running were some of the most interesting, satisfying and zen training that I've ever done in my life.
Day 23 (11/29/2009): 6.8 miles, 58:06 (8:33 min/mile) Second Smallest River Loop
Lousy and tired continues. Vaguely feeling like how I did on my last day in Colorado. I think part of it is related to a build up of allergies (my family has a long haired cat), towards the end of the week, I just start to feel not so good as a whole. R arch seems mostly healed up now though.
Day 24 (11/30/2009): 6 miles, 46:46 (7:52 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Red eye back to Boston, followed by work, followed by a really nice night run. The red eye was actually surprisingly much more pleasant than from Denver, because you actually get 5 consolidated hours of sleep, even if its crappy airplane sleep. I didn't feel so deathly at work, and felt positively exuberant on my run. Started out easy but naturally picked it up, feeling great! Yay my first sub-8 min/mile run--aerobic fitness feels like its maybe actually within reach now. Also of note: fancied that I saw Chief and Anton running the opposite way on California, but it was dark and I have poor voice recognition.
Day 25 (12/01/2009): 5.3 miles, 47:01 (8:52 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Yikes, I guess I'm feeling that red eye today. Feeling beat, so went super easy... thought I was hoping it would have been a little faster. Sore legs and felt a twinge in the L hipflexor again, gotta keep on top of those PT exercises...
Day 26 (12/02/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:33 (8:36 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
I guess I needed another day to recover. Still feeling lousy, though this time I was bothered to pick it up a little bit at the expense of breathing a little harder than I would have liked. L foot a bit tweaked out, but I've learned that this is fairly easily fixed by taping the metatarsals together for a few days. I would worry about this more, but it always seems to clear itself up pretty quickly.
Day 27 (12/03/2009): 7.1 miles, 59:02 (8:19 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
Finally, a solid day. Cruising at a nice steady pace, feeling pretty good. I'm excited to finally get this run under an hour--I hadn't been seeing improvement over 7 miles really until now, so hopefully that indicates my endurance is improving. R foot was unhappy this time in the beginning, but I've identified the cause of why my feet have been complaining a lot this week: my shoes are getting past the 350 mile mark, and both have significant holes on the outer edges, from which rocks enter and my little toes sometimes protrude.
Day 28 (12/04/2009): 6 miles, 49:54 (8:23 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Super easy in the PM (allergy shots in the morning), proactively avoiding fatigue, since that seems to be an issue for me recently. This was one of those runs where I secretly hoped the pace would be faster than it was, despite the extremely mellow effort. Was disappointed on that account, but did confirm another Chief/Anton sighting. I think Anton secretly likes running more than he may care to admit.
Day 29 (12/05/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:28 (8:23 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Some easy days does a body good. Felt alright, but apparently a little unbalanced today--almost ate it twice. Gah, ran out of time to buy new shoes!
Week 4 Musings: What does this all mean? This week has seen a few minor breakthroughs, good pace/effort ratios on Monday and Saturday, a solid 7 miler on Thursday... but also a fair share of painful slogs. Say 8:30 pace is where I started, I'm having more variance on that than in weeks past. Does that mean I'm becoming more fit, more fatigued... or both? This is going to be a long process, isn't it...
Day 30 (12/06/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:19 (8:33 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
New shoes arrive! They're hot pink! I don't think I'm really fast enough to pull off this look... but here goes. Got a late start, which meant that I ran into some horses in the Arroyo, which is always really annoying bc you have to slow down/stop and hope that you don't get kicked. Also sprained L ankle, gah. Not really feeling it today...
Day 31 (12/07/2009): 6 miles, 46:21 (7:47 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Mmmm, you can really feel the difference new shoes make on the pavement. I'm not liking this new trend of sleeping in on Mondays and running in the evening, but this was a pretty good run. A moderate effort yielded my second sub-8 min/mile run. Improvement is good!
Day 32 (12/08/2009): 6 miles, 48:23 (8:04 min/mile) 2 x Arroyo 3 mile Loop
Terrain a little rough due to the rains yesterday, and got up a little bit late, so there were a lot of dog walkers, but I felt inspired to push it a little bit. Wasn't expecting much due to the 12 hour recovery, but felt pretty good. Effort was definitely higher than yesterday, but it felt controlled, and the second lap came in under 24 minutes, so I was hitting a decent pace by the end.
Day 33 (12/09/2009): 7.8 miles, 1:08:21 (8:46 min/mile) California around RB trail perimeter
Gah, I knew a bad day was coming... having some GI tract issues. Ran in the early afternoon after going to the doctor. It was uncomfortably warm, and I was feeling uncomfortably weak. As I was slogging as quickly as I could to get home on the last little stretch in the Arroyo, a large dog jumped on me, causing me to fall pretty hard. I was already unamused at that point, so I unleashed a tirade on the owner, who didn't appear to speak much English and looked terrified. I felt bad afterwards, but not while my knee and hip hurt while trudging even more unhappily the rest of the way back.
Day 34 (12/10/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:57 (8:29 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Still feeling a little bit low on energy, but no where near as horrible as yesterday. Picked it up a little bit on the second half, was a somewhat decent run. Nothing more to report.
Day 35 (12/11/2009): 6.7 miles, 54:16 (8:06 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Chester
I really didn't want to run today. Felt tired, physically and mentally, so I dragged myself out the door promising myself I'd just do the shortest circuit, but when I got to Allen where I usually turn around, I realized that I felt calm and re-energized. Continued on to the end of Orlando and came around on Chester. Felt really zen and blissed out the rest of the way back. I must have picked up the pace significantly when I started feeling better, because I was surprised to see the pace at the end.
Day 36 (12/12/2009): 6.2 miles, 51:05 (8:14 min/mile) Huntington/Oak Knoll
There was a break in the rain just long enough for me to squeeze this run in. Somehow I really didn't want to run nonetheless. I sat in my car in the parking lot for a while even after the rain started to let up. Went out too hard and felt lousy and tired the majority of the way. Coming uphill on Oak Knoll was especially crappy feeling. I also felt irate because I've done this run so many times, there's just too much data. I can't believe I used to finish this in 46-48 minutes.
Week 5 Musings: I kind of feel this emotional funk coming on.... like running every day is this unstable equilibrium, and I'm just not really in control of what's going on. Part of it too is the unclear trajectory. I guess this week contained 3 good runs, and a few horrible runs. Sort of like last week. If you stand on your head and look just right, maybe there's some improvement? But its still sort of nebulous. Still, I'm over 35 days in now, and it's much better that my head's a little broken than my body. There's still some aches and pains, but I feel like I've got it under control.
Day 37 (12/13/2009): 6 miles, 49:06 (8:15 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Ski date with Peter, Will and Ruby. The timing just didn't work out for me to run before, so I had to run after we got back. Ooof. Got home with no broken bones and my 1.5 ACLs still intact, but quads were a little thrashed. The motion of running felt a little bit unnatural, but honestly this run didn't feel as bad as I expected and the pace was decent all things considered.
Day 38 (12/14/2009): 6.2 miles, 49:55 (8:03 min/mile) Huntington/Oak Knoll
Gah, another morning slept through... but this turned out to be a surprisingly good run. Quads and calves still angry at me from the skiing, but I started out real easy and they loosened up nicely. Started feeling actually very good on the grassy part and picked it up on the hill at the end. Much, much better than two days ago!
Day 39 (12/15/2009): 5.3 miles, 47:24 (8:57 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Maybe all exercise hits you two days afterwards, because today was downright miserable. I felt a little bit foggy from lack of sleep, and just generally weak in the legs. It was really all I could do to stumble through this run and narrowly avoid running my first 9 minute mile since this experiment started.
Day 40 (12/16/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:45 (8:38 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Gahhhhh, still feeling weak and tired. To add to the disgruntlement, I got tripped by ANOTHER dog in the Arroyo. I guess this is what happens when I don't get up early enough. But seriously, curb your friggin dog people!!!
Day 41 (12/17/2009): 10.2 miles, 1:27:15 (8:33 min/mile) Random Pasadena
A truly inspired, calm, relaxing, awesome run at night that started out with a bad day and a desire to just run for a really long time. I didn't really have a plan for this run, but just went where-ever I felt like, and it was great. Started out pretty easy but felt better and picked it up towards the end. Relaxed and easy, despite the fact that this is my longest run in a pretty long time.
Day 42 (12/18/2009): 6 miles, 50:20 (8:28 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
R glut a little bit tight and sore, so went easy, but wasn't intending to go quite so slow. Felt a little bit irate when I got home, but since I did an out of the ordinary run yesterday, I'll let this slide.
Day 43 (12/19/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:01 (8:30 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
R glut better but still a little sore, gave it another day to just take it easy. Focused on really keeping my shoulders relaxed and breathing calm and realized that this helps a LOT when one is tired. Kind of felt like I discovered something completely new... I guess I'm kind of a tense person to begin with.
Week 6 Musings: When I look back on this, there were some pretty (mentally) tough weeks in there, but I really think the turning point for me was that 10 mile run on Thursday. This is when the emotional funk started to dissipate, and the whole "running every day" thing really snapped together for me. I always thought that it would happen when my body was ready, that one day I'd comfortably start churning out 7:30 miles, and then it would all come together, but it was more of a mental shift more than anything else. That was the day that "running" truly felt like it integrated into my daily life, in a primal way like eating and sleeping.
Unfortunately, I would have to stop the experiment before I reached any sort of a physical breakthrough, but the next few weeks of running were some of the most interesting, satisfying and zen training that I've ever done in my life.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
64 and out
Running Streak (11/07/2009 - 01/09/2010) RIP
So, I suppose it is safe to say that it actually MAY be an utterly asinine assertion that there exists a causal relationship between posting my runs on the internet, and acquiring injuries... however, superstitions being somewhat of a placebo effect as it is, I had stubbornly resisted posting my running until, alas, injuries were acquired, albeit without the intervention of the internet.
The rules of the game are simple: Run every day, where "run" is defined as an honest effort of 5 or more miles.
I started because I wanted to reclaim my identity as a runner, I ended because of a strange numbness/swelling in the proximity of my 3rd metatarsal (L foot). It was an awesome experience with a range of emotions attached, some expected, some not. I got a lot out of it, including but not limited to feeling like running was a natural part of my day, and getting to the point where I could modulate the fatigue and enjoy most of my runs. I am injury prone, so I don't know if I'll start another streak, but I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested. For the record, I know multiple people who've run every day for many years... this streak may pale in comparison, but it's the culmination of my personal struggle to overcome the past 3 years of injuries.
64 Days of Running
Day 1 (11/07/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:03 (8:30 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
First day back, and I feel almost as if the 6 weeks of semi-running I've done in the past two months never happened! Mostly reflected in heavy breathing, legs actually feel okay.
Day 2 (11/08/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:43 (8:49 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Exactly the same as yesterday, except slower and legs feeling much more tired. It was also warmer than I'd like bc I ran later in the day than usual. Slogged through.
Day 3 (11/09/2009): 6 miles, 49:46 (8:22 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Pavement is always a lot faster for me, but don't let the improvement in pace deceive you... I'm still feeling like my legs are really weak under me, and the breathing just won't settle down. I'm sort of in that state where my fastest pace and my slowest pace are one and the same.
Day 4 (11/10/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:04 (8:30 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Feeling a little bit better, run time was about the same as Day 1, but the difference was that I started out more conservatively and held up a little bit better coming back. Somehow that made me feel like I'd made some sort of an improvement... even though it doesn't make that much sense.
Day 5 (11/11/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:01:11 (8:37 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
I'm no longer struggling quite as much as the first few days, so naturally, I started feeling somewhat obliged to try a run that was a little bit longer. I hung in there for 7 even though I was feeling a little bit tired and sub-optimally warm. It turned out not as badly as I expected.
Day 6 (11/12/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:55 (8:29 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Good times! This is the first run that's genuinely felt easy. Felt a little groggy at first, but felt progressively better. I'm really glad that the "weak" feeling in my legs has gone away, it finally feels like I'm getting back into the swing of things (well, relatively speaking).
Day 7 (11/13/2009): 6 miles, 48:35 (8:10 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Evening run today due to allergy shots in the morning. Maybe the extra 12 hours of rest did me good--this was a super pleasant run with a favorable effort/speed ratio. Feeling really pleased today, maybe my fitness may return quicker than I thought!
Day 8 (11/14/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:25 (8:23 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Easy and good again, despite slightly less rest this time around. Funny observation is that I run the first half of this out and back run at approximate the same pace every time... all variations in total run time occur on the way back. I can't really figure out why.
Week 1 (+ 1 day) Musings: In general, this feels like a relatively normal first week back, with some rough spots at the beginning, and some brighter ones towards the end. I'm going to add some hindsight commentary by saying that when I started, I was not fully recovered from this hip flexor injury that had been plaguing me for the past 4 weeks, despite 2 weeks essentially off. It hurt a lot even walking around Days 1 -3, but I nuked that sucker with some creative rehab exercises and disciplined good form running. Against all odds, my hip steadily improved over the course of this week and hasn't bothered me since. And we're off to an excellent start!
Day 9 (11/15/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:12 (8:43 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Hmmmmm... here's about where my body is totally expecting a nice rest day, which it didn't get. Nope, keep going. Felt lousy. In my log I noted that I didn't understand why I felt lousy, but I'm pretty sure its because this is the juncture where I'd normally have had a recovery day.
Day 10 (11/16/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:02:14 (8:46 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Feel tired? Clearly the answer is... more mileage! I was determined to tough out this run, for some reason, I just can not quell the desire to combat tiredness with more effort. I think this still stands as my slowest running of this route this year. Legs just feel thrashed... it was also warm out. I'm slightly discouraged that the fatigue is setting in so soon.
Day 11 (11/17/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:38 (8:25 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
A vaguely acceptable run after a few days of lousy. That thrashed feeling in my legs started to dissipate a little bit on the second half of this run, and I was able to pick it up a little bit.
Day 12 (11/18/2009): 6 miles, 48:18 (8:07 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Legs still feel like lead, it was sort of a chore to keep putting them in front of each other, but breathing was basically steady and the pace was a nice break from an extra slow few days. The pavement days kind of feel like my "recovery" day these days... I'm not exactly sure why its so much easier than the trails.
Day 13 (11/19/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:00:37 (8:32 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
Felt lousy on the way out, then good on the way back. The whole lousy feeling resolving on the second half of the run continues. It is true that the way back is slightly downhill and the way out is slightly uphill, but I also kind of think its an indication that I'm starting to come out of the really fatigued state... because days DO exist when both ways suck. Unclear
Day 14 (11/20/2009): 5.2 miles, 44:10 (8:30 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Denver, after my evening flight. Dark, cold, snow and ice on the ground. Honestly it wasn't that cold... or dark... and the snow wasn't too slippery so I kinda ended up feeling cheated out of some "hardcore" factor here. (21:56/22:14) second lap slowdown kinda bugged me, but generally felt pretty good for the altitude, just took it easy and it was actually a fairly pleasant run.
Day 15 (11/21/2009): 5.2 miles, 44:34 (8:34 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Got up again in the morning and did the same run. The daylight made things worse, because the snow had started to melt and the footing was much worse than yesterday. (22:05/22:29) felt a little tired, but not gonna sweat it. Not significantly slower than yesterday adjusted for terrain.
Week 2 Musings: Yikes, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore... this is new territory. I was definitely hoping that the fatigue from lack of off days would not set in until at least a few weeks in, but it's definitely hit me hard this week. It's also harder to absorb life circumstances, like visiting Peter in super cold super de-oxygenated Colorado... I'm trying to keep the 'argh' under control though, just gotta power through this or I'll never see what's on the other side.
Day 16 (11/22/2009): 5.2 miles, 45:15 (8:42 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Gahhhhh, I'm getting sick of this run... and I felt super extra lousy today. (22:22/22:53) I just could not hold it together the second lap. Aren't you supposed to start feeling BETTER after a few days to adjust to the altitude?
Day 17 (11/23/2009): 5.2 miles, 44:58 (8:39 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Okay, the lousiness isn't resolving as quickly as it might at sea level. (22:44/22:12) Felt pretty much as lousy when I started as where I left of yesterday, but when I saw the first lap split, I decided that I had to put my foot down somewhere, at this rate + the usual second lap slowdown, I was going to log a 23+ minute lap if I didn't put a stop to this. Dug deep and pulled out a semi decent second lap... and I'm done! Oxygen, here I come!
Day 18 (11/24/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:00:49 (8:34 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
Back in Pasadena. I've got all of 10 hours here between my flight in from Denver and my flight out to Boston. Squeezed in a run in the glorious warmth and sunshine in the interim. I wasn't exactly feeling the amazing restorative effects of oxygen... but I may also have been in a bad state due to traveling, lack of sleep, dehydration etc. I also experienced my first seriously disturbing ache/pain so far: about 35 minutes in, I started feeling a stabbing pain in my R arch, followed by the sensation of popping or tearing. I was so terrified I stopped and took off my shoe to see if I had ruptured my plantar fascia. Upon poking and prodding, I decided that nothing had ruptured, at least not yet... so I rubbed it out and limped a little bit more slowly back the rest of the way. The arch started to feel a little bit more normal after 10 more minutes, so I picked it up a little bit at the end.
Day 19 (11/25/2009): 5.3 miles, 43:51 (8:16 min/mile) Smallest River Loop from house
Boston, for Thanksgiving week. Run after no sleep on the red eye. The river paths are mostly pavement, so I got a good clip going, but to be completely honest my R arch is killing me. I'm really afraid that my streak is over, and also that I've torn my plantar fascia. Crap. Okay, I'll give it one more day, if it hurts tomorrow, I gotta call this thing off...
Day 20 (11/26/2009): 6.8 miles, 56:07 (8:15 min/mile) Second Smallest River Loop
It's Thanksgiving, and I gotta run before I turkey! Peter's here too, and its a big day because the fate of my continued running experiment rests on this run. In a fit of inspiration, I remember the correct way to tape an arch, so I break out the athletic tape and my foot feels loads better. Felt so much better, I went a little farther today and felt like I was going decently fast. There's a huge hill on the way home, which is why this speed is not reflected in my average pace. Happy Thanksgiving! I'm grateful, in addition to various other things, that my streak is still going strong.
Day 21 (11/27/2009): 6.8 miles, 58:30 (8:36 min/mile) Second Smallest River Loop backwards
My turkey hasn't fully digested yet by morning, but its time to run again... gahhh... Felt lousy and hard to move the legs. Decided to go backwards to avoid seeing how far off from yesterday's splits I am. The super super lousy feeling dissipated slowly over the first 15 minutes or so, which inspired me to do the longer loop, but it was still slow. The hill was extra painful today.
Day 22 (11/28/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:34 (8:47 min/mile) Smallest River Loop
Lousiness continues... wtf? I'm grouchy though, so I'll blame the weather, the wind and why is there this bigass hill always in my way??? On the upside, my feet are doing pretty well with the taping.
Week 3 Musings: I find myself struggling internally about the nature of running every day. I'm tired, I haven't had a "great" run in a while, and I'm resenting that all of this travel hit before I'd gotten a chance to work through the fatigue from Week 2. The altitude in Colorado, then the hills in Boston are pissing me off. It's not fair to them though, because if I were in shape, I'd be loving it. Since when didn't I love hills... why am I doing this again?
Things improve after this week, but I can't transcribe all 64 days in one sitting, so I'll post some more installments later.
So, I suppose it is safe to say that it actually MAY be an utterly asinine assertion that there exists a causal relationship between posting my runs on the internet, and acquiring injuries... however, superstitions being somewhat of a placebo effect as it is, I had stubbornly resisted posting my running until, alas, injuries were acquired, albeit without the intervention of the internet.
The rules of the game are simple: Run every day, where "run" is defined as an honest effort of 5 or more miles.
I started because I wanted to reclaim my identity as a runner, I ended because of a strange numbness/swelling in the proximity of my 3rd metatarsal (L foot). It was an awesome experience with a range of emotions attached, some expected, some not. I got a lot out of it, including but not limited to feeling like running was a natural part of my day, and getting to the point where I could modulate the fatigue and enjoy most of my runs. I am injury prone, so I don't know if I'll start another streak, but I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested. For the record, I know multiple people who've run every day for many years... this streak may pale in comparison, but it's the culmination of my personal struggle to overcome the past 3 years of injuries.
64 Days of Running
Day 1 (11/07/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:03 (8:30 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
First day back, and I feel almost as if the 6 weeks of semi-running I've done in the past two months never happened! Mostly reflected in heavy breathing, legs actually feel okay.
Day 2 (11/08/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:43 (8:49 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Exactly the same as yesterday, except slower and legs feeling much more tired. It was also warmer than I'd like bc I ran later in the day than usual. Slogged through.
Day 3 (11/09/2009): 6 miles, 49:46 (8:22 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Pavement is always a lot faster for me, but don't let the improvement in pace deceive you... I'm still feeling like my legs are really weak under me, and the breathing just won't settle down. I'm sort of in that state where my fastest pace and my slowest pace are one and the same.
Day 4 (11/10/2009): 5.3 miles, 45:04 (8:30 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Feeling a little bit better, run time was about the same as Day 1, but the difference was that I started out more conservatively and held up a little bit better coming back. Somehow that made me feel like I'd made some sort of an improvement... even though it doesn't make that much sense.
Day 5 (11/11/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:01:11 (8:37 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
I'm no longer struggling quite as much as the first few days, so naturally, I started feeling somewhat obliged to try a run that was a little bit longer. I hung in there for 7 even though I was feeling a little bit tired and sub-optimally warm. It turned out not as badly as I expected.
Day 6 (11/12/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:55 (8:29 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Good times! This is the first run that's genuinely felt easy. Felt a little groggy at first, but felt progressively better. I'm really glad that the "weak" feeling in my legs has gone away, it finally feels like I'm getting back into the swing of things (well, relatively speaking).
Day 7 (11/13/2009): 6 miles, 48:35 (8:10 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Evening run today due to allergy shots in the morning. Maybe the extra 12 hours of rest did me good--this was a super pleasant run with a favorable effort/speed ratio. Feeling really pleased today, maybe my fitness may return quicker than I thought!
Day 8 (11/14/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:25 (8:23 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Easy and good again, despite slightly less rest this time around. Funny observation is that I run the first half of this out and back run at approximate the same pace every time... all variations in total run time occur on the way back. I can't really figure out why.
Week 1 (+ 1 day) Musings: In general, this feels like a relatively normal first week back, with some rough spots at the beginning, and some brighter ones towards the end. I'm going to add some hindsight commentary by saying that when I started, I was not fully recovered from this hip flexor injury that had been plaguing me for the past 4 weeks, despite 2 weeks essentially off. It hurt a lot even walking around Days 1 -3, but I nuked that sucker with some creative rehab exercises and disciplined good form running. Against all odds, my hip steadily improved over the course of this week and hasn't bothered me since. And we're off to an excellent start!
Day 9 (11/15/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:12 (8:43 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Hmmmmm... here's about where my body is totally expecting a nice rest day, which it didn't get. Nope, keep going. Felt lousy. In my log I noted that I didn't understand why I felt lousy, but I'm pretty sure its because this is the juncture where I'd normally have had a recovery day.
Day 10 (11/16/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:02:14 (8:46 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
Feel tired? Clearly the answer is... more mileage! I was determined to tough out this run, for some reason, I just can not quell the desire to combat tiredness with more effort. I think this still stands as my slowest running of this route this year. Legs just feel thrashed... it was also warm out. I'm slightly discouraged that the fatigue is setting in so soon.
Day 11 (11/17/2009): 5.3 miles, 44:38 (8:25 min/mile) Monterrey to Third Bridge
A vaguely acceptable run after a few days of lousy. That thrashed feeling in my legs started to dissipate a little bit on the second half of this run, and I was able to pick it up a little bit.
Day 12 (11/18/2009): 6 miles, 48:18 (8:07 min/mile) Hillcrest/Orlando/Allen
Legs still feel like lead, it was sort of a chore to keep putting them in front of each other, but breathing was basically steady and the pace was a nice break from an extra slow few days. The pavement days kind of feel like my "recovery" day these days... I'm not exactly sure why its so much easier than the trails.
Day 13 (11/19/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:00:37 (8:32 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
Felt lousy on the way out, then good on the way back. The whole lousy feeling resolving on the second half of the run continues. It is true that the way back is slightly downhill and the way out is slightly uphill, but I also kind of think its an indication that I'm starting to come out of the really fatigued state... because days DO exist when both ways suck. Unclear
Day 14 (11/20/2009): 5.2 miles, 44:10 (8:30 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Denver, after my evening flight. Dark, cold, snow and ice on the ground. Honestly it wasn't that cold... or dark... and the snow wasn't too slippery so I kinda ended up feeling cheated out of some "hardcore" factor here. (21:56/22:14) second lap slowdown kinda bugged me, but generally felt pretty good for the altitude, just took it easy and it was actually a fairly pleasant run.
Day 15 (11/21/2009): 5.2 miles, 44:34 (8:34 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Got up again in the morning and did the same run. The daylight made things worse, because the snow had started to melt and the footing was much worse than yesterday. (22:05/22:29) felt a little tired, but not gonna sweat it. Not significantly slower than yesterday adjusted for terrain.
Week 2 Musings: Yikes, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore... this is new territory. I was definitely hoping that the fatigue from lack of off days would not set in until at least a few weeks in, but it's definitely hit me hard this week. It's also harder to absorb life circumstances, like visiting Peter in super cold super de-oxygenated Colorado... I'm trying to keep the 'argh' under control though, just gotta power through this or I'll never see what's on the other side.
Day 16 (11/22/2009): 5.2 miles, 45:15 (8:42 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Gahhhhh, I'm getting sick of this run... and I felt super extra lousy today. (22:22/22:53) I just could not hold it together the second lap. Aren't you supposed to start feeling BETTER after a few days to adjust to the altitude?
Day 17 (11/23/2009): 5.2 miles, 44:58 (8:39 min/mile) 2 x Washington Park Loops
Okay, the lousiness isn't resolving as quickly as it might at sea level. (22:44/22:12) Felt pretty much as lousy when I started as where I left of yesterday, but when I saw the first lap split, I decided that I had to put my foot down somewhere, at this rate + the usual second lap slowdown, I was going to log a 23+ minute lap if I didn't put a stop to this. Dug deep and pulled out a semi decent second lap... and I'm done! Oxygen, here I come!
Day 18 (11/24/2009): 7.1 miles, 1:00:49 (8:34 min/mile) Monterrey to Rose Bowl
Back in Pasadena. I've got all of 10 hours here between my flight in from Denver and my flight out to Boston. Squeezed in a run in the glorious warmth and sunshine in the interim. I wasn't exactly feeling the amazing restorative effects of oxygen... but I may also have been in a bad state due to traveling, lack of sleep, dehydration etc. I also experienced my first seriously disturbing ache/pain so far: about 35 minutes in, I started feeling a stabbing pain in my R arch, followed by the sensation of popping or tearing. I was so terrified I stopped and took off my shoe to see if I had ruptured my plantar fascia. Upon poking and prodding, I decided that nothing had ruptured, at least not yet... so I rubbed it out and limped a little bit more slowly back the rest of the way. The arch started to feel a little bit more normal after 10 more minutes, so I picked it up a little bit at the end.
Day 19 (11/25/2009): 5.3 miles, 43:51 (8:16 min/mile) Smallest River Loop from house
Boston, for Thanksgiving week. Run after no sleep on the red eye. The river paths are mostly pavement, so I got a good clip going, but to be completely honest my R arch is killing me. I'm really afraid that my streak is over, and also that I've torn my plantar fascia. Crap. Okay, I'll give it one more day, if it hurts tomorrow, I gotta call this thing off...
Day 20 (11/26/2009): 6.8 miles, 56:07 (8:15 min/mile) Second Smallest River Loop
It's Thanksgiving, and I gotta run before I turkey! Peter's here too, and its a big day because the fate of my continued running experiment rests on this run. In a fit of inspiration, I remember the correct way to tape an arch, so I break out the athletic tape and my foot feels loads better. Felt so much better, I went a little farther today and felt like I was going decently fast. There's a huge hill on the way home, which is why this speed is not reflected in my average pace. Happy Thanksgiving! I'm grateful, in addition to various other things, that my streak is still going strong.
Day 21 (11/27/2009): 6.8 miles, 58:30 (8:36 min/mile) Second Smallest River Loop backwards
My turkey hasn't fully digested yet by morning, but its time to run again... gahhh... Felt lousy and hard to move the legs. Decided to go backwards to avoid seeing how far off from yesterday's splits I am. The super super lousy feeling dissipated slowly over the first 15 minutes or so, which inspired me to do the longer loop, but it was still slow. The hill was extra painful today.
Day 22 (11/28/2009): 5.3 miles, 46:34 (8:47 min/mile) Smallest River Loop
Lousiness continues... wtf? I'm grouchy though, so I'll blame the weather, the wind and why is there this bigass hill always in my way??? On the upside, my feet are doing pretty well with the taping.
Week 3 Musings: I find myself struggling internally about the nature of running every day. I'm tired, I haven't had a "great" run in a while, and I'm resenting that all of this travel hit before I'd gotten a chance to work through the fatigue from Week 2. The altitude in Colorado, then the hills in Boston are pissing me off. It's not fair to them though, because if I were in shape, I'd be loving it. Since when didn't I love hills... why am I doing this again?
Things improve after this week, but I can't transcribe all 64 days in one sitting, so I'll post some more installments later.
A Whole Bunch of Time Off
(10/25/2009 – 11/6/2009)
After barely hanging on to some crappy 20-30 mpw weeks, the wheels finally came off the bus. I got sick, that’s the official line, but that was really all the motivation I needed to go ahead and take a whole bunch of time off. I guess that’s okay, in hindsight. My relationship with running had already soured by this point. Gone were the days that I awoke with a twinkle in my eye (even at 6 am) just so very happy to run at all.
Too many setbacks leave a scar, somewhere… not that easily scuffed away by the newness of another season, another opportunity. The honeymoon phase ended when I got my weird hip flexor injury. It so quickly wiped away the optimism of a new start, with the hard realities of those who are injury prone stay injury prone. I didn’t want to get up in the morning, because I didn’t want to run, because I didn’t want to feel that first pain when you know a lot of time off imminently awaits. So, I started sleeping in, I started thinking, maybe three off days is still an okay number for one week… and then I got sick, and then I had my reason to leave.
I basically did two runs during this period:
10/25/2009: RB Perimeter from California, 7.9 miles, 1:13:49 (9:21 min/mile)
This is probably one of my worst runs in years and years. I see that I logged it at 7.9 miles due to the dubious nature of the arroyo… but let’s face it, this run has always been 7.8 miles, so long as I’ve been running it. 9:20, 9:30… does it really matter at that point? To my credit, it was hot when I ran, and I was already coughing up a storm.
10/29/2009: Hillcrest/Orlando/Hill/California, 6 miles, 52:18 (8:47 min/mile)
The guilt crept in once I realized that I could no longer use the excuse “bedridden” to avoid running anymore, so I went on this nice evening jog. It wasn’t such a bad experience, I only felt mildly barfy while I was running. When I returned, however, the coughing returned with a vengeance and I barfed up my dinner. Thankfully I had felt too barfy to eat a large one, so I guess it wasn’t too much of a loss.
After that I stopped running altogether and got fat. If only running fast were as easy to do as getting fat.
After barely hanging on to some crappy 20-30 mpw weeks, the wheels finally came off the bus. I got sick, that’s the official line, but that was really all the motivation I needed to go ahead and take a whole bunch of time off. I guess that’s okay, in hindsight. My relationship with running had already soured by this point. Gone were the days that I awoke with a twinkle in my eye (even at 6 am) just so very happy to run at all.
Too many setbacks leave a scar, somewhere… not that easily scuffed away by the newness of another season, another opportunity. The honeymoon phase ended when I got my weird hip flexor injury. It so quickly wiped away the optimism of a new start, with the hard realities of those who are injury prone stay injury prone. I didn’t want to get up in the morning, because I didn’t want to run, because I didn’t want to feel that first pain when you know a lot of time off imminently awaits. So, I started sleeping in, I started thinking, maybe three off days is still an okay number for one week… and then I got sick, and then I had my reason to leave.
I basically did two runs during this period:
10/25/2009: RB Perimeter from California, 7.9 miles, 1:13:49 (9:21 min/mile)
This is probably one of my worst runs in years and years. I see that I logged it at 7.9 miles due to the dubious nature of the arroyo… but let’s face it, this run has always been 7.8 miles, so long as I’ve been running it. 9:20, 9:30… does it really matter at that point? To my credit, it was hot when I ran, and I was already coughing up a storm.
10/29/2009: Hillcrest/Orlando/Hill/California, 6 miles, 52:18 (8:47 min/mile)
The guilt crept in once I realized that I could no longer use the excuse “bedridden” to avoid running anymore, so I went on this nice evening jog. It wasn’t such a bad experience, I only felt mildly barfy while I was running. When I returned, however, the coughing returned with a vengeance and I barfed up my dinner. Thankfully I had felt too barfy to eat a large one, so I guess it wasn’t too much of a loss.
After that I stopped running altogether and got fat. If only running fast were as easy to do as getting fat.
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