After Saturday’s long run crash I knew I needed to take some time off. Immediately after the run I mentally made a plan to back off and not run for a couple of days.
Sunday morning I woke up and couldn’t stand it … I ran 3 miles.
This morning I woke up at 4:30 and was out of the door at 5:30 to run 3 more miles. In my mind I was thinking, “Instead of taking days off I will just back off on the mileage and pick it back up next week. These two runs of three miles are much less than the 6 and 5 milers I had on the schedule.” I started making plans to do some speed work tomorrow morning in the middle of a four miler.
As I turned the corner off of Oak and on to Oyster Creek Drive I was feeling good and started wondering why in the world I would ever think to slow down. One bad long run is no reason to back off of a good training schedule.
I barely got that thought out of my mind when my foot landed on a branch about 2 inches in diameter and I crashed to the sidewalk and rolled over to stare at the stars through the branches of a large tree. My ankle screamed at me from rolling awkwardly over the branch.
AHHHH … @#!$&^%
I walked a mile back to the house on my twisted ankle. I took ibuprofen and watched my right ankle swell. This morning my foot was up on my desk with a freezer bag of ice placed strategically on the swelling. I have an ankle brace on and I am trying to walk as little as possible.
There is a possibility that I really did need a couple of days off but I hate to be force into it. I may be able to run again on Friday … I hope!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Not 14
I was scheduled to run 14 this morning. I quit at five. I wanted to quit at one. My legs felt dead. I was sick of listening the same old music and running the same old route. It is time to back off a bit, leave the iPod at home, make some new routes and change the game plan so running will not become stale.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Speedwork, a Garden Hose and Cereal
On the schedule for this morning’s run was a speed session to try to get ready for a faster 5k. I stepped out of the front door and onto the street and headed for Slade Field, which is a one-mile run from the house. I punched the Nickel Creek playlist on my iPod and started the one mile warm-up.
When I turned the corner on Blunk Road I could see a glow in the sky in the direction of the High School. By the time I got to Dixie Drive I could tell that the stadium lights were on at Slade Field. Usually the field is mostly dark.
The lights were blazing at Slade because the Brazoswood Buccaneer football team was about to start an early morning practice. One coach and a couple of players were on the field early getting in extra work by running lines before official practice began.
I ran on the track and changed my playlist to “run – tempo” and kicked it into a higher gear for the first of four 800 meter repeats with 400 recovery. The 800’s were 3:32, 3:32, 3:35, 3:42 – I was dying at the end as you can see by that last time.
When I finished I stopped by the water fountain and drank too much. The first two hundred yards or so of the cool-down run home were rough. Pushing myself and then drinking too much water immediately afterwards made me feel a little nauseated. I know I’ve had a good work-out when I feel like I’m going to puke.
When I got home I fed the dogs and then turned on the water and stood under the stream of the garden hose. There is nothing like rinsing off in the water hose in the summer after a hot run. The water hits my head and it is so cold I lose my breath for a couple of seconds. The routine of rinsing off in the water hose started years ago because I need to get the sweat out of my clothes so they wouldn’t stink up the garage as they dried during the day. Now I enjoy the wet cool-down beyond the mere functionality of the routine.
After taking a shower another of my favorite post run sensual treats is to fill up a big bowl with cereal and skim milk. My body seems to crave fuel and most of the time the cereal satisfies my craving more than anything I eat for the rest of the day. I add more milk than is necessary for the amount of cereal in the bowl so that there is some flavored drink left when the cereal is gone. I drink what is left straight from the bowl. Mmmmm …
The joy of running lasts even after the run has been run.
When I turned the corner on Blunk Road I could see a glow in the sky in the direction of the High School. By the time I got to Dixie Drive I could tell that the stadium lights were on at Slade Field. Usually the field is mostly dark.
The lights were blazing at Slade because the Brazoswood Buccaneer football team was about to start an early morning practice. One coach and a couple of players were on the field early getting in extra work by running lines before official practice began.
I ran on the track and changed my playlist to “run – tempo” and kicked it into a higher gear for the first of four 800 meter repeats with 400 recovery. The 800’s were 3:32, 3:32, 3:35, 3:42 – I was dying at the end as you can see by that last time.
When I finished I stopped by the water fountain and drank too much. The first two hundred yards or so of the cool-down run home were rough. Pushing myself and then drinking too much water immediately afterwards made me feel a little nauseated. I know I’ve had a good work-out when I feel like I’m going to puke.
When I got home I fed the dogs and then turned on the water and stood under the stream of the garden hose. There is nothing like rinsing off in the water hose in the summer after a hot run. The water hits my head and it is so cold I lose my breath for a couple of seconds. The routine of rinsing off in the water hose started years ago because I need to get the sweat out of my clothes so they wouldn’t stink up the garage as they dried during the day. Now I enjoy the wet cool-down beyond the mere functionality of the routine.
After taking a shower another of my favorite post run sensual treats is to fill up a big bowl with cereal and skim milk. My body seems to crave fuel and most of the time the cereal satisfies my craving more than anything I eat for the rest of the day. I add more milk than is necessary for the amount of cereal in the bowl so that there is some flavored drink left when the cereal is gone. I drink what is left straight from the bowl. Mmmmm …
The joy of running lasts even after the run has been run.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Brazosport Relay Triathlon
I ran hard this morning. As always I use words like “hard” realizing that it is a relative term. So to restate: I ran at the edge of my limitations this morning.
A friend of mine asked me to run one of the 5k legs of the Brazosport Relay Triathlon on September 8th. I was not asked because of my blazing speed that is for sure. I think all of the really fast runners are either on a team or out-of-town that weekend. I am looking forward to it.
Most of my training has been geared to running further so I have been running more miles at a slower speed. So over the next couple of weeks I am going to work at getting faster. I do not know how much good I will do in a month’s worth of time … we’ll see.
This morning I ran five miles. The first mile was a warm-up, the middle three were fartlek miles, and the last mile was a cool down. It felt good to push it but now I will probably drag through the rest of the day.
A friend of mine asked me to run one of the 5k legs of the Brazosport Relay Triathlon on September 8th. I was not asked because of my blazing speed that is for sure. I think all of the really fast runners are either on a team or out-of-town that weekend. I am looking forward to it.
Most of my training has been geared to running further so I have been running more miles at a slower speed. So over the next couple of weeks I am going to work at getting faster. I do not know how much good I will do in a month’s worth of time … we’ll see.
This morning I ran five miles. The first mile was a warm-up, the middle three were fartlek miles, and the last mile was a cool down. It felt good to push it but now I will probably drag through the rest of the day.
I put "Ride" from Ty Tabor's Rock Garden on replay through the second mile of the run. It is a good song to push the pace to.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Arkansas Vacation 2007
The family spent the weekend in Arkansas. It is our annual “before school starts” trip to Lake Catherine. It took us a while to get there though because we made a stop in Longview to meet with the couple I am doing a wedding for this weekend. Then we stayed at Andrea’s sister’s house for a night in Little Rock. Sunday we left Little Rock and spent the rest of the time (till Wednesday) at Lake Catherine State Park.
Saturday evening Tori Jakeb and I climbed Pinnacle Mountain. It was cool to climb with the kids.
Then Sunday morning I woke up and ran from Maumelle Park to Pinnacle Mountain State Park, on to the Ouachita Trail until it comes to Pinnacle Mountain. Then I “ran” over Pinnacle Mountain and ran back the way I came.
I ran this run because it is the beginning of the Ouachita Trail 50 that is run in April. I wouldn’t mind running this race but half way up the side of Pinnacle I thought “this is the most stupid thing I can imagine – to climb over this mountain and then run the rest of the race.” But after I finished running I got to the car and thought “That wasn’t too bad.”
If I decide to run OT50 I will have to find some hills to train on.
On Monday and Tuesday I ran the trails in the park. One of the trails comes off of a hill and has these long smooth switchbacks that make for fast fun running. I had a good time running in Arkansas. I enjoyed the relaxation of the rest of the day hanging out with the fam too.
Saturday evening Tori Jakeb and I climbed Pinnacle Mountain. It was cool to climb with the kids.
Then Sunday morning I woke up and ran from Maumelle Park to Pinnacle Mountain State Park, on to the Ouachita Trail until it comes to Pinnacle Mountain. Then I “ran” over Pinnacle Mountain and ran back the way I came.I ran this run because it is the beginning of the Ouachita Trail 50 that is run in April. I wouldn’t mind running this race but half way up the side of Pinnacle I thought “this is the most stupid thing I can imagine – to climb over this mountain and then run the rest of the race.” But after I finished running I got to the car and thought “That wasn’t too bad.”
If I decide to run OT50 I will have to find some hills to train on.
On Monday and Tuesday I ran the trails in the park. One of the trails comes off of a hill and has these long smooth switchbacks that make for fast fun running. I had a good time running in Arkansas. I enjoyed the relaxation of the rest of the day hanging out with the fam too.
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