A successful surgery according to the doc.
I'm a little logy and just had another percaset, so I'm off to bed.
16.75 miles in 3 days at the paces I was running at may have been a little much. I can feel one of the tendons in my left lower leg 'squeaking' as it works. :) Still a really good run week.
Happy running everyone and thanks for the support.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
An Unexpected Running Partner
6.11 miles in 52:11 (8:32/mile)
Went out for the last run for a while at lunch. Comfortably cool at around 60. While in the locker room another runner started suiting up as well. We talked for a sec, and then I headed out. He caught up to me a t a crosswalk, and we decide to run together.
Turns out he's run a couple of marathons and is just coming back from an injury. He's had cramping problems late in all of his marathons, but he'd run about a 4:15 marathon, which is what I think I could do, so our pace was pretty evenly matched. It was pretty cool that he turned out to be an Oracle DBA at our sister company, a job I've only been doing for a bout a year, so now I have someone else to ask stupid questions of. :)
At the Freemont bridge I was going to continue down the ship canal trail, and I discovered he was running around the lake. This has been a goal of mine for a while, and I'm feeling good so I decided to go for it. I'm glad I did. We kept a pace we could both converse at, and I was able to finally figure out how to get back on Eastlake, which is one of the reasons I haven't run it solo yet. (Stairs, you cant seem them in the overhead imagery)
Really good run, and a nice cap to the week. Managed to bang out 16.75 miles this week, in 3 days. A good way to set up to take a break on.
Surgery tomorrow at 1, I'll try to post in the evening, but it might not be till Friday.
Went out for the last run for a while at lunch. Comfortably cool at around 60. While in the locker room another runner started suiting up as well. We talked for a sec, and then I headed out. He caught up to me a t a crosswalk, and we decide to run together.
Turns out he's run a couple of marathons and is just coming back from an injury. He's had cramping problems late in all of his marathons, but he'd run about a 4:15 marathon, which is what I think I could do, so our pace was pretty evenly matched. It was pretty cool that he turned out to be an Oracle DBA at our sister company, a job I've only been doing for a bout a year, so now I have someone else to ask stupid questions of. :)
At the Freemont bridge I was going to continue down the ship canal trail, and I discovered he was running around the lake. This has been a goal of mine for a while, and I'm feeling good so I decided to go for it. I'm glad I did. We kept a pace we could both converse at, and I was able to finally figure out how to get back on Eastlake, which is one of the reasons I haven't run it solo yet. (Stairs, you cant seem them in the overhead imagery)
Really good run, and a nice cap to the week. Managed to bang out 16.75 miles this week, in 3 days. A good way to set up to take a break on.
Surgery tomorrow at 1, I'll try to post in the evening, but it might not be till Friday.
Hydration/Nutrition Advice
Found this in the July 2008 Northwest Runner magazine, and am putting it here so I can find it again:
General guidelines for maintaining energy and hydration:
Up to 60 minutes:
+ Hydrate with water to maintain body weight (16 -32 oz/hour)
asc>Hammer says max absorbtion rates are around 17-28 oz/hour
asc> I'm not a true believer by any means, but I really think Hammer Nutrition has some intelligent things to say about the maintaining body weight thing (essentially it's impossible, and potentially unsafe). Their Endurance Athlete’s Guide to Success has some very interesting stuff about absorbtion rates, etc.
asc> based on this advice I'm not sure what you're supposed to do from 60 to 90 minutes though. :)
Greater than 90 minutes:
+ Hydrate with water or sports drink to maintain body weight
+ Add carbs to provide 150 -300 calories/hour (gels, sports drinks, shot blocks, etc..)
asc>remember that sports drinks have calories
asc>Hammer says absorption rates are between 240-280 calories/hour
Greater than 120 minutes:
+ Hydrate with water or sports drink to maintain body weight
+ Add carbs to provide 150 -300 calories/hour (gels, sports drinks, shot blocks, etc..)
+ Add a source of electrolytes to maintain fluid balance
Remember you can't pour a sports drink over your head if you're hot. :) I've tried preloading some bottles with NUUN (for electrolytes), and will now add it on the run instead for that reason.
I've experimented a VERY little bit so far (max long run was 100 minutes) and seem to be doing OK with:
+ No water on runs up to 60 minutes (I've had good weather conditions, though)
+ Water from 60-90 minutes, shooting for about a 22 oz bottle every 45 minutes or an hour or so
+ Carb source at 45 minutes and every 30 minutes thereafter
General guidelines for maintaining energy and hydration:
Up to 60 minutes:
+ Hydrate with water to maintain body weight (16 -32 oz/hour)
asc>Hammer says max absorbtion rates are around 17-28 oz/hour
asc> I'm not a true believer by any means, but I really think Hammer Nutrition has some intelligent things to say about the maintaining body weight thing (essentially it's impossible, and potentially unsafe). Their Endurance Athlete’s Guide to Success has some very interesting stuff about absorbtion rates, etc.
asc> based on this advice I'm not sure what you're supposed to do from 60 to 90 minutes though. :)
Greater than 90 minutes:
+ Hydrate with water or sports drink to maintain body weight
+ Add carbs to provide 150 -300 calories/hour (gels, sports drinks, shot blocks, etc..)
asc>remember that sports drinks have calories
asc>Hammer says absorption rates are between 240-280 calories/hour
Greater than 120 minutes:
+ Hydrate with water or sports drink to maintain body weight
+ Add carbs to provide 150 -300 calories/hour (gels, sports drinks, shot blocks, etc..)
+ Add a source of electrolytes to maintain fluid balance
Remember you can't pour a sports drink over your head if you're hot. :) I've tried preloading some bottles with NUUN (for electrolytes), and will now add it on the run instead for that reason.
I've experimented a VERY little bit so far (max long run was 100 minutes) and seem to be doing OK with:
+ No water on runs up to 60 minutes (I've had good weather conditions, though)
+ Water from 60-90 minutes, shooting for about a 22 oz bottle every 45 minutes or an hour or so
+ Carb source at 45 minutes and every 30 minutes thereafter
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Fast Work Run
5.76 miles in 46:21 (8:02/mile)
Another lunch time run, 63, cloudy, we just missed the drizzles. Ended up running with "J" from the club.
That was interesting. "J" is a 3:05 marathoner, won his last trail marathon with that time. I ran a 'little' harder than I should have the first half keeping up with him. But. I was able to do it. I wanted to die for big chunk of the last half of the run but kept plugging along. Thank goodness I was able to drop him off at the SPU track (about 2 miles in) so I could slow down. That being said, I didn't slow down till I hit the turn around. Then my pace just died.
Other runners were much friendlier today then they have been in a while, got a smile and a wave, and just as I hit the turn around I got a friendly smile from a runner who I had passed a little bit ago.
New yacht is in town. Piano Bar, apparently owned by the Yellowstone Club (whatever that is).
Pretty picture here
Was really glad it was cooler, had to run with my compression shorts since I suffered some inner thigh chafing yesterday.
splits:
1 - 7:58
1.88 - 14:31(7:43 pace)
(07:48 pace for the first half)
1.88 -15:52 (8:26 pace; slow down much? think I went out a little fast? )
1 - 8:01
(8:16 pace for the second half)
Another lunch time run, 63, cloudy, we just missed the drizzles. Ended up running with "J" from the club.
That was interesting. "J" is a 3:05 marathoner, won his last trail marathon with that time. I ran a 'little' harder than I should have the first half keeping up with him. But. I was able to do it. I wanted to die for big chunk of the last half of the run but kept plugging along. Thank goodness I was able to drop him off at the SPU track (about 2 miles in) so I could slow down. That being said, I didn't slow down till I hit the turn around. Then my pace just died.
Other runners were much friendlier today then they have been in a while, got a smile and a wave, and just as I hit the turn around I got a friendly smile from a runner who I had passed a little bit ago.
New yacht is in town. Piano Bar, apparently owned by the Yellowstone Club (whatever that is).
Pretty picture here
Was really glad it was cooler, had to run with my compression shorts since I suffered some inner thigh chafing yesterday.
splits:
1 - 7:58
1.88 - 14:31(7:43 pace)
(07:48 pace for the first half)
1.88 -15:52 (8:26 pace; slow down much? think I went out a little fast? )
1 - 8:01
(8:16 pace for the second half)
Revised Marathon Plan
Val and I were able to have a nice discussion about my running and the goal of running the marathon in November, especially with losing 4 or so weeks to the hernia repair and the recovery time afterwards. Apparently 4 wek recovery is due to risk of infection because the belly button area is notoriously problematic, not due to muscle issues.
I talk a lot of smack about starting earlier than the doctor says to, but it's all hot air. I'm not going to take a chance, the doc wins . :) Don't think that I haven't considered a variation on Laura's suggestion. A variation that includes a great deal of gause and a belly button full of Neosporin.
So, I lose 4 weeks officially and 5 weeks really since this runs this week are more maintenance runs, and the last few days of the last week are going to be 'return to running' days. This means I really have 13 weeks till the marathon. Assuming I could dive back in with no transition I could just do the last 13 weeks of Hal Higdon's marathon novice plan, since that's where I was last week. Diving back in with no transition isn't realistic, and is potentially injurious, so we won't be doing that. This was the only article I could find after a cursory Google for information about how much recovery it might take to come back to running. It's assumption for 4 weeks or more is a running related injury, but seems valid.
Here's the current revised plan:
Apologies if the table is all messed up and you have to scroll down. Blogger and I aren't getting along.
If I can survive the ramp up, I'll continue to shoot for the full, but with only one 18 mile run, instead of the generally recommended run of 20. I've shelved any unofficial time goals for the full given that plan, since I'll be a little undertrained, at least in my opinion. If I can't get back onto the schedule the way I would like, I'll run the half in November, and find something early next year. There are too many people from the marathon club running in November to not run at least the half.
Comments on running a marathon with only an 18 miler more than welcome.
I talk a lot of smack about starting earlier than the doctor says to, but it's all hot air. I'm not going to take a chance, the doc wins . :) Don't think that I haven't considered a variation on Laura's suggestion. A variation that includes a great deal of gause and a belly button full of Neosporin.
So, I lose 4 weeks officially and 5 weeks really since this runs this week are more maintenance runs, and the last few days of the last week are going to be 'return to running' days. This means I really have 13 weeks till the marathon. Assuming I could dive back in with no transition I could just do the last 13 weeks of Hal Higdon's marathon novice plan, since that's where I was last week. Diving back in with no transition isn't realistic, and is potentially injurious, so we won't be doing that. This was the only article I could find after a cursory Google for information about how much recovery it might take to come back to running. It's assumption for 4 weeks or more is a running related injury, but seems valid.
Here's the current revised plan:
Apologies if the table is all messed up and you have to scroll down. Blogger and I aren't getting along.
| M | T | W | Th | F | S | Su |
| 4.88 | 5.2? | 5? | ||||
| 2 | 2 | |||||
| 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | |||
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 3 | 5 | 3 | 7 | |||
| 3 | 6 | 3 | 12 | |||
| 3 | 6 | 3 | 13 | |||
| 3 | 7 | 4 | 10 | |||
| 3 | 7 | 4 | 15 | |||
| 4 | 8 | 4 | 16 | |||
| 4 | 8 | 5 | 12 | |||
| 4 | 9 | 5 | 18 | |||
| 5 | 8 | 4 | 12 | |||
| 4 | 6 | 3 | 8 | |||
| 3 | 4 | 2 | Marathon |
If I can survive the ramp up, I'll continue to shoot for the full, but with only one 18 mile run, instead of the generally recommended run of 20. I've shelved any unofficial time goals for the full given that plan, since I'll be a little undertrained, at least in my opinion. If I can't get back onto the schedule the way I would like, I'll run the half in November, and find something early next year. There are too many people from the marathon club running in November to not run at least the half.
Comments on running a marathon with only an 18 miler more than welcome.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Finally, A Run At Work
4.88 miles in 40:19 (8:15/mile)
Ran at lunch. About 70, sunny, no clouds. Not sure how you people in hot climates do it. I think I may stick to night runs. :)
Decided to explore past my normal turnaround when I run up Westlake. Ran to the end of the Ship Canal Trail (about a mile longer than normal on this route), and then back down. Nice trail. I hope they get the expansion finished next year so I can run further down it.
Hernia cooperated again and my knee seemed almost like it was back to normal again.
A really nice run. I think I'll run the same route again on Wednesday.
splits
1 - 8:24
.55 - 4:17 (7:47 pace. I find that hard to believe, but that's what the math says)
.89 - 7:03(7:55 pace)
.89 - 7:34 (8:30 pace. Pretty worn out coming back. must have been those first 3 miles. :)
.55 - 4:51 (8:49 pace)
1 - 8:10 (Again, hard to believe, especially given speed at previous split)
Ran at lunch. About 70, sunny, no clouds. Not sure how you people in hot climates do it. I think I may stick to night runs. :)
Decided to explore past my normal turnaround when I run up Westlake. Ran to the end of the Ship Canal Trail (about a mile longer than normal on this route), and then back down. Nice trail. I hope they get the expansion finished next year so I can run further down it.
Hernia cooperated again and my knee seemed almost like it was back to normal again.
A really nice run. I think I'll run the same route again on Wednesday.
splits
1 - 8:24
.55 - 4:17 (7:47 pace. I find that hard to believe, but that's what the math says)
.89 - 7:03(7:55 pace)
.89 - 7:34 (8:30 pace. Pretty worn out coming back. must have been those first 3 miles. :)
.55 - 4:51 (8:49 pace)
1 - 8:10 (Again, hard to believe, especially given speed at previous split)
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Pre Break 10 Miler
10.06 miles in 1:40:13 (9:57/mile)
Ran this late Saturday night at 9:45. About 60 and obviously no sun. :)
When I went out I was going to go for something between 5 and 10. I decided on 10 since I wanted to come into the break with as much mileage as I could have, and well, it's not like with 4 weeks off I'm going to get overtrained. :) It helped my motivation that Val and I came up with a couple of options for after the recovery period.
Didn't run these run with any goals other than to stay within the McMillan Long Run range (for me) of 9:22 to 10:22, but heavy on the slower end. :) This continuous progression thing must work, because this run felt better than last week. It could be because I was 20 seconds a mile slower, but it just felt better. I could have done another few miles at this pace, which is a nice sign too. I'm not sure where the last mile came from, though. Unsurprisingly, it wore me out more than the other 9 miles did.
Forgot my band aids, but fortunately pain was minimal. It seems the belt hods the shirt down and keeps rubbing to a minimum. That being said, Val's comment when I mentioned that I forgot them: "You know, most people would probably on forget to do that once." :)
I tried some Strawberry CLIF Shot Bloks for this run. Much stickier than I expected. I was expecting something more like Gummi Bears, especially just coming out of the package. The size of them maybe 3/4" square didn't cause a problem like I thought it might. Texture was unique. Softer than a gummi bear, denser than jello is the best I can do. Seemed to dissolve a little better than the Sports Beans. Flavor was very subtle and gone quickly, after that it was just sweetish. With the Sports Beans you could tell they were made by Jelly Belly, that's for sure.
Hernia cooperated, and my knee didn't complain till mile 4 or so, but not too badly then. Was a little sore on Sunday during our visit to the Aquarium, but shook out nicely by about noon.
The only real problem I've found so far with the late night running thing is that I'm not refueling or rehydrating well enough before I go to sleep, and I'm paying for it the next day. I hit a 'hill' in the Aquarium that left me exhausted. I didn't feel better till after lunch, which advantage of a long run, included a chocolate shake. Mmmm... Carbs.
splits:
mile - 10:00
mile2 -10:56 light
mile3 - 10:05
mile4 - 9:45
mile5 - 10:15
mile6 - 10:43 shoelaces
mile7 - 10:03
mile8 - 9:54
mile9 - 9:52 light
mile10 -8:42
Ran this late Saturday night at 9:45. About 60 and obviously no sun. :)
When I went out I was going to go for something between 5 and 10. I decided on 10 since I wanted to come into the break with as much mileage as I could have, and well, it's not like with 4 weeks off I'm going to get overtrained. :) It helped my motivation that Val and I came up with a couple of options for after the recovery period.
Didn't run these run with any goals other than to stay within the McMillan Long Run range (for me) of 9:22 to 10:22, but heavy on the slower end. :) This continuous progression thing must work, because this run felt better than last week. It could be because I was 20 seconds a mile slower, but it just felt better. I could have done another few miles at this pace, which is a nice sign too. I'm not sure where the last mile came from, though. Unsurprisingly, it wore me out more than the other 9 miles did.
Forgot my band aids, but fortunately pain was minimal. It seems the belt hods the shirt down and keeps rubbing to a minimum. That being said, Val's comment when I mentioned that I forgot them: "You know, most people would probably on forget to do that once." :)
I tried some Strawberry CLIF Shot Bloks for this run. Much stickier than I expected. I was expecting something more like Gummi Bears, especially just coming out of the package. The size of them maybe 3/4" square didn't cause a problem like I thought it might. Texture was unique. Softer than a gummi bear, denser than jello is the best I can do. Seemed to dissolve a little better than the Sports Beans. Flavor was very subtle and gone quickly, after that it was just sweetish. With the Sports Beans you could tell they were made by Jelly Belly, that's for sure.
Hernia cooperated, and my knee didn't complain till mile 4 or so, but not too badly then. Was a little sore on Sunday during our visit to the Aquarium, but shook out nicely by about noon.
The only real problem I've found so far with the late night running thing is that I'm not refueling or rehydrating well enough before I go to sleep, and I'm paying for it the next day. I hit a 'hill' in the Aquarium that left me exhausted. I didn't feel better till after lunch, which advantage of a long run, included a chocolate shake. Mmmm... Carbs.
splits:
mile - 10:00
mile2 -10:56 light
mile3 - 10:05
mile4 - 9:45
mile5 - 10:15
mile6 - 10:43 shoelaces
mile7 - 10:03
mile8 - 9:54
mile9 - 9:52 light
mile10 -8:42
Friday, July 25, 2008
Umbilical Hernia - Consult
Saw the surgeon about the hernia. Nice guy, but very quick. It was nice in a way to feel like he was blowing through my case because it was so routine.
He confirmed I have a ventral umbilical hernia, but no other hernias. Apparently in my case it's caused by some medical word I don't remember, that mean that the connective tissue in teh middle between both sides of your abs in your six pack thins and stretches apart, in my case starting at the belly button, and that created a weak spot.
I go in next Thursday to the clinic, they use some general anesthetic, make an incision around the belly button, insert some mush through the hole and under the muscle, tack it in place, superglue me together, wake me up and send me home. No weights over 20 pounds for a week, and according to the doc, no running for 4 weeks. Apparently the no running is not because of potential problems with the repair, but because if the increased chance of infection from sweating, etc at the incision site. We'll see how well that rule holds up. :) If I do listen too him, my knee will probably appreciate it. :)
A 4 week off period gets me started back running around the 28th of August. About 13 1/2 weeks before the marathon. I'm definitely going to miss the half marathon on Labor Day I had planned on. My current training plan is loosely based on the Hal Higdon Novice plan. 13 weeks puts me exactly where I am in the plan, at week 6, which is fortunately a fall back week. The question is, is it safe, or am I capable of picking back up where I left off. Going to have to think and ask some more questions. I'd go from 4 weeks off, with maybe a run or two the previous week to start back up to 3, 5, 3, 7 and then 3,6,3,12. Hmmm. not sure I like the way that looks. Maybe I need to think about doing the half in November instead.
He confirmed I have a ventral umbilical hernia, but no other hernias. Apparently in my case it's caused by some medical word I don't remember, that mean that the connective tissue in teh middle between both sides of your abs in your six pack thins and stretches apart, in my case starting at the belly button, and that created a weak spot.
I go in next Thursday to the clinic, they use some general anesthetic, make an incision around the belly button, insert some mush through the hole and under the muscle, tack it in place, superglue me together, wake me up and send me home. No weights over 20 pounds for a week, and according to the doc, no running for 4 weeks. Apparently the no running is not because of potential problems with the repair, but because if the increased chance of infection from sweating, etc at the incision site. We'll see how well that rule holds up. :) If I do listen too him, my knee will probably appreciate it. :)
A 4 week off period gets me started back running around the 28th of August. About 13 1/2 weeks before the marathon. I'm definitely going to miss the half marathon on Labor Day I had planned on. My current training plan is loosely based on the Hal Higdon Novice plan. 13 weeks puts me exactly where I am in the plan, at week 6, which is fortunately a fall back week. The question is, is it safe, or am I capable of picking back up where I left off. Going to have to think and ask some more questions. I'd go from 4 weeks off, with maybe a run or two the previous week to start back up to 3, 5, 3, 7 and then 3,6,3,12. Hmmm. not sure I like the way that looks. Maybe I need to think about doing the half in November instead.
No Pressure 6 Miler
6 miles in 57:54 (9:38/mile)
Forced myself out the door at 8:45 (64 degrees) and walked down to the start point. Had told Val that I had 5 on the books, but I might run 3, or some distance between the two. I wasn't really motivated to go out at all. I was feeling tired, and blah, and why bother.
This hernia thing is really playing hob with my motivation. Knowing that I'll have to take some undefined amount of time off, maybe not run the marathon, have to go backwards in my mileage after recovery to get back to where I am when I have the surgery , etc. is making me want to just say eff it, why bother.
This run really helped with the motivation though. I was walking down telling myself that I was really only running for the marathon, and that I don't really enjoy running that much anyway. I just let myself start slowly, zone out, stop at every light I couldn't make it past, and even with some knee discomfort at mile 4 an on, I realized that I was just lying to myself. I run because I like to run. Having a goal makes it easier to get out and not make excuses, but I like to run.
The blog entries in response to this weeks Runner's Lounge Take it and Run Thursday helped too.
Appointment about the hernia in a few hours, we'll see what they have to say. Since I know everyone is waiting with baited breath to see if there's a permanent way to keep my intestinal tract inside my abdominal cavity, I'll post this evening with what they have to say. :)
splits:
took them out of habit, but since I stopped (didn't run in place, didn't try to go around) at every stop light that wasn't timed right, and since the point of this run was to just go run for running's sake, I'm not recording them
Forced myself out the door at 8:45 (64 degrees) and walked down to the start point. Had told Val that I had 5 on the books, but I might run 3, or some distance between the two. I wasn't really motivated to go out at all. I was feeling tired, and blah, and why bother.
This hernia thing is really playing hob with my motivation. Knowing that I'll have to take some undefined amount of time off, maybe not run the marathon, have to go backwards in my mileage after recovery to get back to where I am when I have the surgery , etc. is making me want to just say eff it, why bother.
This run really helped with the motivation though. I was walking down telling myself that I was really only running for the marathon, and that I don't really enjoy running that much anyway. I just let myself start slowly, zone out, stop at every light I couldn't make it past, and even with some knee discomfort at mile 4 an on, I realized that I was just lying to myself. I run because I like to run. Having a goal makes it easier to get out and not make excuses, but I like to run.
The blog entries in response to this weeks Runner's Lounge Take it and Run Thursday helped too.
Appointment about the hernia in a few hours, we'll see what they have to say. Since I know everyone is waiting with baited breath to see if there's a permanent way to keep my intestinal tract inside my abdominal cavity, I'll post this evening with what they have to say. :)
splits:
took them out of habit, but since I stopped (didn't run in place, didn't try to go around) at every stop light that wasn't timed right, and since the point of this run was to just go run for running's sake, I'm not recording them
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Slow Test 3 Miler
3 miles in 29:41 (9:54/mile)
Ran with Toby to keep my speed down. Managed to keep my intestines inside the body cavity, so a pretty good run. :)
I really needed to get out there today. This hernia thing has me pretty down, and I think that if I hadn't gone out it would have been a while till I went out again.
splits:
mile1 - 10:07
mile2 - 9:53
mile3 - 9:41
Ran with Toby to keep my speed down. Managed to keep my intestines inside the body cavity, so a pretty good run. :)
I really needed to get out there today. This hernia thing has me pretty down, and I think that if I hadn't gone out it would have been a while till I went out again.
splits:
mile1 - 10:07
mile2 - 9:53
mile3 - 9:41
Umbilical Hernia
Apparently my self diagnosis is correct. That little squishy bit is intestine being pushed back in. Whee. :)
So. I have an umblilical hernia. (amusingly, so does my dog, but his healed closed when he was a puppy, leaving a cute bubble instead of a belly button. :)). I've got an appointment with the surgeon on Friday and they'll evaluate it and see what kind of repair is necessary. My doc certainly confirmed that I have one at my belly button, but she thought she felt another one, or something anyway, a few inches to the right as well.
As long as I don't have pain, and can reduce (push back in) anything that comes up, I can run. If I feel pain or discomfort, I'm to stop. (Which, unlike my knee, I will actually do.) Recovery time from the surgery may be from 2 to 6 weeks, but it depends on the amount of work they have to do. I'll know more on Friday.
So. I have an umblilical hernia. (amusingly, so does my dog, but his healed closed when he was a puppy, leaving a cute bubble instead of a belly button. :)). I've got an appointment with the surgeon on Friday and they'll evaluate it and see what kind of repair is necessary. My doc certainly confirmed that I have one at my belly button, but she thought she felt another one, or something anyway, a few inches to the right as well.
As long as I don't have pain, and can reduce (push back in) anything that comes up, I can run. If I feel pain or discomfort, I'm to stop. (Which, unlike my knee, I will actually do.) Recovery time from the surgery may be from 2 to 6 weeks, but it depends on the amount of work they have to do. I'll know more on Friday.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Late Night 10 Miler
10.2 miles in 1:37:55 (9:35/mile)
First time breaking double digits on a run, and first week over 20 (21. but it counts. :)). Whoo hoo! :) Did this Saturday night in about 60 degrees.
Yet another late night run. I was going to run this in the morning, but Val asked me to run in the evening since she hasn't been feeling well and wasn't sure if she had the energy to deal with Kaitlyn by herself for 2 hours. We sent her to the clinic instead and found out that she has the start of strep throat, pink eye, a stomach flu, and a compacted lower intestine. Wheee. :(
I got my new 'hydration system' that I've been babbling about, so I did the anally retentive thing, washed the new bottles and uses some permanent marker to mark the bottles every 2 ounces so I could get a better feel for how much I'm drinking. The goal was 24 oz an hour, or 6o every 15 minutes for those of you who are math challenged. This seems to be right in the middle of the range according to Hammer Nutrition for amount of water that can be absorbed in an hour, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I only did water since I now that I know I can handle NUUN, I don't really need it at runs of this length. I also took along 2 packs of Sports Beans to take at 45 min and 30 minutes later.
Got on the road at around 9:30. Had a keychain flashlight and my reflective vest, and my cell phone in case I ran into any problems. First little bit went just fine. Some minor fussing to get the belt for the bottle carrier just right, and to get used to having it around my waist. I'm pretty happy with it. Even filled, it's pretty low impact. It came with 2 front pockets that I took off because it made it look a little like a toolbelt, and I think in hindsight I should have gotten the 'Elite' version with the pocket in the lower back instead of the drawstring. It would be better to hold gels, etc. I'll obviously use what I have and see if my opinion changes. It's a bit of a challenge getting the bottles back in one handed, but I think that's a technique issue, and should get better as I break it in. Also, the permanent marker on the bottles rubbed off after the first 2 times I took the bottle out. I'll have to figure something out.
Tried my first pack of Sports Beans at around 45 minutes in. I started with the Lemon Lime pack. and they were tasty. Once I could breathe again. Apparently, learning to eat on the run is going to require some practice. I don't appear to breathe when I chew, so 15 or 20 of those little buggers made for some gasping and wheezing till I started to get it figured out. I took me about 1/2 a mile to get them all eaten and washed down with water. I think I felt a bit of a pep about 5 or 10 minutes later that lasted for about a mile or two. I did notice that just as my pep was starting the I had a 'side split' at around my belly button. A fairly sharp pain, but it subsided a little as the remainder of the run progressed.
I slogged my way back up and down the slight hills on this route. The reason I picked this route was the fact that there was only about 50 feet of difference between min and max altitude. My other 3 options were from 125 to 175. My knee just had a warning light on the whole run, but now sharp pains, I suspect it would have been ugly on one of the other routes.
Had the other pack of Sports Beans, Berry Blue, at just after mile 8, 30 minutes later. About 1/2 mile to eat them again, but easier on the breathing. Did notice both times that they are a little acidic. Could feel it come up with some belches. That could have been overhydration too. I think I didn't need all of the water I drank, but since I didn't do a before and after weigh in I can't be sure.
Finally got done, feeling pretty good, and on the walk back decide to check out my belly button pain. It felt (and continues to feel) a little squishy. After some research to confirm my fears, I think I have an umbilical hernia. Sometimes it feels 'squishy' and I can push on it and it's like it goes back in. Honestly, I'm terrified. I'm calling the doc in the morning, but it's scaring the crap out of me. Probably because I just don't know what's going on, or what my options are. All of the worst cases keep running through my mind. Death, never being able to run, surgery and marathon and having to start over, etc... We'll just have to see I guess.
splits:
mile1 - 9:28 (stopped just before marker to retie shoe)
mile2 - 9:49
mile3 - 9:42
mile4 - 9:34
mile5 - 9:55 (had lemon lime sports bean starting @ 4.5, actually 1.02; 9:43)
mile6 - 10:09(actually 1.02; 9:57)
mile7 - 9:45
mile8 - 9:23 (had berry blue sports beans, took .5 miles to eat)
mile9 - 10:59 (actually 1.16 (trying to avoid running in place at a light), 9:28 pace. dropped a bottle)
mile10 - 9:12
First time breaking double digits on a run, and first week over 20 (21. but it counts. :)). Whoo hoo! :) Did this Saturday night in about 60 degrees.
Yet another late night run. I was going to run this in the morning, but Val asked me to run in the evening since she hasn't been feeling well and wasn't sure if she had the energy to deal with Kaitlyn by herself for 2 hours. We sent her to the clinic instead and found out that she has the start of strep throat, pink eye, a stomach flu, and a compacted lower intestine. Wheee. :(
I got my new 'hydration system' that I've been babbling about, so I did the anally retentive thing, washed the new bottles and uses some permanent marker to mark the bottles every 2 ounces so I could get a better feel for how much I'm drinking. The goal was 24 oz an hour, or 6o every 15 minutes for those of you who are math challenged. This seems to be right in the middle of the range according to Hammer Nutrition for amount of water that can be absorbed in an hour, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I only did water since I now that I know I can handle NUUN, I don't really need it at runs of this length. I also took along 2 packs of Sports Beans to take at 45 min and 30 minutes later.
Got on the road at around 9:30. Had a keychain flashlight and my reflective vest, and my cell phone in case I ran into any problems. First little bit went just fine. Some minor fussing to get the belt for the bottle carrier just right, and to get used to having it around my waist. I'm pretty happy with it. Even filled, it's pretty low impact. It came with 2 front pockets that I took off because it made it look a little like a toolbelt, and I think in hindsight I should have gotten the 'Elite' version with the pocket in the lower back instead of the drawstring. It would be better to hold gels, etc. I'll obviously use what I have and see if my opinion changes. It's a bit of a challenge getting the bottles back in one handed, but I think that's a technique issue, and should get better as I break it in. Also, the permanent marker on the bottles rubbed off after the first 2 times I took the bottle out. I'll have to figure something out.
Tried my first pack of Sports Beans at around 45 minutes in. I started with the Lemon Lime pack. and they were tasty. Once I could breathe again. Apparently, learning to eat on the run is going to require some practice. I don't appear to breathe when I chew, so 15 or 20 of those little buggers made for some gasping and wheezing till I started to get it figured out. I took me about 1/2 a mile to get them all eaten and washed down with water. I think I felt a bit of a pep about 5 or 10 minutes later that lasted for about a mile or two. I did notice that just as my pep was starting the I had a 'side split' at around my belly button. A fairly sharp pain, but it subsided a little as the remainder of the run progressed.
I slogged my way back up and down the slight hills on this route. The reason I picked this route was the fact that there was only about 50 feet of difference between min and max altitude. My other 3 options were from 125 to 175. My knee just had a warning light on the whole run, but now sharp pains, I suspect it would have been ugly on one of the other routes.
Had the other pack of Sports Beans, Berry Blue, at just after mile 8, 30 minutes later. About 1/2 mile to eat them again, but easier on the breathing. Did notice both times that they are a little acidic. Could feel it come up with some belches. That could have been overhydration too. I think I didn't need all of the water I drank, but since I didn't do a before and after weigh in I can't be sure.
Finally got done, feeling pretty good, and on the walk back decide to check out my belly button pain. It felt (and continues to feel) a little squishy. After some research to confirm my fears, I think I have an umbilical hernia. Sometimes it feels 'squishy' and I can push on it and it's like it goes back in. Honestly, I'm terrified. I'm calling the doc in the morning, but it's scaring the crap out of me. Probably because I just don't know what's going on, or what my options are. All of the worst cases keep running through my mind. Death, never being able to run, surgery and marathon and having to start over, etc... We'll just have to see I guess.
splits:
mile1 - 9:28 (stopped just before marker to retie shoe)
mile2 - 9:49
mile3 - 9:42
mile4 - 9:34
mile5 - 9:55 (had lemon lime sports bean starting @ 4.5, actually 1.02; 9:43)
mile6 - 10:09(actually 1.02; 9:57)
mile7 - 9:45
mile8 - 9:23 (had berry blue sports beans, took .5 miles to eat)
mile9 - 10:59 (actually 1.16 (trying to avoid running in place at a light), 9:28 pace. dropped a bottle)
mile10 - 9:12
Friday, July 18, 2008
Just a 3 Miler
3 miles in 26:44 (8:55/mile)
Ran last night(Thursday) at about 10:30pm. About 60 and clear. Could see the moon, and the brighter stars. I really need to get back to my regular schedule, this late running is nice, but I really prefer the lunch runs.
Just ran. No goals for speed one way or the other. Ran with the iPod again. I may be hooked on my music again. :) Need to get one of those iPod holder thingies, since I don;t like carrying it. Maybe I'll win a Nano at the conference today. Doubt it, but one can hope.
Spent the day at an Oracle conference which was good, but wore me out. Took the bus both ways into Bellevue, and had to stand for half of the commute back home, along with 10 of my closest friends. The Seattle run is rarely that busy.
Spent some time with our neighbors letting the girls play, and then one of our neighbors with just the cutest Golden, Calli, walked by, and we ended up hanging out with her. Kaitlyn went down late, which is why I ran late.
splits:
mile1 - 9:01
mile2 - 8:55
mile3 - 8:47
Ran last night(Thursday) at about 10:30pm. About 60 and clear. Could see the moon, and the brighter stars. I really need to get back to my regular schedule, this late running is nice, but I really prefer the lunch runs.
Just ran. No goals for speed one way or the other. Ran with the iPod again. I may be hooked on my music again. :) Need to get one of those iPod holder thingies, since I don;t like carrying it. Maybe I'll win a Nano at the conference today. Doubt it, but one can hope.
Spent the day at an Oracle conference which was good, but wore me out. Took the bus both ways into Bellevue, and had to stand for half of the commute back home, along with 10 of my closest friends. The Seattle run is rarely that busy.
Spent some time with our neighbors letting the girls play, and then one of our neighbors with just the cutest Golden, Calli, walked by, and we ended up hanging out with her. Kaitlyn went down late, which is why I ran late.
splits:
mile1 - 9:01
mile2 - 8:55
mile3 - 8:47
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Quick 3 Miler
3 miles in 23:34 (7:51/mile)
Ran this Wednesday night at 9:45. Nice 62 degree run, very little traffic, and a light breeze.
I ran with my iPod for the first time in probably 4 months. I've been being an music running bigot, internally at least (oh, look how disciplined and cool I am, running without music, entertaining myself. :)), and I'd forgotten how nice it is to run with tunes. I'm going to have to get some playlists together, because wandering through my iPod on Shuffle just isn't cutting it.
My knee was a little warm and stiff, maybe a few twinges, as I walked down to the start point, but I didn't have any problems on the run. I stiffened up a little when I had to stop to tie my shoe. I'm a little tight and sore today, but it's definitely starting to get better, and the running doesn't seem to be aggravating it too much.
splits:
mile1 - 8:14 (lost about 10 seconds at a light)
mile2 - 7:40(had to stop and tie my shoe)
mile3 - 7:40
Ran this Wednesday night at 9:45. Nice 62 degree run, very little traffic, and a light breeze.
I ran with my iPod for the first time in probably 4 months. I've been being an music running bigot, internally at least (oh, look how disciplined and cool I am, running without music, entertaining myself. :)), and I'd forgotten how nice it is to run with tunes. I'm going to have to get some playlists together, because wandering through my iPod on Shuffle just isn't cutting it.
My knee was a little warm and stiff, maybe a few twinges, as I walked down to the start point, but I didn't have any problems on the run. I stiffened up a little when I had to stop to tie my shoe. I'm a little tight and sore today, but it's definitely starting to get better, and the running doesn't seem to be aggravating it too much.
splits:
mile1 - 8:14 (lost about 10 seconds at a light)
mile2 - 7:40(had to stop and tie my shoe)
mile3 - 7:40
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Almost Back to Normal 5 Miler
5 miles in 45:01 (9:00/mile)
Went out on Tuesday a little earlier than normal so I could get back and eat dinner, around 8:45. This was a good demonstration to myself of the effects of poor nutrition and hydration and it's effect on a run. I felt heavy and slow all run. Part of that was this was the fastest I've run in a while, because, when I started at least, my knee just felt tight, no pain.
No excuse, but my diet and hydration pretty much sucked before this run. We thought Kaitlyn had Pink Eye and Val was deadlined with a case of the stomach flu, so I got to babysit for both of them. :) I spent a lot of time chasing a very spicy little miss and an unfortunately large portion of my calories for the day came from Bite Size Snickers, Hershey's Kisses, and White Cheddar Cheetos. Most of my fluids came from Caffied Free Diet Pepsi. Not the best combination for a run, but I didn;t wat to eat at 7:30 and wait for 2 hours for dinner to settle. Now that I think about it, I could have just popped a GU for some energy and ridden that high. :)
Run started out feeling pretty good, but it was pretty obvious very quickly that I had picked the wrong pair of alternate shorts to wear for this run. I had dropped all my running gear off in the office, intending to run at work this week. All I had around were a pair of my old Army Grey running shorts. I ended up having to tuck them into my skivvies to keep them from falling off of my ass after I almost lost them sprinting across a cross street. I'll be throwing those shorts out. :)
Mad it to the turnaround feeling reasonably good. A slight side stitch, obviously attributable to pushing. Turned around and tried to keep pushing. Not happening. Then the downhill started beating up on my knee, so I really slowed down. Once I finally got back on the level everything worked itself back out, but I tried to keep a slightly slower pace. When I finally stopped my knee was a little 'warm' but no sharp pains. Right now it's a little sore, but much better than even on Monday. I'll probably wait to run till tomorrow though. I think driving in instead of taking the bus did more harm than the run though.
I got heckled from a car, and while it doesn't bother me because a lot of the time, people just suck ( :) ) but it does make me wonder if we can pass a law allowing runners (and maybe cyclists ) to carry paintball guns so they can 'heckle' back. :)
splits:
mile1 - 8:51
mile2 - 8:33
mile3 - 8:44 (up and down the danged hill)
mile4 - 9:44 (about 20 seconds at a light, bit I was thrashed from the hill)
mile5 - 9:10
Went out on Tuesday a little earlier than normal so I could get back and eat dinner, around 8:45. This was a good demonstration to myself of the effects of poor nutrition and hydration and it's effect on a run. I felt heavy and slow all run. Part of that was this was the fastest I've run in a while, because, when I started at least, my knee just felt tight, no pain.
No excuse, but my diet and hydration pretty much sucked before this run. We thought Kaitlyn had Pink Eye and Val was deadlined with a case of the stomach flu, so I got to babysit for both of them. :) I spent a lot of time chasing a very spicy little miss and an unfortunately large portion of my calories for the day came from Bite Size Snickers, Hershey's Kisses, and White Cheddar Cheetos. Most of my fluids came from Caffied Free Diet Pepsi. Not the best combination for a run, but I didn;t wat to eat at 7:30 and wait for 2 hours for dinner to settle. Now that I think about it, I could have just popped a GU for some energy and ridden that high. :)
Run started out feeling pretty good, but it was pretty obvious very quickly that I had picked the wrong pair of alternate shorts to wear for this run. I had dropped all my running gear off in the office, intending to run at work this week. All I had around were a pair of my old Army Grey running shorts. I ended up having to tuck them into my skivvies to keep them from falling off of my ass after I almost lost them sprinting across a cross street. I'll be throwing those shorts out. :)
Mad it to the turnaround feeling reasonably good. A slight side stitch, obviously attributable to pushing. Turned around and tried to keep pushing. Not happening. Then the downhill started beating up on my knee, so I really slowed down. Once I finally got back on the level everything worked itself back out, but I tried to keep a slightly slower pace. When I finally stopped my knee was a little 'warm' but no sharp pains. Right now it's a little sore, but much better than even on Monday. I'll probably wait to run till tomorrow though. I think driving in instead of taking the bus did more harm than the run though.
I got heckled from a car, and while it doesn't bother me because a lot of the time, people just suck ( :) ) but it does make me wonder if we can pass a law allowing runners (and maybe cyclists ) to carry paintball guns so they can 'heckle' back. :)
splits:
mile1 - 8:51
mile2 - 8:33
mile3 - 8:44 (up and down the danged hill)
mile4 - 9:44 (about 20 seconds at a light, bit I was thrashed from the hill)
mile5 - 9:10
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Painful 9 Miler
9.18 miles in 1:26:57 (9:32/mile)
Ran this Saturday morning. Actually got out close to on time at 7:45am. It was already around 70, an sunny, but not too bad. Ran up 35th with the theory that it was reasonably flat. Apparently I don't remember my 7 milers up the same route. My knee didn't appreciate it. More whining to follow about that. Again, need to work on my pace. According to my reading, etc. this was just too fast for a long run. I should be shooting for. Hold on, never mind. McMillan says Long Runs (between 60 and 210 minutes (according to my notes), at my 10K speed, should be between 9:22 and 10:22. Way cool. I feel better about that, now.
Had a glass of orange juice and a glass of water 15 minutes before I left to top off fluids and energy. No problems there, might want to switch to apple juice because of the acid in the OJ, but that's just theoretical, I haven't had any problems yet. My knee seemed to be only slightly achy/sore, and the walk to my start point for the warm up seemed to shake it free. The downhill wasn't well thought out on my part, and I certainly felt that.
It took about a mile to get warmed up and for my knee to subside into a dull warm throb of discomfort, instead of mumbling and groaning. I could tell my stride and form were off because of the knee pretty early, but it seemed to be doing OK. I tried the NUUN Kona Cola again, and it worked much better than last time. It does seem a little foamy by then end of the bottle though.
Got a Nathan Quickdraw Plus bottle holder from Joes (for $11.99). Glad I finally got one, but I'm going to need to get that Elite 2V bottle holder I mentioned before, too. Water was gone by mile 6.5, and I could have used some more. The rubberized bottle cap was nice too, I didn't feel like I was going to yank my teeth out trying to open the bottle with my mouth.
There are only two spots on this run that are a bit squirelly. Both sections are sidewalk less, with really narrow shoulders. Fortunately, not a lot of people were out, so I was able to just run in the road till someone drove up and then squeeze onto the shoulder or the grass next to it. I wonder who is responsible for putting in sidewalks?
I brought along 2 flavors of GU for this run, since I couldn't make up my mind which one I'd take. After I hit the turnaround at 4.5 and made it back to the safety of a sidewalk I tore open the Strawberry Banana one and gave it try. I'd heard that the texture was a little snotty. Not really, kind of like thick toothpaste. Flavor was OK, but the combination of texture and flavor made me think of the gel they swab on your gums at the dentist. A couple of ounces of water to wash it down and no problems. A little bit of a side split half a mile later that went away quickly but I'm not sure I can attribute it to the GU since I was working my way back up one of the uphills. The GU seemed to kick in about a mile later, and I didn't feel a surge of energy, but I can say I did feel more, refreshed, maybe?
At about mile 5.5 though my knee started talking to me. I won't repeat its' words, but by the top of the 'hill' (100 feet in a mile or so), at about mile 6.5 I was discussing if it wanted to be left behind, and I'd just hop home on one leg. At around this point my stride and gait were so effed up that my groin on that side decided to get in on the discussion. Needless to say when you look at the splits, I slowed down. Once I got down the hill to the level ground around mile 7 things started to work properly again, but were still grumbling the rest of the run.
Yes. I realize that the the sane and possibly intelligent thing to do would have been to walk the last two miles in. Or at least slow down more. Just couldn't do it. I slowed down as far as I could, and let me tell you the jog in place waiting for a light was a wash of cold refreshing water for my groin. It almost made me stop and walk a little later when I remembered how good it felt.
I stupided my way through the last 2 miles and then walked home. Most of the pain from the groin went away once I started walking, and the knee was back to an ache, and not demanding to be cut off.
I noticed later that evening that my knee was swollen (It may have been before, but I didn't notice). Sunday was a date day, so no yard work or running, which seems to have done some good. I'm skipping my Monday run to see if I can make some more progress, and we'll see how things look tomorrow. I'm just not feeling very patient, even with all the buffer built in to my training schedule, I need my runs for sanity, and I don;t want to lose to many miles. But, if I don;t let it heal, I may do more damage, and not run for longer. So, I'll try to be a mature adult. :)
splits:
mile1- 9:13
mile2- 9:12
mile3- 9:43 (actually 1.05 (detour around a light), adjusts to 9:16)(slight uphill)
mile4- 9:14
mile5- 9:53 (actually 1.08, adjusts to 9:09)(some downhill, and some shade)
mile6- 9:38 (back uphill, knee)
mile7- 10:19 (actually 1.05 (detour around a light), adjusts to 9:50)(back uphill, knee)
mile8- 10:06 (lost 10-15 seconds waiting on a light)(thank goodness we're on the level again)
mile9- 9:40
Ran this Saturday morning. Actually got out close to on time at 7:45am. It was already around 70, an sunny, but not too bad. Ran up 35th with the theory that it was reasonably flat. Apparently I don't remember my 7 milers up the same route. My knee didn't appreciate it. More whining to follow about that. Again, need to work on my pace. According to my reading, etc. this was just too fast for a long run. I should be shooting for. Hold on, never mind. McMillan says Long Runs (between 60 and 210 minutes (according to my notes), at my 10K speed, should be between 9:22 and 10:22. Way cool. I feel better about that, now.
Had a glass of orange juice and a glass of water 15 minutes before I left to top off fluids and energy. No problems there, might want to switch to apple juice because of the acid in the OJ, but that's just theoretical, I haven't had any problems yet. My knee seemed to be only slightly achy/sore, and the walk to my start point for the warm up seemed to shake it free. The downhill wasn't well thought out on my part, and I certainly felt that.
It took about a mile to get warmed up and for my knee to subside into a dull warm throb of discomfort, instead of mumbling and groaning. I could tell my stride and form were off because of the knee pretty early, but it seemed to be doing OK. I tried the NUUN Kona Cola again, and it worked much better than last time. It does seem a little foamy by then end of the bottle though.
Got a Nathan Quickdraw Plus bottle holder from Joes (for $11.99). Glad I finally got one, but I'm going to need to get that Elite 2V bottle holder I mentioned before, too. Water was gone by mile 6.5, and I could have used some more. The rubberized bottle cap was nice too, I didn't feel like I was going to yank my teeth out trying to open the bottle with my mouth.
There are only two spots on this run that are a bit squirelly. Both sections are sidewalk less, with really narrow shoulders. Fortunately, not a lot of people were out, so I was able to just run in the road till someone drove up and then squeeze onto the shoulder or the grass next to it. I wonder who is responsible for putting in sidewalks?
I brought along 2 flavors of GU for this run, since I couldn't make up my mind which one I'd take. After I hit the turnaround at 4.5 and made it back to the safety of a sidewalk I tore open the Strawberry Banana one and gave it try. I'd heard that the texture was a little snotty. Not really, kind of like thick toothpaste. Flavor was OK, but the combination of texture and flavor made me think of the gel they swab on your gums at the dentist. A couple of ounces of water to wash it down and no problems. A little bit of a side split half a mile later that went away quickly but I'm not sure I can attribute it to the GU since I was working my way back up one of the uphills. The GU seemed to kick in about a mile later, and I didn't feel a surge of energy, but I can say I did feel more, refreshed, maybe?
At about mile 5.5 though my knee started talking to me. I won't repeat its' words, but by the top of the 'hill' (100 feet in a mile or so), at about mile 6.5 I was discussing if it wanted to be left behind, and I'd just hop home on one leg. At around this point my stride and gait were so effed up that my groin on that side decided to get in on the discussion. Needless to say when you look at the splits, I slowed down. Once I got down the hill to the level ground around mile 7 things started to work properly again, but were still grumbling the rest of the run.
Yes. I realize that the the sane and possibly intelligent thing to do would have been to walk the last two miles in. Or at least slow down more. Just couldn't do it. I slowed down as far as I could, and let me tell you the jog in place waiting for a light was a wash of cold refreshing water for my groin. It almost made me stop and walk a little later when I remembered how good it felt.
I stupided my way through the last 2 miles and then walked home. Most of the pain from the groin went away once I started walking, and the knee was back to an ache, and not demanding to be cut off.
I noticed later that evening that my knee was swollen (It may have been before, but I didn't notice). Sunday was a date day, so no yard work or running, which seems to have done some good. I'm skipping my Monday run to see if I can make some more progress, and we'll see how things look tomorrow. I'm just not feeling very patient, even with all the buffer built in to my training schedule, I need my runs for sanity, and I don;t want to lose to many miles. But, if I don;t let it heal, I may do more damage, and not run for longer. So, I'll try to be a mature adult. :)
splits:
mile1- 9:13
mile2- 9:12
mile3- 9:43 (actually 1.05 (detour around a light), adjusts to 9:16)(slight uphill)
mile4- 9:14
mile5- 9:53 (actually 1.08, adjusts to 9:09)(some downhill, and some shade)
mile6- 9:38 (back uphill, knee)
mile7- 10:19 (actually 1.05 (detour around a light), adjusts to 9:50)(back uphill, knee)
mile8- 10:06 (lost 10-15 seconds waiting on a light)(thank goodness we're on the level again)
mile9- 9:40
A Normal 5 Miler
5 miles in 46:51 (9:22/mile)
Run done Thursday, the 10th. I really need to do these the night of, or the day after, because I really don't remember a lot about the run. I had other things to do around the house, like get some sleep, so I didn't blog it. The paper running log has that it was 58 when I went out at 9:45pm, and that my knee was bothering me, but settled into a dull throbbing ache through the run. I bumped the mileage up to 5 instead of 4 since I didn't run on Wednesday like I had planned. Good pace despite my knee. Ran this up the boring run along 35th. Reasonably flat, to keep the stress off my knee.
splits:
mile1- 9:23
mile2- 9:20
mile3- 9:28
mile4- 9:23
mile5- 9:16
Run done Thursday, the 10th. I really need to do these the night of, or the day after, because I really don't remember a lot about the run. I had other things to do around the house, like get some sleep, so I didn't blog it. The paper running log has that it was 58 when I went out at 9:45pm, and that my knee was bothering me, but settled into a dull throbbing ache through the run. I bumped the mileage up to 5 instead of 4 since I didn't run on Wednesday like I had planned. Good pace despite my knee. Ran this up the boring run along 35th. Reasonably flat, to keep the stress off my knee.
splits:
mile1- 9:23
mile2- 9:20
mile3- 9:28
mile4- 9:23
mile5- 9:16
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Sore Knee Run
3 miles in 29:03 ( 9:41/mile)
Ran last night at around 9. A nice comfortable 58 or so.
My right knee has been really sore for a couple of days. I ran on it any way because it seems to be OK when I'm moving and warm. Could be patello-femoral, or maybe runners knee. Or they might be the same thing... It's sore on the left side where the dog hit me so I think that was the cause, not the long run. We took the week off to do stuff around the house, and today has been running errands, not working on the yard, so hopefully that's going to help. I'll probably go out again tonight and see how I feel.
Amended just before posting, and before the Wednesday run: I'm going to be a mature adult and not run tonight. Knee is starting to feel better, so I'm going to let it do better.
splits:
mile1 - 9:41
mile2 - 9:46
mile3 - 9:36
Ran last night at around 9. A nice comfortable 58 or so.
My right knee has been really sore for a couple of days. I ran on it any way because it seems to be OK when I'm moving and warm. Could be patello-femoral, or maybe runners knee. Or they might be the same thing... It's sore on the left side where the dog hit me so I think that was the cause, not the long run. We took the week off to do stuff around the house, and today has been running errands, not working on the yard, so hopefully that's going to help. I'll probably go out again tonight and see how I feel.
Amended just before posting, and before the Wednesday run: I'm going to be a mature adult and not run tonight. Knee is starting to feel better, so I'm going to let it do better.
splits:
mile1 - 9:41
mile2 - 9:46
mile3 - 9:36
Monday, July 7, 2008
Night Owl Long Run
8.06 mile in 1:12:14 (8:57/mile)
Another late night left for this at 9:45. Really comfortable at around 58 degrees. I'm sure I ran too fast this run. My right knee is really stiff today. It could be the dog's head took to the knee when I was at the dog park with Toby, too. I normally run today (Monday) but I'm just going to do it on Tuesday instead. I think it was the mile long downhill. I had some knee pain in my left knee, my right arch, by the heel started to hurt, and when I stopped, my right groin ached. (probably from compensating for the other aches. I sound like I'm falling apart, but it all pretty much went away when I stopped.
I stopped by the Bicycle Center on Sunday and picked up a variety of carb replacement products, and some NUUN. I wanted to try the NUUN to add electrolytes to water without carbs for the long runs. All they had was Kona Cola. Hmmm.. Drinkable, but it felt odd on my stomach on the run. Not sure if it was dinner or the NUUN. It settled out by about mile 6. :) I'll start trying carb replacements starting either next week (9 miles) or the week after (10 miles).
I got two flavors each of Hammer Gels, GU, Sports Beans, and Clif Bloks. We'll see how they all work and then I'll make a decision on what I'll use. I'm leaning towards Clif Bloks, and NUUN in combination. We'll see. I probably need to try Gatorade as well.
splits:
mile1- 9:05
mile2- 9:43 (a little long, thus the next is a little short)(the long hill)
mile3- 8:28
mile4- 8:49
mile5- 8:43
mile6- 9:02
mile7- 8:51
mile8- 9:03 (the long downhill)
0.06 - :32 (8:53 pace)
Another late night left for this at 9:45. Really comfortable at around 58 degrees. I'm sure I ran too fast this run. My right knee is really stiff today. It could be the dog's head took to the knee when I was at the dog park with Toby, too. I normally run today (Monday) but I'm just going to do it on Tuesday instead. I think it was the mile long downhill. I had some knee pain in my left knee, my right arch, by the heel started to hurt, and when I stopped, my right groin ached. (probably from compensating for the other aches. I sound like I'm falling apart, but it all pretty much went away when I stopped.
I stopped by the Bicycle Center on Sunday and picked up a variety of carb replacement products, and some NUUN. I wanted to try the NUUN to add electrolytes to water without carbs for the long runs. All they had was Kona Cola. Hmmm.. Drinkable, but it felt odd on my stomach on the run. Not sure if it was dinner or the NUUN. It settled out by about mile 6. :) I'll start trying carb replacements starting either next week (9 miles) or the week after (10 miles).
I got two flavors each of Hammer Gels, GU, Sports Beans, and Clif Bloks. We'll see how they all work and then I'll make a decision on what I'll use. I'm leaning towards Clif Bloks, and NUUN in combination. We'll see. I probably need to try Gatorade as well.
splits:
mile1- 9:05
mile2- 9:43 (a little long, thus the next is a little short)(the long hill)
mile3- 8:28
mile4- 8:49
mile5- 8:43
mile6- 9:02
mile7- 8:51
mile8- 9:03 (the long downhill)
0.06 - :32 (8:53 pace)
Saturday, July 5, 2008
4th of July Run
3 miles in 28:07 (9:22/mile)
Did this run late night at about 9:45. I decided to take my life into my own hands and go see what kind of a show the neighbors were putting on. :) I had a nice slow, comfortable run watching all of the fireworks. There are some positives to living in unincorporated Snohomish County. People get to spend a huge amount of money on fireworks and put on a show for their neighbors. Air quality left something to be desired though. :) It was a pretty neat experience. I'll have to do it next year. :)
splits:
mile1 - 9:46
mile2 - 9:29
mile3 - 8:52
Did this run late night at about 9:45. I decided to take my life into my own hands and go see what kind of a show the neighbors were putting on. :) I had a nice slow, comfortable run watching all of the fireworks. There are some positives to living in unincorporated Snohomish County. People get to spend a huge amount of money on fireworks and put on a show for their neighbors. Air quality left something to be desired though. :) It was a pretty neat experience. I'll have to do it next year. :)
splits:
mile1 - 9:46
mile2 - 9:29
mile3 - 8:52
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Late Night Run
4.56 miles in 44:50 (9:49/mile)
Ran late last night (9:45) in 70 degree and 75% humidity. (The humidity was a change, the temp wasn't bad with no sun. :) ) It was a decent, slow, run. It was a completely new run, so I missed all sorts of way points so my splits are all wonky. I probably should have brought a flashlight with me for a couple of stretches.
I've had a number of odd aches and pains I've been worried about on and off all week, including an odd lower calf/tendon pain in my left calf that I can't explain. I haven't done anything to it, it just hurts. When I finished my right knee practically locked up tight. After some research and talking with people, I'm blaming the Valtrex. Fortunately, I've got one pill left then I'm done. It seems to have done it's job knocking down the shingles expansion, but the side effects aren't welcome. I probably won't run today, but if I'm feeling right I'll run on the weekend, hopefully a nice long one to get back in the groove.
Given that I can't trust how my body is feeling, and I'm don't want to spend $25 to run a race as a training run, then beat myself up for it, I'm not going to run the 10K tomorrow. I've been considering it for a few days, but last night's run just fixed it in my head. I can do the distance, but if I'm going to pay money, I want to give it may all. I haven't registered, so I'm not out any money. And honestly, I'm just not feeling it. I really just want to sit in a chair and stare at a wall for a few hours. I'm considering the Swedish Medical Center SummeRun on 27 July instead. It looks like a hilly course though, (part of it is the last part of the Seattle Marathon, so maybe it's a vote FOR the race actually). I'll do some more research this weekend.
splits:
mile1 - 10:50 (actually 1.11, so 9:46 pace)
mile2 - 9:12 (actually 0.89, so 10:20 pace)(some hills here)
mile3 - 10:01 (last of the big hill, then some downhill)
mile4 - 9:29 (nice and flat)
0.56 - 5:18 (9:28 pace)
Ran late last night (9:45) in 70 degree and 75% humidity. (The humidity was a change, the temp wasn't bad with no sun. :) ) It was a decent, slow, run. It was a completely new run, so I missed all sorts of way points so my splits are all wonky. I probably should have brought a flashlight with me for a couple of stretches.
I've had a number of odd aches and pains I've been worried about on and off all week, including an odd lower calf/tendon pain in my left calf that I can't explain. I haven't done anything to it, it just hurts. When I finished my right knee practically locked up tight. After some research and talking with people, I'm blaming the Valtrex. Fortunately, I've got one pill left then I'm done. It seems to have done it's job knocking down the shingles expansion, but the side effects aren't welcome. I probably won't run today, but if I'm feeling right I'll run on the weekend, hopefully a nice long one to get back in the groove.
Given that I can't trust how my body is feeling, and I'm don't want to spend $25 to run a race as a training run, then beat myself up for it, I'm not going to run the 10K tomorrow. I've been considering it for a few days, but last night's run just fixed it in my head. I can do the distance, but if I'm going to pay money, I want to give it may all. I haven't registered, so I'm not out any money. And honestly, I'm just not feeling it. I really just want to sit in a chair and stare at a wall for a few hours. I'm considering the Swedish Medical Center SummeRun on 27 July instead. It looks like a hilly course though, (part of it is the last part of the Seattle Marathon, so maybe it's a vote FOR the race actually). I'll do some more research this weekend.
splits:
mile1 - 10:50 (actually 1.11, so 9:46 pace)
mile2 - 9:12 (actually 0.89, so 10:20 pace)(some hills here)
mile3 - 10:01 (last of the big hill, then some downhill)
mile4 - 9:29 (nice and flat)
0.56 - 5:18 (9:28 pace)
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Yachts
Ever since I posted about seeing the super yacht Bossy Boots, I swear half my traffic has been people searching for information abut it. My newest sighting has been in port for a while, it's Paraffin, pic here. Apparently it's owned by the guy who owns Yankee Candle Company, or something like that.
Another top 200 yacht. Very pretty. I'm posting this separately so I can keep track of things a little more neatly in my traffic log. If any one actually knows anything about these I might put it here as well. The biggest question seems to be who owns Bossy Boots. Who knows? :)
Another top 200 yacht. Very pretty. I'm posting this separately so I can keep track of things a little more neatly in my traffic log. If any one actually knows anything about these I might put it here as well. The biggest question seems to be who owns Bossy Boots. Who knows? :)
Monthly Weigh In - June
Did the weigh in Monday after I dropped Kaitlyn off at daycare.
This month was a slower loss month. I started eating about 2-300 under maintenance instead of 500 under because of the increased run lengths, so I only killed 5.5 pounds this month. Not seeing more drops in numbers was a little frustrating, but hey, it is what it is.
The original goal weight was 165, and I'm obviously 2.5 pounds from that. I've pretty much revised my goal to 160 after seeing that I've still bit a jiggly pouch still, and I'm not quite at the body fat level I'd like to be at. I'm planning on going to eating at my maintenance level, and most if not all of my run calories, starting this month. It certainly feels odd to eat 2100 calories instead of 1600. I feel like I'm going to gain it all right back.
The current plan is that I'm not going to replace walks to and from the bus when I ride it to work and back (1.25 miles or so total), I'm going to replace run mileage at 100 calories a mile instead of 130 which is what most of the math appears to put it at for my weight, and I'm not going to replace walks with Toby either.
If I assume 3 days a week on the bus (12 times a month), 3 1.8 mile walks of Toby a week (12 days a month) and 25 mile weeks for running, that works out to a little over a pound each month, and around 6 by the marathon. I can live with that. I think it meets the goal, but lets me actually eat to support my running.
I'm still figuring out how to add the calories from runs back into my daily consumption. I'm well aware I'm being an obsessive compulsive over this, but I want to get it right. Or something resembling it. I'm not a natural eater by any means, and if I let 'hunger' be my guide I'm going to be right back to where I started.
I'm torn between adding the average of my weekly miles to each day (21 miles that week means an extra 300 calories per day), and adding the run mileage for the day to that day (run 3 miles add 300 calories). I think I lean towards the adding on the day of the run, possibly with the variation that on the really long runs I split the cal ores between the day of the run and the next day. I'm not sure I can add 2000 calories to a single day on a 20 mile run day.
The other challenge is adjusting my diet to "eat like an athlete". I can't fill the extra calories with junk food and empty calories or it defeats the purpose. I had a lot of filler junk food the last two days, and while it was nice, I really want to make sure I'm not shooting myself in the butt. More research required here. :)
| 01 Jan | 01 Feb | 01 Mar | 31 Mar | 30 Apr | 30 May | 29 Jun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neck | 16.25 | 16.25 | 15.75 | 15.375 | 15.125 | 15 | 15 |
| Waist | 44.75 | 43.25 | 41.5 | 39.5 | 38.75 | 37 | 36 7/8 |
| Bodyfat% | 33.5 | 31.5 | 30.1 | 27.3 | 26.5 | 23.9 | 23.7 |
| Weight | 208 | 200 | 193.5 | 186 | 179.5 | 173 | 167.5 |
This month was a slower loss month. I started eating about 2-300 under maintenance instead of 500 under because of the increased run lengths, so I only killed 5.5 pounds this month. Not seeing more drops in numbers was a little frustrating, but hey, it is what it is.
The original goal weight was 165, and I'm obviously 2.5 pounds from that. I've pretty much revised my goal to 160 after seeing that I've still bit a jiggly pouch still, and I'm not quite at the body fat level I'd like to be at. I'm planning on going to eating at my maintenance level, and most if not all of my run calories, starting this month. It certainly feels odd to eat 2100 calories instead of 1600. I feel like I'm going to gain it all right back.
The current plan is that I'm not going to replace walks to and from the bus when I ride it to work and back (1.25 miles or so total), I'm going to replace run mileage at 100 calories a mile instead of 130 which is what most of the math appears to put it at for my weight, and I'm not going to replace walks with Toby either.
If I assume 3 days a week on the bus (12 times a month), 3 1.8 mile walks of Toby a week (12 days a month) and 25 mile weeks for running, that works out to a little over a pound each month, and around 6 by the marathon. I can live with that. I think it meets the goal, but lets me actually eat to support my running.
I'm still figuring out how to add the calories from runs back into my daily consumption. I'm well aware I'm being an obsessive compulsive over this, but I want to get it right. Or something resembling it. I'm not a natural eater by any means, and if I let 'hunger' be my guide I'm going to be right back to where I started.
I'm torn between adding the average of my weekly miles to each day (21 miles that week means an extra 300 calories per day), and adding the run mileage for the day to that day (run 3 miles add 300 calories). I think I lean towards the adding on the day of the run, possibly with the variation that on the really long runs I split the cal ores between the day of the run and the next day. I'm not sure I can add 2000 calories to a single day on a 20 mile run day.
The other challenge is adjusting my diet to "eat like an athlete". I can't fill the extra calories with junk food and empty calories or it defeats the purpose. I had a lot of filler junk food the last two days, and while it was nice, I really want to make sure I'm not shooting myself in the butt. More research required here. :)
Dogless Run
3 miles in 27:42 (9:14/mile) (ran this yesterday; monday)
This was a nice slow, reverse limbo run. I got progressively slower. It was frustrating, I thought I was doing a good job holding my pace after the first mile, and dropped 20 seconds. Something to work on, I suppose. I'll just take it as a nice taper for the 10K on Friday. :) I suspect that I'm not going to be setting records for that race, especially since I'm wearing my LS dri-fit to cover up the rash on my right arm
Felt really heavy as I went out. I'm sure I'm just not at 100%, and that's it. Pretty comfortable running at 9pm. Temp was down to 65ish. Much better than the hellish temps Laura put up with when she ran Seafair.
I had a thought about a question/comment Lisa over at i'm a runner? had. (A few weeks ago, now, probably.). I felt really odd warming up on my first race too. One was feeling self conscious, like I was a 'baby runner' and shouldn't be playing like a 'real' runner. The other was that honestly, that warming up would add length to a run that was already longer than any run I had done to date. I just didn't feel like I had any more miles in my tank than the race length. I've started doing something to warm up before the rest of my races though. Some is a better feel for my body, and what I have, and some is the fact that I've got more distance in the 'bank'.
splits:
mile1- 9:00
mile2- 9:18
mile3- 9:25
This was a nice slow, reverse limbo run. I got progressively slower. It was frustrating, I thought I was doing a good job holding my pace after the first mile, and dropped 20 seconds. Something to work on, I suppose. I'll just take it as a nice taper for the 10K on Friday. :) I suspect that I'm not going to be setting records for that race, especially since I'm wearing my LS dri-fit to cover up the rash on my right arm
Felt really heavy as I went out. I'm sure I'm just not at 100%, and that's it. Pretty comfortable running at 9pm. Temp was down to 65ish. Much better than the hellish temps Laura put up with when she ran Seafair.
I had a thought about a question/comment Lisa over at i'm a runner? had. (A few weeks ago, now, probably.). I felt really odd warming up on my first race too. One was feeling self conscious, like I was a 'baby runner' and shouldn't be playing like a 'real' runner. The other was that honestly, that warming up would add length to a run that was already longer than any run I had done to date. I just didn't feel like I had any more miles in my tank than the race length. I've started doing something to warm up before the rest of my races though. Some is a better feel for my body, and what I have, and some is the fact that I've got more distance in the 'bank'.
splits:
mile1- 9:00
mile2- 9:18
mile3- 9:25
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