Compression Sleeves

Yesterday was my first run using compression sleeves. I thought a 6-miler was better than trying them on this weekend's long run and finding a problem there. I actually tried them on on Wednesday and they felt really nice. Then when I wore them on the run I kind of noticed them at first but as the run went on they were no big deal. And afterward my calves felt just fine. My knees hurt a little, but that's normal at this point in training. I'm looking forward to wearing them on tomorrow's 20 mile long run and seeing how my legs feel after that. My hope is that this puts an end to the calf cramping that has marred several of my races, and also helps with the recovery time afterward. To keep things kosher, though, I plan to wear them under long pants rather than inflicting the world with the sight of me in shorts and compression sleeves. Nobody wants to see that.

Two More Days

Ran an easy 6 yesterday and actually felt pretty good. It was a nice day and I went in the morning since I had the day off. After the 18 on Saturday I recovered pretty well, I thought, and the Monday recovery run confirmed that.

Today was also nice, with a little more of a breeze than yesterday. I ran 7 miles with 5/7 of that as a tempo run. I'm still not sure of my pace without the Garmin, but I would estimate a sub-8:30 pace during the tempo portion. I'm still not sure I could keep that up for 26.2 miles, but we'll see in less than four weeks. Most of it felt good and I had a good rhythm. But it was nice to slow down and run the last mile at a snail's pace.

18 Better

This 18 miles went better than the last, at least in my estimation. Not that the previous one was bad, but I paced myself a little better and feel better afterwards. Although the jury's still out on that and we'll get the final verdict tomorrow. I ran three laps of the neighborhood, and then the last 5.75 or so out on the open road. I planned to start at 8 o'clock like the race next month, but I was ready a little after 7:30 and saw no reason to wait. The first lap was in the fog. That was kind of cool since the hilly route took me down into the "valleys" and their coolness to the tops of the hills through the layer which brought me into a warmer state

I felt a couple of times like I was running slow but didn't care much. My goal was to finish without killing myself, and that's what I did. As of tonight I feel okay. Tomorrow will be interesting, and the easy run on Monday will be the real test. In the meantime, I'll take a few naps.

Thursday Morning Run

Ran in the morning instead of the afternoon since we have plans today. It was a 6-mile run with four miles of tempo. I can tell I'm not in the best of shape yet, at least not compared to previous marathons. Since the Garmin isn't working I have no way of telling my tempo pace for sure, but I'd guess it's in the 8:30 range, or maybe a little faster at times. That's going to make it tough to complete 26.2 miles at a pace near that, and it's a good thing I have several more weeks of training to go. At least the weather cooperated. It was in the high 50s and sprinkled a little while I was out. Just a a tad humid but not horribly so. Now it's time to rest before Saturday's long run.

Long Weekday Run

This was a tempo run, an 8-miler, which I wouldn't normally do on a weekday. But I did because I got off work an hour early and I was working from home, which meant I had no commute time. Getting out and running that far was certainly in the realm of possibility. The tempo part was supposed to be marathon pace, and maybe it was if my pace was fairly slow. I knew it wasn't going to be a fast run with the sun out and temperature at 76 degrees. I told myself I'd go at a pace that I would be able to sustain for 26.2 miles, and I think for the most part I did just that. I walked up the hill by the golf course, and my cooldown was painfully slow at times. I guess the lesson I can learn from all this is that it's part of the overall training and will help in the end.

Really Easy

Absotively a perfect day today! The temperature was 75 degrees, the sun was shining, and maybe the birds were singing. I don't know because I was listening to a podcast. Nevertheless I took it real easy on my 6-miler and it was great. No real residual soreness from Saturday's run, which was nice. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice as well, although with wind. As I've said before, perfect days like today are rare around here. I enjoyed it to the fullest.

Skipping the KC Marathon

Today was the Kansas City Marathon, which I did not run. It was a gorgeous day for a race, and that made it a nice day for a training run, too. It was 45 degrees when I headed out in shorts and long-sleeved t, with mittens to keep my hands from freezing off. I did three laps around the neighborhood plus a run up 96th to the pond and back. That accounted for the full 15 miles called for on the schedule.

The first lap was easy, although I left my sunglasses at home because the sun wasn't up. That was a mistake. The sun was blinding on the eastward running streets. There was a crew putting down asphalt on some new streets in the neighborhood, and running through the cloud of burning tar was a joy. Anyway, the rest of the run was uneventful. The last lap was pretty slow, as was the trek up to the pond. I was thinking to myself there was no way I would have been ready to run a marathon today, but maybe I should have run the half. But even that I'm not ready to race at this point. A long slow run was plenty. Wish I could get a nap in today but we have relatives in town. Hopefully that means I'll sleep well tonight.

The Value of Sleep

The last two nights I have not slept well. Not sure why, but I've woken up several times each night, and when I fall asleep and wake up I feel like I haven't slept at all. I think that influenced today's run, which was advertised as Yasso 800s x 5. I did them all over the course of 6 miles, but I walked a couple of times and the last two were not as fast as they should have been. In fact, the last one really wasn't much faster than normal. The first three went okay, although the last of those was kind of painful. Today was also warmer than normal for the last few weeks, almost 80 degrees and full sun. I still blame the lack of sleep more than the temperature, though.

Wind and More Wind

Since the other day was a rare and elusive Friday run, we can point out that today was a rare and elusive weekday 7-miler. I usually don't push to that length on a weekday, mainly because it's normally been a long day at work. Today I was off work, and I went a little earlier than usual, so I went for the perfect number. It was pretty windy, probably in the mid-teens mph, out of the northwest. It didn't really affect my run until the route up Shoal Creek for the last couple of miles. Giving in to common sense I walked up the hill by the golf course rather than trying to run uphill against the wind. I ran a tempo (untimed) for five of the miles. It all felt pretty good, even with the wind. See, I am getting serious about this marathon training.

Back to the Treadmill

Rain moved into the area overnight and stalled over us all day. Plus it was quite breezy and cool. That meant a return to the treadmill for my easy 6-miler. I thought about skipping it entirely but got myself motivated to do some weights and then a run. Plus I needed to shower and working up a sweat forced the issue. It was a fun weekend at the Irish Festival in Weston, but now it's time to bear down and get ready for next month's race. In other words, the fun is over. Well, most of it, anyway.

Friday Run

This was a rare and elusive Friday run, and a long one at that. I went 12 miles in the mist and sometimes sprinkles, with a breeze from the northeast that wasn't really too bad. My legs felt fresh and I navigated the twisting and turning route without any major issues. I even ran the big hills on Flintlock and Shoal Creek without walking. This gets my running out of the way and now allows me to enjoy Irish Fest in Weston this weekend. Beware the weekend Irish!

Three in a Row

Today was the third day in a row for running. Not my usual schedule, but the upcoming weekend of Irish Fest necessitated a change. I'll do my long run on Friday and then be off until Monday. I pondered doing a Thursday run followed by a Friday long run, but the chance of rain on Thursday made the decision for me.

Since I did a tempo run yesterday I didn't want to do another session of speedwork, so I opted for hills. I ran 6 miles taking the route over to 435 and then up whatever road that is to the elementary school and down through the Kellybrook division. At the boundary of housing developments it looks like they're finally putting in a second pool for our neighborhood. I don't frequent the pool that often, but it's been overcrowded for several years. About time they put in another.

Running and Baseball

Today's NLDS game came on at 4 p.m., which is the time I get off work. I listened to it on the way home and then found a radio The Wife gave me several years ago that clips to your belt, and so was able to listen to the game on the run. The Cards gave up two runs while I was out and then came back later to win with a 3-run blast from Matt Adams. Today's 6-miler included four miles of tempo, and it went pretty quick with the distraction of the game. The weather was gorgeous. I don't know what my pace was but I figure it was probably in the 8:15-8:30 range. Not as fast as I'd like but I tried to keep it realistic. Plus I was enjoying some baseball while having a nice run.

Monday, Easy Style

The fact that today's 6-mile run was easy was impressed upon me in the last half-mile when I got "chicked." Oh well, I bet she didn't run 18 miles on Saturday.

Nice Saturday, Mostly

I went for 18 miles today and made it. I ran four laps through the three neighborhoods in this area, and I'm sure some people were tired of seeing me. One of them was having a neighborhood garage sale but it wasn't as bad as ours last week. The first two laps went okay, but on the third and fourth I know I slowed down. My calves were tired out by the end, but I kept going. It was especially difficult against the wind from the northwest that kept getting stronger, but I put it out of my mind since I wasn't running against any time goal. I fueled at the house three times.

One trick I've learned is how to motivate myself when tired. I ran without headphones the first three laps and decided I would add music for the last one, and it certainly helped.

I'm also amazed at the appalling lack of courtesy and how drivers handle themselves in neighborhoods. I saw too many people driving way too fast, and I wonder how there aren't more people hit by cars in housing developments. At least three times a car turned right in front of me as I got to a corner, basically because they were in a hurry and didn't want to wait on me to cross the street. The rudeness and danger of it all is sad and scary. I learned long ago to drive slow through neighborhoods - not because of any bad experiences, but because of respect for others. And I don't want to be the guy who ran over somebody's kid because I was in a hurry. Obviously a lot of other drivers don't feel the same way.

First Yassos

Today was the first round of Yasso 800s during this training phase. With the Garmin still out of commission they turned out to be 800ishs. I know the distances fairly well for my 6-mile standard route and tried to stay close, probably erring on the side of going longer than 800 on several of the intervals. The plan called to run those at a 7-minute pace, and I'd estimate I was between 7:30-8 on them. I certainly felt worn out by the fifth one and shuffled a little in my last recovery before easy running the rest of the way home. It rained all day until a break in the storm this afternoon, but it was still cloudy and very windy. That made things a little more interesting but overall I can't complain since the temperature helped facilitate a fast run.