To the Treadmill

Cold today, with wind chill in the single digits. Which necessitated my first run of the season on the treadmill. I went 6 miles, 3 of it in tempo form. I had the iPad to distract myself tried watching a Nick Offerman comedy show. There was some funny stuff at the beginning but then he veered into mockery and downright blasphemy at God's Word, and I couldn't take it any more. Then I moved to Anchorman 2, which was just not funny at all. Next time I need to find something a lot better than either of those two if I'm going to keep sweating indoors.

Boxing Day Letdown

Today I just didn't feel right, and by the time I stopped my knees weren't feeling great. Not that they were in a lot of pain, but they just felt weak, like if I kept going I could hurt myself. I was going to go 8 miles but stopped at 5. I think it was the consequences of running two days in a row at this point in the plan. I can't run again tomorrow, but maybe I will on Sunday if I'm up to it and the weather is nice. Doubtful.

Christmas, A Nice Day for a Run

Today was the warmest day in quite a few, above 50 degrees. And it was also Christmas. Which never stops me from taking a run, and even actually makes it easier to do since everybody else is occupied. I got up with the family, we opened presents and ate breakfast, and then I took a 2.5 hour nap. The only thing not great about the run was the wind, about 20 mph from the southwest. I walked up the hill by the golf course since I didn't want to run uphill against the wind. Then I walked up it again from the other side just because I'm planning on running again tomorrow due to commitments on Saturday and I didn't want to be totally worn out. I felt a little less than nominal on today's outing, but that points back to my recent gluttony. About time to tone it down, I think.

No Sun Run

The sun made a three-hour appearance this morning, but by the late afternoon it was long gone. The temperature was in the low 40s, but it felt colder because of a nice breeze. Daughter #2 ran the first mile with me again, and in fact a little more than that, but not by much. I carried on for another 5 miles. This is the first week of the training plan for the March run. Guess I was supposed to run yesterday but it was rainy and cold. Plus I had other stuff going on and though it would have been nice to get in a run it just wasn't to be. Thursday is Christmas, and I should be able to find time for a run while everyone's occupied with all their new stuff.

Still Cloudy

It's been cloudy for about three weeks now with only one day that I can remember was sunny, and another day where it came out for a few hours. Today was no different. Daughter #2 ran the first mile with me, and after I dropped her off at the end of the street I ran 6 more. I'm working toward the March run, and that means I need to be running 8 miles for my long run by next Saturday. I missed this Thursday's run due to a few late afternoon phone calls. Today I felt pretty good about the run, even though I walked up the hill by the golf course. The temperature was a balmy 40 degrees with the aforementioned clouds. I keep waiting for the greenhouse effect to take hold and the temperatures to warm, but so far I've experienced nothing but disappointment.

Five for Tuesday

It was one of those brisk days, temperature at 30 degrees with wind chill down to 20, but all in all not really too bad. I decided to make this a 5-6-7 week, which seems logical since Saturday was a 4. I put together a plan for the March race, and I'll have to get back into the swing of things pretty soon. No time to slack off and skip a bunch of running. And besides, I don't want to anyway. I anticipate lots of treadmill running, though, if I'm going to do a race in that timeframe.

Today's run was much better, probably due in part to a good night's sleep, but also because I'm over three weeks past the last race now. I ran easy, and kept it throttled back. No major pains, and really no minor ones either. It's good to be back, and I can tell it's already changed my diet, which has improved over the last few days. As opposed to the gluttony of the previous three weeks. I shouldn't do that again.

After 20 Days

It's been almost three weeks since the race, and today was the first day of running since then. I was going to wait a few more days, but it was nice out, at least temperature-wise, and it would have been a waste to not run. Daughter #2 ran with me for a mile, and then I completed three more. My calf muscles produced no objections, but my knees felt a little stiff. I also felt every bite of food and non-water drink I've had in the past twenty days. It's amazing how quickly those things multiply and make you feel crappy.

Looking ahead, I'm seriously considering the Bataan Memorial Death March in New Mexico in late March. This is a race I've wanted to do for a while, more for the experience than trying to run it fast. The Virtual Running Partner seems agreeable, but only if we run it together and don't try to set a PR. I'm okay with that, since the research I've done suggests there is some substantial elevation change on the course as well as a section called the "sand pit." Plus it's also at a much higher elevation than KC, so running it with an eye on finishing between five and six hours seems prudent. I need to put a little more thought into it but that's the way I'm leaning right now.

Two Weeks Later

Another week of rest, and this one went much better than the first week. It's still a little weird not having a schedule right now that includes running. I've been doing my weights and core workouts, but skipping anything that involves the legs other than squats.

My calves felt better this past week. A couple of times I've felt a twinge, but nothing that lasts very long. The relaxation is good, but I'm on the verge of really wanting to get out for a run. I'm thinking of either next Saturday or the following Tuesday.

I'm also thinking of the next race. This wasn't my last marathon, and I'm certainly not going out on a note like that. I'm going to look at the Bataan race at WSMR and see if I can work it out schedule-wise. I've wanted to run that one for a few years. If I'm looking for a race that I can run slow and just finish without trying for a PR, this is the one. The biggest difficulty will be in training during the winter and then racing in very early spring, but it has to happen sometime. In the meantime, I will rest.