Racing Recap

The Route 66 Half Marathon was the only race I'll run this year. And it was a good one. The weather was about perfect, with a cool temperature but not horribly so. The course had a few minor hills in the first half, but after that was pretty darn flat. All in all everything panned out for a decent race, and my Virtual Running Partner made the most of it.

This was his first time to break two hours in the half, and he did it with a negative split. We tried to take the first five miles at a slower pace, between 9:30-9:45 per mile, and did so for the most part. A few times we sped up a little too fast, mostly on the downhills, but also any time there was a crowd. It was kind of funny because I told him he liked the crowds and then he denied it, but I think by the time the race was over he realized I was right.

The last four miles or so we were at a pace 8:30 or faster. Taking it easier in the first half definitely paid off. His official time was 1:57:42 and mine was 1:57:43. It was a great run and a well-organized race. In the few years since the last time we ran this the field has exploded. It was a good, satisfying run with a nice PR for my buddy. I'm also happy to say I felt exactly zero twinges in my right knee. That's right, zero. I'm happy about that and hope that with a week off or two that the pain in my right foot will go away as well.

Finally a Good Run

Maybe it was because it was only 3 miles long, but today's run was the most encouraging in a while. The knee felt the best it has recently and I was hoping for that when I set out. It twinged, but not as bad as last time, when I was about 9/10 of a mile in. I was aware of it but it didn't get any worse. By the end it was almost a non-issue. It was a small sample size but it gives me hope that Sunday's race will go well. If this was a test before the run then I think I passed.

The Story Continues

I took the day off from running on Monday to give my knee an extra day. Yesterday, Tuesday, I went out right before noon for a 5-miler that was to include three miles of tempo pace. I did okay until I hit the third mile and my knee started giving me problems again. I walked a bit and then started up again, albeit at a slower pace. After a few minutes I walked again up a hill and then finally ran the rest of the way home. I'm not encouraged by this continuing pain with the race coming on in a few days. I'm debating whether or not to run a 3-mile easy run tomorrow. Either way I'm sure I can still do a half-marathon on Sunday - it's just a matter of how pretty (or not) it is.

Concern

Today's 8-mile run was again tougher than I thought it would be. My right knee is still tender and has that feeling that one good tweak will send me writhing to the ground. Today it was around 70 degrees and a lot of people were out running. It was probably the highest number of other runners I've ever seen around here. I passed one lady and shouted out I was going to pass her on the left. She seemed surprised because people generally don't do that around here. I told her I just wanted to warn her and she was okay, but it's funny because etiquette of that type doesn't happen in these parts. I did get chicked early on in my run, and a lady pushing a stroller on the other side of the road was pacing me, but I was still warming up. At least that's what I was telling myself.

Back to the knee. I never stopped and walked because of it, but I was conscious of it for most of the time. I did walk a few times, once on a downhill that I was afraid would be painful on my knee and the other on a long uphill where I was worn out. This is one of those cases where I don't feel like I'm in imminent danger or hurting myself long-term. This week the plan is 6 miles on Monday, 5 on Tuesday, and 3 on Wednesday. I'm going to adapt that to maybe 4 on Monday, 5 on Tuesday, and we'll see if I run on Wednesday or not. Then it's three days of no running until the race on Sunday. I know I can make it for 13.1 miles, but I want it to be as pain-free as possible. I think some time off of it will make that possible.

Favorite

I don't know why this is one of my favorite runs, but it is. Run for 2 miles, run as fast as possible for 800m, recover with a slow run for 15 minutes, and then blast off again for another 800m, and slowly recover the rest of the 6-mile total. I told my Virtual Running Buddy this week that if you don't feel you're going to puke by the end of the second interval then you're not doing it right. I was almost there today. I like this one because really, how often do you get to run as fast as you can? It's almost like being a kid again - it just hurts more when you're done.

I didn't keep too close an eye on my pace during the intervals but I did see once that I got down to 5:46. The Garmin said my fastest pace was 4:47, but that's pretty much wrong. The difference between past runs like this and today is that I'm not in peak shape right now. I'm doing okay, but nothing like the year of four marathons.

I was also thinking how most of the times I remember doing this particular run are on a night like tonight, where the sun is setting early and there's a chill in the air. Guess that's a reflection of doing several late November or early December races. One more long run on Saturday and then the taper really begins to take hold.

Running on Election Day

Voted at lunchtime today so I could run when I got home. Started out when the sun was up and ended when it was down. Such is running after the time change.

Not My Best

Maybe playing paintball this morning and then running 10 miles this afternoon wasn't the best planned day. The running around this morning really wasn't that bad, although I once again found out if I was ever in an actual war you could count on me to be one of the first casualties. Nevertheless, I think the issue was (once again) the change in footwear. I wore my hiking boots, which always seem to cause me problems. It's not that I feel the difference so much when I'm wearing them but that I have issues later. Like on today's run.

It was weird. That sums it up, but let me explain. I had a slow start, running out of the neighborhood at a very slow pace. My knees felt weak, and it was one of those runs where it seems like I just never got into a rhythm. Right about the one mile mark I stopped running for a few seconds and walked, hoping that would jump-start my run. It didn't. By the time I got to the 1.5 mile point I stopped again. It felt like I was limping and I was afraid I was going to hurt myself. I started up, same thing. I turned around and was really in a mode of indecision. At that point I started a downhill portion and that seemed to help. I took a left onto Flintlock and felt good for about thirty seconds, like everything was going to be fine. It wasn't. After a couple hundred yards on an uphill slope I turned around and headed back to 96th Street. As I turned west I found myself settling into that rhythm I'd been looking for. By the time I made it back to the entrance of our subdivision all thoughts of cutting the run short had disappeared. It was still a tough run and I walked a few more times on some uphill portions, but I gutted it out and made the full 10 miles. As I said, it certainly wasn't my best run ever, but maybe in some ways it was because I didn't give up. Time to taper a bit and remember that next time I wear my hiking boots to not try a long run the same day.

Tempo

Today was a nice long tempo run. I normally try to keep my mileage to 6 or under on a weeknight, but today I went 7 miles. I ran a mile warmup followed by 5 miles at MP and a mile cooldown. As opposed to Tuesday's run I felt very good today and the run went great. My finishing time was 1:00:03 for the full 7 miles, so I figure the middle part was in the low eights. Not bad for an old guy. Plus the weather today was great - over 70 degrees when I was on my way home and not much cooler by the time I was dressed and out the door. I know this good weather won't last but I'm going to enjoy it while I can.