Workouts--Running and Otherwise

Yesterday the ankles were still pretty stiff and sore, so I did not do the 5-mile run that was on the schedule. Instead, I did an aerobic machine workout.

I started out with the elliptical trainer, then went to the recumbent bike. Those two machines stretched out my ankles enough that I could do some running on the treadmill.

It felt like a pretty good workout.

So this morning I got up early and did my 8-mile run. I was concentrating on pushing just a little bit, and I think I came in around an hour and 20 minutes, also known as 80 minutes. That felt good.

I also skipped a real breakfast and sucked down a packet of CarbBOOM instead. I took some water along and drank that a little past the 4-mile mark. And I never felt like I bogged down. May have to try that again some time.

Oh, and tonight I mowed the lawn. Not that lawn mowing counts as exercise, but it was time on my feet. And it sometimes takes a toll on my ankles. They're feeling pretty good right now.

We'll see what tomorrow brings.

The Wall

Anyone who reads about the marathon will eventually read about, or hear about, The Wall. It's a point approximately 20 miles into the race when the body runs out of the glycogen it has been using as fuel and has to switch over to the alternate source, which is fat or cartilage or maybe brain cells.

There are some legendary stories of athletes hitting The Wall and suddenly losing all their energy and strength and stiffening up to the point where they can barely walk, let alone try to run. According to myth, they feel like they actually ran into a brick wall. Hence the name.

My encounter with The Wall was not of mythic proportions. I did, however, feel a distinct drop in my energy level soon after the 20-mile mark. Soon after that my calves felt like they were burning. They weren't cramping--I haven't had cramps in quite a long time--but they burned like muscles feel during intense weight training or speed training.

Then, soon after the 21-mile mark, my legs felt stiff from hip to toe. I stopped to walk for a minute or so and then ran--kinda ran--the rest of the way. According to USATF.org, I did just shy of 22.2 miles (I was going to link to my route, but apparently I did not save the thing. Sigh.).

The good news is that I did feel strong through 20 miles. I set a slow pace and walked every 20 minutes. I had no pain in the hips, knees or ankles, no hint of cramping, and at some intersections I had to pick it up, almost sprint, because drivers were waving me through.

I had a funny experience with a bottle of Gatorade that I bought at the Jiffi Stop in Chatham. I couldn't find the perforation in the plastic wrapper on the top. This thing had a fancy drinking top to it. I twisted the top off the bottle and discovered one of those paper-foil seals on the top of the bottle! So I had to remove that thing and screw the top back on just to get some drink. Sheesh.

It was a 24-ounce bottle, so I drank half of it and stashed the rest at the base of a lightpost north of the Route 4 intersection with Woodside. It was still there when I came back.

I sucked down two packets of CarbBOOM and tried to decide whether I needed to suck down another. I finally decided that I wanted to find out how far I could go on how little gel. I did gel around 5.5 miles and at 14 miles. Maybe, maybe another one would have helped.

And I started my day with oatmeal with peanut butter and a banana. That seems to be the best way to prepare for these runs.

I started running around 5:35 am and hit 22 miles at 9:50 on the dot. That's about 4 hours 15 minutes for 22 miles, which means I'd have to maintain an 11-minute pace for the remaining 4.2 miles to finish under 5 hours. In other words, I don't think I'm gonna come in under 5 hours. On the other hand, I won't be stopping at stores to buy Gatorade and water during the actual marathon, so who knows.

Now we taper. As people keep telling me, tapering is good.

Early to Rise

I could seriously get back into this early morning running habit. I went early again today because thunderstorms were forecast beginning around noon and lasting the rest of the day.

I was up early, sucked down some Gatorade, dressed, and was on my way by 5:15. Since the schedule called for 5 miles, there was no need for solid food. My right ankle was a bit stiff, so I suffered with that for a while, but by the end of the first mile I was moving fairly well and felt good the rest of the way.

So tomorrow is a rest day and Saturday is 22 miles. At this point I'm actually looking forward to the 22 miler.

Oh, and the storms never showed up. I keep thinking how afraid our Schnauzer always was of storms.

Trying Something New

Got back into it this morning with a 10-mile run before work. Heading out at 5 am for a long run is no big deal for some runners, and back in the day I did all of my running early in the morning. Then I'd do a Nautilus workout at noon three times a week.

But I had never attempted a 10 miler before going to work. I wanted to get today's run out of the way, though, and it was the last long midweek run on the schedule.

I was up at 4:30 to have a banana, and a little after 5 I was leaving the house with my bottle of Gatorade in hand and my pack of CarbBOOM in my pocket. I stashed the bottle at my 6-mile spot and headed out.

I was running easy at a relaxed pace and felt pretty good. Sucked down the CarbBOOM and Gatorade after 6 miles and then headed off for my 4-mile loop. When I got done with that, I was still feeling pretty good.

After all, that's my last midweek 10-mile run. Ever. How could that feel bad?

Dog Gone

We awoke this morning to discover that our Schnauzer, Susie, had passed away in the night. She was one fantastic little dog.

I know I should get my miles in, but I just don't feel like running today.

Alone Again

Maybe I went out too fast since I didn't have Anne and Nancy pacing me. Maybe I should have had a heartier breakfast than just fruit cocktail along with peanut butter on toast. Maybe I should have planned two stops for gel instead of just one. Maybe it's just harder to run on my own than I thought.

I had been looking forward to a cutback run of just 12 miles, but I felt like I bogged down a couple of times. Once was around the 8 mile mark and another came along between 10 and 11 miles.

Overall, though, it wasn't a bad run. I'm guessing I maintained close to a 10:30 pace. And I felt fairly strong at the end, too.

The best thing was the weather. Although rain had been forecast for Saturday morning, and although I got sprinkled on a couple of times, I really didn't have to run in the rain. That was nice.

And I remembered to stretch afterward. That's something I have not been doing after long Saturday runs.

This coming week the mileage goes back up, with a 22-mile run scheduled for Saturday. I still have to figure out what the route is going to be for that run.

Morning Shuffle

I dragged my sorry butt outta bed before 5 am again. This time it wasn't because I was worried about the potential for bad weather or because I was facing a really busy day.

I wanted to run a flat route. I was really tired of doing hills, and a five mile run in almost any direction from work translates into a bit of a hilly run.

So I left the house just after 5 and kind of shuffled along. The one thing that really, really worried me about preparing to marathon was how my ankles would react to all the miles. This week they've been stiff a lot. This morning they were stiff and fairly sore for the first mile or so before they finally worked things out.

Once I got a good level of flexibility in my feet, I began to enjoy the run. As I've noted before, I don't run early very often, and I'm really surprised by the large number of people out walking and running in the predawn hours of Chatham. Back in the day, when I was walking at 5 am every day, I would see maybe two other people. This morning I probably saw a dozen.

But, wow, I'm quite tired. Thinking seriously of shuffling off to bed by 9:30. Just like when I was 10 years old.

Tomorrow being a rest day, I may get re-acquainted with the jacuzzi in the health club.

Fatigue

Yesterday was a scheduled 8 mile run, so I got to work early. On long run days I either go in early or stay late because I go over the standard lunch time.

I eat breakfast at home, so going to work early means eating breakfast early. And that means that I'm running 8 miles nearly 4 hours after eating. For most people, that's probably not a problem. I certainly didn't even think about it being a problem for me.

But along about 6 or 6.5 miles, I started really bogging down. I altered my route and ended up running a little over 7.5 miles instead of the planned 8 miles.

I should have eaten a banana around 9:30 or taken along some Carb BOOM. Ooopsie.

But I've been tired this week. Really tired. I was thinking last night that I haven't been this tired since high school when we would do those two-a-day football practices.

When T.S. Eliot opened his epic poem The Waste Land with the line, "April is the cruelest month," well, he was probably training for a late May marathon.

The schedule says 12 miles for Saturday. I'm really looking forward to that.

Ankles Again

So yesterday when I woke up my ankles were so stiff with my arthritis that I could barely stand. I couldn't believe it, but after about 20 minutes I had pretty good mobility. A lot of Sundays after long Saturday runs it absolutely takes hours.

But today there was still some pain and stiffness, especially in the right ankle. People at work were asking if I was limping. Geeeez, I was hoping it wasn't that noticeable.

I told one co-worker that it was an optical illusion.

Then I did my 5 mile run. It wasn't easy with the stiffness. But by the time I was about 3/4 done, things were feeling better. I finished the run and did my stretching and showered. Then a funny thing happened.

My ankle felt better. No more limping the rest of the day.

I just can't get over how these arthritic joints respond to exercise. Sometimes they like exercise and sometimes they don't.

Well Now

I am now one of those guys--one of those guys who has run 20 miles or more. Today was 20.5 miles to be exact.

Nancy Sutzer and Anne Baker told me I could run with them. I was grateful for the invitation because I was really worried about doing that kind of distance on my own. When we all three showed up at Panera, the first thing they told me was that they run 11:30 miles. Then they said they walk two-tenths of a mile after every mile they run.

I laughed and said that was all fine with me. I needed to pace myself for the long run, and I needed to learn to take more walk breaks.

It took us well over four hours, but we did 20 miles. We ran through cold wind, rain, rain mixed with snow, and sleet. Sometimes stuff was coming down and sometimes it was not.

I felt strong most of the way; I only bogged down some around 17 to 18 miles according to Nancy's Garmin. Then the strangest thing happened--I got like a second wind. I felt strong running the last mile.

I didn't exactly feel like running another six when we got done, but I was not completely exhausted. That's saying something.

And I'm not in severe pain now. The ankles are a bit stiff, but no other real pain. That's a surprise.

Oh, and I was going to try an ice bath which people have recommended to me. But after running in cold rain for most of the morning, sitting in a tub of ice water really didn't sound like a good idea. So I took a hot shower instead.

Next week is a cutback to only 14 miles. We all had a good chuckle over that.

Bad Day

And then there are bad days.

We were getting an absolute downpour at noon, so I headed for the treadmill. I probably would have been better off waiting until 5:30 and running with the HalfWits. At 5:30 there was no rain falling at all.

Oh well, I got on the treadmill and started hoofing along. I started feeling warm, then hot, then I started sweating like it was August or something. It was warm in the health club but geez, I didn't think it was quite that warm.

After running what was supposed to be an easy four miles and then stretching, I took a shower but couldn't stop sweating for nearly an hour. That hasn't happened to me in a long time. I have no idea what's up with that.

Weather Worries

I am really getting sick and tired of worrying about the weather.

Yesterday it was worrying if I had brought the right clothes because the temp at 11:30 am was definitely not what was forecast earlier that morning. Today it was worrying that we would be hit by strong or even severe thunderstorms with dangerous lightning and large hail before noon.

I tried to work and check the National Weather Service radar at the same time. I finally decided to give it a shot, and at 10 am I left my desk for the locker room and a 10-mile run.

Does that mean I stopped worrying? Of course not--it only meant that I was worrying outdoors and pushing the pace early because I was scared of being caught in a thunderstorm. I pictured myself pacing around Walgreens trying to figure out who I could call that might potentially drive over there to pick me up.

And, of course, all the worry was for nothing. Yesterday I discovered that I was dressed perfectly for the conditions, because the sun was out and the wind was down. Today I discovered that the NWS does not know everything, and the worst weather I encountered was a fairly stiff easterly wind. But I wasn't running east all that long.

Over the last three years I've run in wind, rain, snow, cold and heat. Also on ice. And I know that they won't cancel the Green Bay marathon if it's raining. So I needed to be out there.

Oh, and for whatever reason the last mile today was a struggle. I don't know if it was the pace I set early or what. Maybe it was because I sucked down CarbBOOM at 7 miles when I stopped at Walgreens for a bottle of water; I might have been better off stopping on the way out instead of on the way in.

But overall it was a good run. And it was essential to get 10 in today to be ready for (gulp) 20 on Saturday.

And as of right now the forecast for Thursday (4 miles scheduled) is thunderstorms. Saturday's forecast calls for rain, wind, and snow. So I ain't worrying.

Couple of Good Days

It's a fact of the running life that there are good days and bad days--even though that sounds like something you'll find inside a fortune cookie.

We always tell other runners when they're struggling that there are good days and bad days, and you just have to take what the day will give you. On a good day nobody needs encouragement.

Well, I just had a couple of really good days.

Tuesday evening I ran with the Half Wits and felt like I was struggling. Then Thursday came along and I just floated along. I ran the 4 miles from LRS out on West Washington to Meadowlark and back on Victoria Lane. There are hills along there and I just wanted to see how I would be doing on hills.

I did just fine, thank you very much.

Then Saturday was the Lincoln Memorial half marathon. It was my official cutback week, it was a training run, I wasn't going to push myself. In fact, I was thinking about maybe walking up all four major hills. And I was going to be running with my daughter, who had never run the distance before.

Yeah yeah, all that. I went out and felt strong the whole way, ran up all the hills and finished in 2:18:30. That's an average 10:35 pace.

I really couldn't believe how good I felt going up the hills. Melissa made me run the Lincoln Street hill, which I think is the hardest hill on the course. Then she had pain in her right foot around the 9 mile mark and told me to go ahead and "boogie". So I did.

I just maintained my steady pace, and on 1st Street behind Lincoln Park I started running up the hill and just kept going. When I crested the hill and turned into the park, I felt great. I still felt strong and just wanted to keep going.

Even sprinted the last couple blocks and the finishing chute. Couldn't help it.

This week will be interesting. The schedule says 4 on Monday, 10 on Tuesday, 4 on Thursday and then (gulp) 20 miles next Saturday. Right now, I feel like I can actually do it.