That's about the only good thing I can say about tonight's run. I wasn't feeling very well tonight and it took me awhile to get out the door. My knee was still not 100%, so I put a brace on it before I took off. It seemed to be more of a burden than a help though. My motion was limited and my muscles felt tight. I ended up pulling the brace down around my ankle for the second half of the run.
The other problem was that I just felt like I was out of gas tonight. Every step took more effort than usual. I only ran around Lake Harriet (about 3 miles), but it seemed to take forever. At the end of my run I didn't feel worn out, but I think it was probably the right distance to go with my knee still bugging me.
I'm hoping Friday goes better. It doesn't hurt to have an off day once in awhile, but I don't want to make a habit of it.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Delusions of Grandeur
I set out today on a task that would make Odysseus cringe. Not only was I going to defy my knee pain by running another 6+ miles, but I was going to do it in the bitter Minnesota cold. The wind chill was -10. Surely only the most dedicated athletes would be out and about today.
I started out at about 8:00 pm well after dark and after the cold had set in. I set out at a bold pace daring the cold to do its best to stop me. After about 1.5 miles I saw another person. Another warrior runner out fighting the good fight. I gave him the time honored salute of the head nod as we passed each other in the darkness.
Another 1.5 miles passed without the sight of another human being. I felt great pride in my intense dedication to my personal betterment. Few other souls would dare brave the elements like me. Then I saw another person in the distance. Surely another gladiator like myself. As I got closer I saw who it was: a sixty year old man walking his dogs. No soldier, battling mother nature, just an old dude giving his dogs a chance to poop.
Needless to say that stopped my little tough guy fantasy.
It was a good run though. I did make it the 6.87 miles again, but my watch lost satellite signals a few times and I couldn't start it right away so I didn't get much good data. I started out faster than last time, but by the end my knee was acting up quite a bit so I was at a slow jog. My rhythm is definitely getting better, but the knee still stops me from being too consistent. Slowly but surely I'm getting there.
I'm really looking forward to my next run, even if I'm not the only person out braving the cold.
I started out at about 8:00 pm well after dark and after the cold had set in. I set out at a bold pace daring the cold to do its best to stop me. After about 1.5 miles I saw another person. Another warrior runner out fighting the good fight. I gave him the time honored salute of the head nod as we passed each other in the darkness.
Another 1.5 miles passed without the sight of another human being. I felt great pride in my intense dedication to my personal betterment. Few other souls would dare brave the elements like me. Then I saw another person in the distance. Surely another gladiator like myself. As I got closer I saw who it was: a sixty year old man walking his dogs. No soldier, battling mother nature, just an old dude giving his dogs a chance to poop.
Needless to say that stopped my little tough guy fantasy.
It was a good run though. I did make it the 6.87 miles again, but my watch lost satellite signals a few times and I couldn't start it right away so I didn't get much good data. I started out faster than last time, but by the end my knee was acting up quite a bit so I was at a slow jog. My rhythm is definitely getting better, but the knee still stops me from being too consistent. Slowly but surely I'm getting there.
I'm really looking forward to my next run, even if I'm not the only person out braving the cold.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Cold weather, Long run
The temperature dropped again today. I made sure to run in the middle of the day but it was still only 1 degree. I was bundled up appropriately though so it wasn't too bad.
For those not familiar with the area I'm in, I live near Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. In the summer I just run from home to Lake Harriet, but in the winter I don't trust the sidewalks on the way to the Lake. Minneapolis does a great job of keeping the trails around the lakes safe, so I drive to the lake and start running there.
On my last run, I ran around Lake Harriet and then down to Lake Calhoun. I was determined to run a little farther today than Thursday, but I probably over did it a bit. In order to go further, I started going around Lake Calhoun today. I kept telling myself I should turn back at various points. The last thing I want to do is reinjure my knee. I didn't listen to myself though and ended up running around all of Lake Calhoun as well.
It was pretty slow going for the most part. My knee ached on and off, but never anything too serious. The total distance was 6.87 miles and it took me 1:11:21. I'm feeling good because I was able to get a nice long run in, but I still have a ways to go. Last summer, this would've been my normal or short run and I would've done it much faster.
For those not familiar with the area I'm in, I live near Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. In the summer I just run from home to Lake Harriet, but in the winter I don't trust the sidewalks on the way to the Lake. Minneapolis does a great job of keeping the trails around the lakes safe, so I drive to the lake and start running there.
On my last run, I ran around Lake Harriet and then down to Lake Calhoun. I was determined to run a little farther today than Thursday, but I probably over did it a bit. In order to go further, I started going around Lake Calhoun today. I kept telling myself I should turn back at various points. The last thing I want to do is reinjure my knee. I didn't listen to myself though and ended up running around all of Lake Calhoun as well.
It was pretty slow going for the most part. My knee ached on and off, but never anything too serious. The total distance was 6.87 miles and it took me 1:11:21. I'm feeling good because I was able to get a nice long run in, but I still have a ways to go. Last summer, this would've been my normal or short run and I would've done it much faster.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Finding That Rhythm
Years ago I ran like I lift weights. I'd go out there and run as hard as I could until I couldn't run anymore. That worked to a degree. The problem was I never really felt comfortable while I was running. I'd often be out of breath and my pace would decrease significantly as the run went on.
Once I started to focus on form and pace my running improved by leaps and bounds. When I was really in the swing of things I could get done with a long run, take a few deep breaths and walk into the house and be more or less recovered.
Today's run showed me how much my ability has decreased over the last few months. Not only have I lost the stamina I had, but my rhythm as well. When I started out, I was breathing too heavily and wasn't keeping a steady pace. I spent most of my time trying to find the right pace and right rhythm for breathing.
The bad news is that I had a really tough time doing that. The good news is by the end of the run I had some success. I don't feel nearly as good as I used to after a run, but I'm getting there.
I forgot my GPS again today but I did tack on a little extra distance from Tuesday. I went around Lake Harriet plus down the road to Lake Calhoun and back. That's more than 3.5 but less than 4 miles. My pace was probably slower overall since I was really working on finding a comfortable pace.
I was really worried that I'd get home and my knee would be shot. That little extra I went contains a pretty decent hill. Luckily my knee is feeling pretty good though.
I'm excited to go out again. I'll probably wait until Saturday because I'm still afraid of pushing things too hard, but who knows, I may be able to add even more distance then.
Once I started to focus on form and pace my running improved by leaps and bounds. When I was really in the swing of things I could get done with a long run, take a few deep breaths and walk into the house and be more or less recovered.
Today's run showed me how much my ability has decreased over the last few months. Not only have I lost the stamina I had, but my rhythm as well. When I started out, I was breathing too heavily and wasn't keeping a steady pace. I spent most of my time trying to find the right pace and right rhythm for breathing.
The bad news is that I had a really tough time doing that. The good news is by the end of the run I had some success. I don't feel nearly as good as I used to after a run, but I'm getting there.
I forgot my GPS again today but I did tack on a little extra distance from Tuesday. I went around Lake Harriet plus down the road to Lake Calhoun and back. That's more than 3.5 but less than 4 miles. My pace was probably slower overall since I was really working on finding a comfortable pace.
I was really worried that I'd get home and my knee would be shot. That little extra I went contains a pretty decent hill. Luckily my knee is feeling pretty good though.
I'm excited to go out again. I'll probably wait until Saturday because I'm still afraid of pushing things too hard, but who knows, I may be able to add even more distance then.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Ready to Blog
Hi everyone and welcome to my inaugural blog post. Let me lay out what this blog will be about and why I decided to blog about running.
Last January I decided to make a goal of running my first marathon. I'd been running on and off for years but had never been fully committed to it. Through a lot of time and effort I was able to finish the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in on October. I certainly didn't set any records but it was a huge accomplishment for me.
At that point I felt like I had finally gotten a good groove going with my running. It felt great to complete a goal like that, and I wanted to continue. I signed up for the Phoenix Marathon on Jan 18th so I'd have another goal to keep me focused.
Unfortunately a combination of holiday travel, extremely cold weather and a nagging knee injury kept me from accomplishing that goal. Sadly since I ran the marathon I've gained around 20 pounds and lost much of my running stamina. I badly want to get back into shape because of the great feeling I get when I have a good run. I've never felt better in my life than when I crossed that finish line at the marathon.
So my goal in creating this blog is completely self serving. I want to blog about my workouts to get support from others and also to give me a little extra incentive to get out there and run. It's tougher to skip a workout when I know that everyone can see that I'm slacking.
Hopefully I can offer some items of interest, at least to other amateur runners like myself. There is a lot more to running than just going out there and doing it as many of you know well. I plan on talking about various running related topics along with my posts about my workouts.
So, please check back. I'll be posting an update at least every time I run. With that, here is today's workout:
I got out today for the first time in about a week. Last week we had record low temperatures and then I had my non-marathon-running trip to Phoenix where I continued to slack off. I went out at about 8:00 for a run around Lake Harriet. I forgot my GPS watch, but the run is about 3 miles.
My pace felt pretty good (which for me is under ten minute miles). Since it is much warmer than last week I felt like I could go without gloves. That was a big mistake. I ended up running with my hands in my pockets for part of the run. That threw me off a bit, but at least next time I'll know better.
My knee is still pretty achy, so 3 miles was probably about right. I'd love to run further, but I don't want to push it. I'm planning on running again Thursday so I'll post again then.
Last January I decided to make a goal of running my first marathon. I'd been running on and off for years but had never been fully committed to it. Through a lot of time and effort I was able to finish the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in on October. I certainly didn't set any records but it was a huge accomplishment for me.
At that point I felt like I had finally gotten a good groove going with my running. It felt great to complete a goal like that, and I wanted to continue. I signed up for the Phoenix Marathon on Jan 18th so I'd have another goal to keep me focused.
Unfortunately a combination of holiday travel, extremely cold weather and a nagging knee injury kept me from accomplishing that goal. Sadly since I ran the marathon I've gained around 20 pounds and lost much of my running stamina. I badly want to get back into shape because of the great feeling I get when I have a good run. I've never felt better in my life than when I crossed that finish line at the marathon.
So my goal in creating this blog is completely self serving. I want to blog about my workouts to get support from others and also to give me a little extra incentive to get out there and run. It's tougher to skip a workout when I know that everyone can see that I'm slacking.
Hopefully I can offer some items of interest, at least to other amateur runners like myself. There is a lot more to running than just going out there and doing it as many of you know well. I plan on talking about various running related topics along with my posts about my workouts.
So, please check back. I'll be posting an update at least every time I run. With that, here is today's workout:
I got out today for the first time in about a week. Last week we had record low temperatures and then I had my non-marathon-running trip to Phoenix where I continued to slack off. I went out at about 8:00 for a run around Lake Harriet. I forgot my GPS watch, but the run is about 3 miles.
My pace felt pretty good (which for me is under ten minute miles). Since it is much warmer than last week I felt like I could go without gloves. That was a big mistake. I ended up running with my hands in my pockets for part of the run. That threw me off a bit, but at least next time I'll know better.
My knee is still pretty achy, so 3 miles was probably about right. I'd love to run further, but I don't want to push it. I'm planning on running again Thursday so I'll post again then.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)