Shorts!

I was home early today so there was still daylight when I went out for my run. Apparently this is our last day of warm weather before we get hammered by snow again. I decided to be one of the brave (read: foolish) people who wore shorts for running today. I was somewhat surprised by how many people did the same.

It was great to see so many people out and about in the sunshine. It made it feel almost like spring. Hopefully the snow we get tomorrow won't stick around too long.

I took off nice and fast and felt pretty good. Again my knee started to act up though. It's been worse the last few runs despite my best efforts to take care of it. I ran a total of 4.5 files again. My pace was great but it's a good thing I didn't go much further. I'm afraid that my knee will be pretty sore tomorrow as it is.

Two short runs

Next post I promise I'll actually try to write about something more than just the basics of my runs, but not tonight. It's late already.

Saturday I just ran around Lake Harriet. I felt very run down for some reason even though I didn't have much going on this weekend, so I didn't try to go too far.

Today I tried to go a little farther. I went about half a mile around Lake Calhoun before I decided to turn around. My knee was already starting to feel achy. My pace was good for the 4.5 miles that I ran, but I'm pretty disappointed in my knee acting up again.

Another good one

The warm weather recently had made it so the only real obstacles in running are the puddles. Now that we're back to some more seasonable weather those puddles are nice slick ice sheets. It could certainly be a lot worse, but it did slow me down a bit. Since I run after dark, it's hard to spot the ice so I have to be extra careful.

That said, I had a really good run tonight. I went around both Lakes Harriet and Calhoun and only had some minor knee pain. I was concerned here and there that it was going to get bad, but luckily that never happened. I told myself over and over to turn back if I started to feel knee pain so that it wouldn't be really bad by the finish. I definitely would've been more prudent to do so, but I ignored myself and got lucky.

My pace was much better than the last time I ran that far as well. My mile pace was down by 13 seconds. I don't feel like I'm forcing it as much lately, which is great. My form feels a lot more natural and I'm able to relax while running. If I can consistently go for these longer runs without too much knee trouble, I'll be well on my way back to shape.

Don't drink and run

I had a happy hour after work tonight and didn't get home until about 8:30. I wanted to get a run in so I'd be back on schedule. However, a big meal and a couple of beers is not really the best running preparation in the world. I did manage to run around Lake Harriet and go at a decent pace again though. It wasn't my most pleasant run, but I'm glad I made it out.

Weekend running

I had a couple of good runs the last few days. Friday I ran around Lake Harriet (2.8 miles) but managed to pick up my pace from an average of 10 minute miles to less than 9 minute miles. I felt really good the whole run. Sunday was a long day and I wasn't feeling well so I put off my run until today.

Today I ran 3.5 files with a pace just over 9 minute miles. Again I felt really good throughout the run. I'm sure a lot of the progress on these runs is because they are short runs and I don't have time to feel the strain on my knees. It has been nice to pick up the pace though.

So close

Tonight's run couldn't have been much different than Monday's. I started out fast with no knee pain at all. I decided to go for both lakes. At about the halfway point I started to notice some aching in my knee but nothing serious. I was able to keep it going pretty well until I only had about a half of a mile to go, at which point the knee pain really kicked in again. I fought through the last little bit and finished with an average pace of about 9:50 per mile. That's pretty good in my recent running history, so even with the bad ending I'm feeling pretty good about tonight's run. And yes, I did make sure to take some drugs to stop the knee from swelling this time.

Not great

Whatever optimism I had on Saturday was gone Sunday morning when I woke up. My knee hurt all day long yesterday and much of the day today. Saturday after my run I probably should've taken some ibuprofen, but I decided against it. That was a big mistake.

I still went out for a run tonight, but I just went once around Lake Harriet. I actually had my watch with me today so I found that it is 2.85 miles. I actually went at a pretty good pace, but my knee hurt quite a bit. There were stretches where I felt pretty good, but the pain kept coming back. Tonight I did take some ibuprofen so hopefully my knee won't be worse tomorrow. We'll see.

Still battling with the knee

I got a long run in tonight. I went around Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun for the 6.87 miles again. My overall pace wasn't great. I had trouble getting into rhythm early on, but I switched my music to something a little more mellow which seemed to help out. I felt like I had a limping stride for awhile, but my knee didn't hurt until about three quarters through the run.

At that point my knee really started to become a problem. I had to slow down quite a bit to keep going, but I was able to finish. My knee feels ok now and it's been less painful in general. It's still frustrating since I feel like I could be going faster and farther if it weren't for my knee. I'm still hopeful that things are getting better though.

Good Run Tonight

Tonight was a very good run. It was about 25 degrees out tonight so it felt great. My knees weren't even bothering me too much. The worst pain that I felt was some mild discomfort.

It would've been a good night for a long run, but I made a couple of key mistakes. First I procrastinated way too long and didn't get out of the house until almost 10. Second I had a pretty heavy supper that didn't sit well. I ended up only going for 3.5 miles again, but my pace was really good (relatively). It's supposed to stay warm for a couple of more days, so I'm hoping I can try for a long run on Saturday. We'll see how it goes.

Another chilly night

The temperature was about 1 degree tonight when I went out. I ran about 3.5 miles averaging around 10 minute miles. I felt pretty good for the most part, but I'm still battling my knee every run. I am able to run without any knee braces, but by the end of even a short run like this my knee is pretty aggravated. I think the pain has been a little less on the side of my knee and a little more under the knee cap. I'm not sure if it's due to the work I've been doing or just a change in running form, but that pain feels a little more manageable. I'd like to go for a longer run on Thursday since it's supposed to warm up later this week. We'll see how it goes.

Weekend running

For the record, I haven't been lazy with running, just lazy with blogging. Friday I ran 3 miles and felt pretty good. Sunday was like Minnesota spring since it got up to the 30s. I managed the run around lakes Harriet and Calhoun even though much of it was a battle with my knees. I've come to the determination that I need to work on losing my weight independently of running. At the moment I'm in this kind of catch 22 situation where I want to lose weight to be able to run better, but the weight makes it hard to run.

So we'll see if I can cut down on some weight and hopefully help out my knees a little. I'll likely go for a shorter run tomorrow but I'll be out there again!