Equivalent run... little faster

I did a similar run to my Tuesday run except a little farther and faster. I felt great pushing it over the first mile and a half or so... But, then it got a lot tougher. I've definitely got some work to do.

Run recap- 2.94, 25:43, 8:44 pace

I hear ya... sort of

This goes out to Nate and Marcus... the good running buddies they are. Both of you, independent of each other, took it upon yourself to tell me that I was probably doing too much too soon. As much as I agreed at the time and agree now, it's still very difficult for me to listen. So, what was supposed to be a 5 mile run today was shortened to 3.26. I also made it a point to not run very fast. But, if you're asking, no I'm not listening completely. What can I say?? Have you read the name of my blog? I'm still going to do 5 runs this week. But, the five miler is down to 3 something and the 7 that I had planned will probably be 5.

So, this is a true, heartfelt thank you to the two of you. If you can't stop me completely from my own ignorance... maybe you can slow me down a bit.

Run recap- 3.26 miles, 30:21, 9:18 pace

Lunchtime run...

For the first time, I went running on the mean streets of Lancaster today. It wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting, but pretty darn windy. I'm starting to feel pretty good here.

Run recap- 2.91 miles, 26:27, 9:05 pace

Goals for this week...

Tomorrow is Tuesday and I still haven't really decided what my plan is for this week. I guess I should figure that out, huh? Here's what I'm thinking. I did 5 miles yesterday (which is the start of my normal running week) and would like to do that distance one more time in my regular schedule this week. I am also trying to get 5 runs in this week, so.... here it is 5 (already complete), 3, 5, 3, 7. That's a total of 23 miles this week. That may be a little hefty for just getting back. But, I'll listen to my body (right..) and reel it in if I have to.

My next goal?? Find myself a running plan. I'm not training for any races. I'm kind of a lost soul without some sort of goal in mind. So, I'm gonna start searching around for a good plan... any advice, let me know. In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to find a race that I can run. I'm running the Jingle Bell run in a couple weekends. But, I'm not going to be "trained" for that run.

Cold and dark... Awesome!!

I can't say that it's a lot of fun to run in the cold. But, I'm finally back in a groove of running (4 times in the last 6 days). I've learned over the last year that it doesn't always feel great to run. But it ALWAYS feels great after your done. In fact, I didn't feel terrible running tonight. I tried not to run too hard and ran faster and faster as I settled into the run. Even though I've been overeating, I still feel good now that I'm running again. Did I mention I'm running again?? Anyhow, it was my longest run since I've been back (4.89 miles). My feet feel great. Almost like there is nothing wrong with them... knock on wood.

Run recap- 4.89 miles, 46:00, 9:24 pace

Short workout

I was going to do 60 minutes on the elliptical yesterday, but I got bored and ambitious all at the same time. I was in my basement staring at a mess of crap. So, I decided to only do 30 minutes and spend some time cleaning up my basement. I broke down a bar and poker table that I have been meaning to get rid of for quite some time. They are both going out with the trash tomorrow. So, that rocks. But, I'm feeling very lazy and I have eaten a lot in the time I've had off. So, I'm off for a 5 mile run. I hope I have that much in me.

Fitness Test

I was able to get out for my third run of the week today. In total, that is my fifth workout already this week (with a 60 minute eliptical on the schedule for tomorrow that'll make 6). I decided that this was a good opportunity to see where I am at and how much fitness I've actually lost. So, I ran the same run that Meliss and I ran yesterday. This time, I didn't run all out, but I ran enough to get myself huffing and puffing. I'd say it was about 90% effort. Yesterday was just about 75% effort. When all was said and done, I ran the same run in 26:42, more than 3 minutes faster than yesterday. So, I've definitely lost some fitness. But, I'm still in a place that feels alright.

Run recap- 3.08 miles, 26:42, 8:41 pace

Air quality...

The air quality in Adamstown must be terrible. That's the only thing I can figure... I ran for 30 minutes yesterday and it felt like I was running for 4 hours. I was so out of breath. It's amazing how quickly your cardiovascular fitness declines. On the brighter side of things, my feet feel good the day after.

Run recap- 30 minutes, 3.08 miles, 9:45 pace

Running again!!

Nate, Marcus and I went running over at county park yesterday over lunch. With my flat-foot shoes, I felt like a new man. We went 4 miles slowly and it took us about 45 minutes. But, just getting out there again was great. I was a little sore last night. But, I feel much better today. I'm going to try a 4 miler tomorrow and see how that treats me. Then, I'm gonna cross-train on Saturday for an hour. Don't want to overdo it. Woohoo!! Running again!!

That was my first time over at county park. The trails were pretty sloppy (and scary for an injured runner), but it was very cool over there. I'm definitely doing that again.

Sixty minutes down...

I used the eliptical trainer on Sunday and tonight for 30 minutes each. That is a great start to try to get to 5 workouts this week. I am going over lunch tomorrow to try out running again. Nate wants to do 4 miles. I'm totally up for that as long as my feet cooperate. So, I will have a 40 minute and 60 minute workout left for the week if all goes well tomorrow. Sweet.

Bone scan results

I've been joking all this time that I was a complete faker. Well, it turns out that I am. Not really.... But, I just got my bone scan results today and found out I don't have a stress fracture in either foot. Turns out I have some pretty serious inflammation in the muscle and tendon near my fifth metarsal on both feet. But, I've been given the green light on running again (provided I feel ready). Despite a little tenderness and helped by a new pair of shoots for flat footed people like me, I am going to give it a shot over lunch tomorrow.

So, here's props to the friendly runner guy at Inside Track who talked me through my supposed shoe issues to get me into a comfortable pair of shoes. Turns out I was getting the neutral, wide shoes right... But, I wasn't getting a shoe more tailored to a flat footed runner. So, I now have a very lame looking pair of shoes that will hopefully feel much better. I took them out for a spin at the store and they didn't cause any shooting pain. That's an improvement over my Asics right now (no fault of Asics though... just the wrong shoe for me). Wish me luck.

Can you feel it??

If you can, that makes one of us. On the last two long rides I've been on (50 and 55 minutes), two of my toes on each foot have gone numb. I'm guessing it has something to do with the stress fracture, but I'm gonna bring it up at my doctor's appointment on Monday. Both times, it took about 20-30 minutes until I had feeling back. The first time I actually soaked my feet in warm water until it got better.

Anyhow, I got another long ride in today... Officially, it was 53:54 and a total of 10.65 miles (5:04 miles). That was faster than a couple of my shorter rides this week. So, I'm pretty happy with that. And, almost eleven miles is nothing to sneeze at.

So, that is the end of another biking week. Today actually wasn't that bad. My schedule for next week is 30, 40, 30, 40, 60 minutes... I did two consecutive 4 day weeks and would really like to fit in 5 day weeks. So, I'll try again.

Cold, cold and more cold

As if it's not bad enough that it is cold outside... It becomes even more cold once you starting riding 20 miles per hour downhill on a bike. The wind was pretty powerful at times today and really slowed me down. I'm starting to think I'm going to need to start using the eliptical trainer through the colder months (unless I start running soon).

I rode for a total of 36:22 and 6.73 miles for an average of 5:24 miles. That was pretty slow, but the wind was tough and it was a pretty hilly ride.

Sleepy cycling...

I got up at 5:30 am this morning and got on the road by about 5:45 for my morning bike ride. It was dark, but pretty nice overall. Since it was dark, I just went back and forth in the lit streets of Adamstown for 34 minutes. I covered 6.86 miles in 34 minutes for an average of 4:57 miles. Fast and flat. 2 down this week, 3 more to go.

New week, still biking...

Well, I've made a promise to myself to not start running until December at the earliest. No matter what the doctor has to say, I think it would be a good idea to give my feet time to recover. So, biking it is... This week's goals are to ride 5 times for 25, 35, 25, 35 and 55 minutes. I got it started today with a 27 minute ride that went a total of 5.22 miles (5:10 miles). Before I made the plan above for the week, I planned on going 50 minutes again today. But, biking bores me to death. So, I'm just going to stick with the biking plan that paralleled my running training. Here's to health and running in December.

Long ride day...

Today was my first long ride of my biking career and I have to admit, it's kinda boring. I'm glad that I'm not totally out of commission, but I can't wait to get back to running. And, my butt hurts. Riding for any longer than 15 minutes is pretty uncomfortable. I managed to ride for 50 minutes and nothing of note happened. I covered 9.5 miles in that period of time for 5:15 miles. Not great, but there were a lot of hills.

Early morning ride... brrr

Man it was cold this morning. I went for a 21 minute bike ride and nearly chapped my hands right off of my wrists. But, I do feel a lot better now that I got it in. And, despite not really learning a lot at the doctor's the other day, my feet are feeling A LOT better. I think the real key is just not trying to do too much. The biking seems good and the doc said I could use the eliptical (which we have in our basement). But, I think the eliptical might be too much strain on my feet. I'm going to stick to the biking unless I can't take the cold. Hopefully I'll be running by December. That would be awesome.

On the road to recovery... I think

With my first orthopedic appointment looming, I decided to toast the occasion with a bike ride. So, I took on my second ride of the week... this time for 30 minutes (to be exact 31:20). I got most of the way through the ride with no ill effects. But, my left foot started to exhaust by the end of the ride. Other than that, it wasn't too bad. In fact, it felt great to get outside and get a brisk, sweaty workout in. I've felt pretty lazy/inactive since the marathon and it felt good to get moving again. I think the bike riding will be able to keep me occupied in the interim until my feet feel good enough to run again.

Official stats: 31:20 and 6.51 miles (avg. 4:49 miles). I have no idea what this means, but I figure I should measure it in case this biking lasts longer that I hope it has to.

Stubborn biking??

With the foot injury keeping me off the roads, I had to do something. I was going a little stir crazy. So, I decided to see how my foot would react to a bike ride. I didn't go out for terribly long. I was just trying to get back in the saddle (pun intended). But, I managed to go out for 23:18. Not bad. That is the first bit of cardio I've had since the race and it felt good to get out there. My foot got a little tired by the end, but not too much pain. I'm going to try and emulate my running plan through biking... Hopefully I'll get 5 rides in this week... 20, 30, 20, 20 and 50 minutes. Maybe this will hold me over until I can start running again. We'll see...

Sad day for running...

Ryan Shay collapsed and died on Mile 5 of the US Olympic Marathon trials this morning... Here's a link to the story (click here).

Apparently there was some talk of a previous heart condition... But, this stuff is scary. An extremely well conditioned athlete pushing himself to his ultimate limit. Sad day indeed. My thoughts go out to his family.