Saturday, October 28, 2006

A Little Rain and a Little Sunshine

Things are slowly improving. I did have to spend 45 minutes on the treadmill on Friday due to the ongoing rain, but it was not too bad. I think I got about 5 miles at a 8 to 8:30 pace with a slight incline in the middle of the run to shake things up a bit. That and listening to some good tunes to take my mind off of spending time on the treadmill.

10/27 Friday - Treadmill run as described above. 45 minutes covering about 5 miles.

10/28 Saturday - The dreaded long run. I was laying in bed at about 7AM knowing that it was chilly outside and I really did not feel like running. I finally rolled out of the rack at about 7:30 looking to see if my friend Chip was running yet. I knew he was doing a long run today and I was hoping to go along for the ride. However, my legs were feeling stiff and I was not sure that I was up to a long run today. So I went with plan C and decided to run until I was tired. So I got my water bottle, put on some warm clothes and headed out for a run. I happened to see Chip down the road and took off after him. We finally hooked up and ran together. Chip had a lap on me which was fine because he is getting ready for a marathon (and I am not). So we ran some slow laps for a while and realizing that we were a bit slow on the pace, we picked it up. Our last 4-6 laps (of 1.2 miles) were about 10:10. I got in a 2:15 run covering 15 miles while Chip finished about a 2:30 run covering 18 miles. My legs never felt good the entire run, but the rest of me felt fine. My heart rate remained reasonable and only got a bit high on the small hill at the end of our lap. As I sit here typing, my knees are sore especially as I go up and down stairs. Anyway, I plan on going to bed in a few minutes to take advantage of the clock shift and hopefully my legs (knees) will feel better in the morning. I would like to get in a short recovery run, but it will be dependent on how I feel.

Hasta manana.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Picking Up the Pace

I really hate this blog format in trying to simply write something everyday (which I have not been very good at anyway). Yesterday I could not get into the system to do a little writing.

Latest events:

10/24 Tuesday - Ran about 6-7 miles (about an hour) at a good pace during lunch. I then ran 3.6 miles (30 minutes) that evening. Felt pretty good especially the second run in the evening.

10/25 Wednesday - Ran about an hour (7.2 miles) at home in the evening due other events during lunch. Felt really good running 10:10 pace for each 1.2 mile lap. My heart rate stayed lower than usual and I was running quite smooth. One of those nice evenings to run with an overcast sky and slight sprinkle the entire run.

10/26 Thursday - I ran about an hour (maybe 7 miles)...the run from hell. I started out with sore legs and they pretty much stayed that way the entire run. I did not feel smooth or fast. In fact, I felt like I was really slogging through the run. It was a good day to run, overcast and slight sprinkle. I guess my previous evening run was a tad to hard and I just did not take the time to recover. I have to be careful or I will end up injured and it is way to early to push hard.

It is supposed to rain tomorrow so I plan on doing a moderate run on the treadmill. I usually do some windsprints on Friday, but I think I will skip them until later in the weekend. Need to have a good run tomorrow so I can knock out a long run on Saturday.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Still Running

Where did I leave off? It is difficult to only blog occasionally and then try to remember what I ran. Anyway, here goes:

10/18 Wednesday - I think I ran 6.5 miles about an hour.

10/19 Thursday - I ran about 5 miles (40 minutes) on the treadmill. It sure helped with recovery since my legs felt better afterward.

10/20 Friday - I ran 6 miles with 3 sets of 3x100 yard sprints about every couple of miles.

10/21 Saturday - ran 7.2 miles while listening to Alabama get beat by Tennessee. I ran with my neighbor Jim and we ran a fairly easy pace. Legs were tired after running for so many straight days.

10/22 Sunday - Did a physical readiness test today (Navy Reserves). 76 situps, 60 pushups (not enough practice), and ran a 9:20 1.5 mile (little slow after running 7 miles the previous day). Followed up the run with an easy 3 mile run. My best time was last spring when I ran an 8:50. I have a hard time ramping up to a fast pace for this short of run. I reckon if I practiced, I could do better. But I don't run anything less than 5K in "normal" races. Who cares about a physical readiness test? I enjoy being a 44-year old man that is outrunning all the other folks. There is one full-time Navy sailor that can beat me. Unfortunately, he does not practice and therefore does not realize his real potential. It is ashame to have talent and hide it under a bushel. I am trying to convince him to train for an upcoming 1/2 marathon.

10/23 Monday - day off finally. Got to get down to "bidness" tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

It takes Heart to Run

Well once again I have been in hiatus with regard to this blogging stuff. However, since my huge following is awaiting words of wisdom, I won't disappoint this go around ;-)

10/11 Monday - feeling a little better. It has been over a week that I have had the crud. I feel good enough to run an easy 4.5 miles at lunch. Problem - heart rate problem starts again about an hour after I finished my run. Call doc. See doc. Atrial Flutter. Hmmm (what my doc says after he runs the EKG). Need to see a cardiologist. Doc prescribes a blood thinner.

10/10 Tuesday - see cardiologist. Echocardiogram and nuclear stress test. Nothing like running hotter than a firecracker in a radioactive kind of way. The flutter was gone...disappeared the previous evening and did not recur during any testing. This is just like taking your car in to the mechanic and telling him you hear this noise every now and then. The mechanic never hears the noise.

10/11 Wednesday - nothing.

10/12 Thursday - cardio nurse calls with my "results." No problem. Says that the doctor is impressed with my output and there are no restrictions. I run 4.8 miles that evening after work...easy of course.

10/13 Friday - run 4.5 miles at work and leave for the Ocoee after work.

10/14 Saturday - after spending the coldest night of my life in an unheated cabin and in an inadequate sleeping bag, I get up with the rest of my compadres and go rafting down the Ocoee...no restrictions and no problems.

10/15 Sunday - long run in the high aerobic heart rate range. 1 hour and 45 minutes...a little over 12 miles. No problems. Actually feel pretty good after the run.

10/16 Monday - kids off from school and I take off from work. Very windy and rainy all day long. I run 45 minutes in the hood and then 15 minutes at a local park where my son practices with his XC team. My son and I go the movies and I have a little flutter - few minutes at best - during the movie. No other issues.

Cardio nurse calls again to let me know that my echocardiogram was negative...still don't know what is wrong other than the flu-like crud that I had...feel pretty good after nearly 2 weeks of feeling crappy. I would hate to have a full blown case of the flu.

10/17 Tuesday - back at work and run 4.5 miles at work (a bit rainy - rained like crazy on the way to work)....no problems.

Well I will continue to blog and track my progress. I just hope this heart issue calms down and I can work on my aerobic base. Now did I mention my legs hurting...must be from all this running!

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Still Out

Still down and out with this cold, flu, sinus infection, crud, etc. I finally do feel a little better today than previous days. However, not quite good enough to run. Don't want to make things worse so I will chill until I can get back out.

SLB...seeya later bye!

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Blah Blogging and Running

OK, it has been over a week since I did blogging...I think I have been running so now I must try to recall what I did last week.

Tuesday - no run...cannot remember why.
Wednesday - 3.1 miles I think.
Thursday - 4.5 miles I think.
Friday - no run
Saturday - the worst run of my life and I have not run since!

Got up early to get ready to take my son to a XC meet. Very sore throat. Spent four hours on my feet and the day was cool at first, but quickly warmed up. I did not drink a thing all morning long (ah oh #1). Stopped to get a burger at Sonic and then my heart rate starts acting up...kinda racing (ah oh #2). Went home and helped same son mow lawn (I edged and he mowed), but my heart rate was still FUBAR and I still was not drinking a thing (ah oh #3). Upon completion of that activity, I decided to go for a run on a very hilly course that goes through our sub division (ah oh #4). HR is still high and when I start running (foolishly thinking it would drop), my HR ran way higher than what I expected for my given pace (ah oh #5). I think you can see where this is all going (downhill). It took me well over an hour to complete a 6.5 mile run. Yeah it has some serious hills in it, but it got to the point on the last couple of hills that I walked them. I did take a water bottle with me...I hate running with a sloshing water bottle.

Finally got home, HR is still FUBAR and I shower then drink fluids the rest of the evening without peeing a single time...someone was seriously dehydrated and ignored the signs. My HR finally returned to normal later in the evening once I had enough fluids in my system. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Today is Wednesday and I have not been running because I have been sick...upper respiratory crud. I took at flu mist vaccine about 10 days ago and I think that is what led to the sickness...nothing like a live virus introduced up your freakin' nose. I had to drive 5 hours to job location on Sunday feeling lousy. Worked part of Monday feeling lousy. Worked very little on Tuesday feeling lousy and decided to head home and see the doc. Got a couple of shots and some antibiotics. I still argue that the flu mist is the root cause of my illness and I do not recommend it for any one else. Nothing like getting sick intentionally.

So I am here about to download a couple of months worth of exercises, so to say I am behind the 8-ball is an understatement. Hence the reason for the blog and then I still fail to update at the end of last week.

Like I tell my kids...what a doof!