So far so good

Its been about a week since I aggravated my turf toe injury playing kickball, and so far it seems to be healing, albiet slower than I would like. It was somewhat uncomfortable a couple of times when I found my strides trying to revert back to normal, instead of awkwardly walking on the sides and heels of my feet, but overall it is improving and I feel like I can almost walk normally again. Against my better judgment, I decided to play kickball again yesterday, making a pact with myself that I would not run fast to get on base, or to catch any balls. Luckily both my kicks were pop flies that were caught in the outfield, so I didn't have to run, and I played pitcher on defense, so I didn't have to move around too much. (Except to run for a couple bunts...) My team won again, 7-2, and afterward my toe felt fine, which was infinitely better than the hours of pain last week.

I've continued to bike over the last week, going for a couple of 7 mile rides, one 10 miler and one 13 miler. (Maybe others, I kind of lost track) While biking isn't exactly a substitute for running, since I don't get my heart rate up as high, my legs feel like they are working even harder than when I run. This may be due to the fact that I get extremely irritated whenever someone passes me, and try to overtake them despite having a hybrid bike instead of a fast road bike. At one point I ended up chasing several pro-looking bikers several miles until they turned off the lakes. Luckily they didn't have rearview mirrors to watch me bearing down on them the whole time. In other news, my weight fell below 180 yesterday, which I attribute to biking and playing kickball in record 97 degree heat. I think I need to do a better job hydrating. Who says it doesn't get that hot in Minnesota?

Many Steps Forward, One Toe Back

Well, after my last post I decided to go on my run as planned and my ankle didn't bother me too much. On the contrary I ran my best time around Harriet yet--20:54 for 2.75 miles--and felt OK overall. The next day however, the bottom of my foot behind my big toe was sore and hurt a bit when I pushed off the with the toe, a telltale sign of turf toe. I had experienced issues with turf toe in the past, usually during ultimate frisbee intramurals in college, but It was always something that bothered me slightly for a few days and pretty much went away on its own. Since I had a kickball game scheduled, I decided to put on some cleates and jog around a little bit to see how bad it really felt: not too bad. With the shoes on I hardly noticed, so I figured I could go play kickball and it would gradually get better on its own. Bad idea. At kickball I ended up running the bases at top speed twice, (two home runs... woo hooo) and afterward my toe hurt for the remainder of the night. I guess its a bit worse than it was back in college... So just when I started to up my game in running I have to stay off my feet. I'm hoping I didn't aggrevate it too much so I'll be back up in a week or so instead of 3-4 weeks. In rebellion against the injury I went for a marathon bike ride yesterday (about 26.4 miles overall). Hurray for not needing your toes to bike. Who knows, if I do enough biking and swimming for cross training while I'm not running, I might just be ready for a triathalon.

Push it to the Limit

I went for a seven miler this weekend around Lake Harriet and Calhoun and came in at a personal best 55:18, which is around 8:10 miles. The funny thing is, afterward I knew I could have gone faster. I feel like a big part of running is knowing how hard you can push yourself early without gassing at the end. I have a tendency to leave too much in reserve.

I started reading a book about running called "Once a Runner." It is a fairly old and well known running novel, which has been interesting so far, though it seems more geared toward elite runners. (The main character runs a 4 min mile)

On a side note, I tweaked my old recurring left ankle sprain yesterday while playing disc golf. I iced it right away and I don't think it will bother me too much, but I'm debating whether I should give it a rest or go for my run today.

Level Up

I ran another half marathon last weekend and came in at 1:57:44, my fastest time yet. Now all I have to do is do that twice in a row... Easier said than done. I need to get myself to the point where I can mindlessly churn off miles at a 9 min pace or so. I find myself running 8min 30sec miles for the first 6-7 and then slowing down to 9-30's or worse. Still, it was a big improvement. Just to know I've done half at the speed I'd need to go 4 hours is a huge lift after running a 2 hour 8 min half just two weeks ago.

It's Official--The Quest is On

It's been a while since I've posted, but luckily I have no readership to disappoint. =)

I signed up for the 2009 Twin Cities marathon last week, so I'm officially in the running to attempt my four our marathon. During the past few months I've run regularly, but haven't been training as hard I probably should have to get in shape for the race. Last weekend after signing up for the race, I decided to run a half (13.1 miles) and I came in at around 2 hours 8 minutes with drinking time and stops due to traffic. A bit slow, but not terrible considering I hadn't run more than 10 miles since the 2008 marathon. After the first half I went into sustainability mode--a good idea for surviving a long run, but not one that will produce good times. I've come to the realization that training hard enough so that my sustainability mode produces a four hour marathon is my best bet. There's going to be a lull at some point, both physically and mentally--the trick is to make it so the lull is still decently fast, and to work past it as quickly as possible. I know I can grind out the last few miles at a faster pace, but getting through miles 10-23 while sustaining a good pace will be the key.

Shock^2

Two days after returning from my trip down to Houston, I decided to run outside and test some new wind gear I got for Christmas. Over the previous weeks I had been running outside, but without a good upper body windbreaker, the winter cold was cutting through my clothes. I wore a thin but airtight headwind pant on my legs and three layers on my upper body with my windbreaker as the outer layer. The run was ok at first, but I quickly realized it was colder outside than I had expected. Usually I only run if it is 20 degrees or more outside, since below that my face starts to get red, and the cold begins to seep through the breathable weave of my running shoes. That day it was about 10 degrees with a wind chill around zero. While the windbreakers did thier job admirably, the fact that the wind itself was pushing the material of my wind pants up tight against my bare legs chilled them quickly. It was not a great idea to run without a lining or tights under the thin screen. By the time I was two miles in I could feel my skin going numb. Considering I had just run in 80+ degree weather a few days before, it was definitely a shock to the system back in the other direction. When I finally got home alive, I kept my warm gear on for at least anouther 30 minutes to allow my body to warm up.

A couple days later I tried the same run with tights underneath and an extra layer on top. It was a vast improvement.

A Shock to the System

Over the holidays I was in Houston Texas visiting relatives and being fattened up by great food, beer, and company. This yearly tradition is one that I both love, and loathe: it is so much fun, yet after returning I invariably put on 5 to 10 pounds. Back when I was a wrestler in high school, I had trouble making weight for the whole rest of the season my senior year after the holidays. This year I decided to reduce some of my gorging by forcing myself to order soups and chilis at restaurants, and I also brought my running shoes. I decided to go for around around the perimeter of Rice University, which is about a 3 mile path in something like the shape of superman's "S" symbol. It felt good to be in shorts outside for once, as in Minnesota every run outside during the winter spells wind pants, windbreaker, gloves and a hat. About a mile into the run, the shock of the heat started getting to me a little bit. A mile and a half in, a large shadow started approaching from behind me. The sun was to my rear, so the shadow was probably 20 or 30 feet back; one of my pet peeves while running, one that no one should ever have, especially when they are not a great runner, is that I hate being passed. It doesn't matter who passes, it could be Lance Armstrong on his bike--I just don't like it. So despite being a bit weary and overheated, I picked up the pace for the last half, and staved off being passed by anyone. As I turned off and went back to the car, the thermometer read 81 degrees. 81 degrees in Januray! I had grown used to running in 10-30 degree weather over the past month, so it was definitely a shock to the system. Apparently the temperature was a record for that day. I was sweaty for at least an hour after the run, but I was glad knowing I had started my running year strong, and burned off a little of the raw pecans and crab cakes I had eaten the day before.