Monthly Archives: June 2010

From 10K Saturday to a near 10 mile Saturday??

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After my rest day yesterday, I was good and ready to do my long run today.  Granted, I didn’t get to sleep as early as I should have, and ran into a couple of hurdles this morning; but I did still get the run going.           

As I started my drive to Katy Trail, I began thinking that I should start running around White Rock Lake.  The new route for the White Rock Marathon has not been made public, but it has been revealed that it will no longer include the Katy Trail; it will still circle White Rock Lake.  Marathon organizers are changing the race to start and end at Fair Park.  That should be interesting! Some veteran runners of The Rock are not happy with the change, but since this is my first go at it, I don’t know the difference.  So this morning, I detoured to the lake.            

Wow it was crazy energy out there! It was full of runners!  Team in Training was around there, as well as a bunch of runners from Luke’s Locker, and some other group that had matching shirts.  All these groups pounding the pavement together.  I am a team of one and I need my own team shirt!        

After parking and getting my gear on, I took off on my run, with the intention of running 7 miles. It was a nice change of scenery; the lake was gorgeous!  After about 5 miles I decided to stay with the 7-miler, and then finish the circle of the lake, by walking the rest of the way around.  At mile 6.5, my run was a little interrupted by a call.  It was the AT&T U-Verse guy.           

Oh crap I forgot about the install this morning!!  He  informed me that he would be at the house in about 45 minutes. Oh well, so much for the intention of walking the rest of the way!          

At the 7 mile mark, I just kept on going. If I was a little late for AT&T so be it; I was on a good roll!  I did squeeze in a few 30 sec walking breaks during this long run.  I have read in both Hal Higdon’s training manual, as well as Jeff Galloway’s, that walk breaks were a good practice to extend the long run and keep the legs fresh.  I put this to work, and it did help.          

I made it all around the lake, and it wasn’t all that bad!  I ran my longest run ever – 9.28 miles!!!  I did encounter a couple of blisters on my left foot and one on a toe on my right foot, but at least it was at the end of the run. I suppose that it was best to find out the trouble spots shoe wise, so I can prepare better for the longer runs.  Who wants to have a blister when they have 10+ more miles to go!  I’m investing in blister band-aids!!          

Who wants an ice bath???

 

 On my way home I grabbed two bags of ice.  I’ve read that after long runs it is good to soak in iced water to fight any inflammation that may occur.  It wasn’t the most pleasant experience first getting in that tub, but I adjusted faster than I expected.  The ten minute soak went by quicker than I thought it would, and I even finished everything before the U-Verse guy got here….just in time for him to tell me that I was too far from the VRAD to get service, again!

MapMyRun Stats 6/24/10

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MapMyRun – View Workout Details.

MapMyRun - 6/24/10

MapMyRun - 6/24/10

After a good day of resting my body, I was able to get up early this morning and run.  I was back and forth about either hitting the treadmill, or running in the ‘hood.  Running in the dark can be a little nerve-wracking, especially in certain areas of town. After much debate,  I decided to skip the gym, and get more pavement pounding in.

It wasn’t as bad as I anticipated.  It’s really quiet this early in the morning, and hardly anyone is out and about.  I saw only a few cars, and maybe two other folks walking around in their yards.

I loved running down to the Bishop Arts District!  I’ve never taken my ‘hood run down there until this morning.  All the twinkly lights on the store fronts, made it feel so festive; even at 5:30 AM!  It was like I was in my own private parade. If I had the time I would have taken a picture to share; maybe next time!

About halfway into my run, I kept wondering if there were going to be any big scary stray dogs crossing my path.  I’ve had a couple of BIG dogs run along side me on my bike rides, but they looked as if they were having fun, and weren’t trying to hurt me.  On this morning’s run I didn’t encounter any large dogs, but I was chased by a chihuahua with a BIG scary attitude!  Little monster about nipped my heel at one point.  He/she read me the Riot Act, and probably told me to get lost and never run by their house again.

Hehehe funny little squirt dog!

This one is in the books.  Distance 4.22 mi, Duration 0:49:31, Pace 11:24 min/mile, Speed 5.13 mph.

How to Not Go Nuts During an Unplanned Rest Day…

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Back in February Dallas had the biggest snow fall ever recorded.  It was crazy!  The city shut down for two days, and turned into a winter wonderland.  Of course with snow you have snowmen being built in almost every yard or open field.  Everyone wanted to get in on the action, and that included me.

Snowday 2010

Snowday 2010

During these two snow days I built and rebuilt snowmen and snowwomen.  If you need to know what the difference is, then you may wanna go have “the talk” with your parents.  I rolled up snowballs and stacked them as high as possible.  Who knew that giant orbs of the white fluffy stuff could be so HEAVY??  I rolled, pushed, and grunted my way through the yard making the biggest spheres possible!  With all that heavy lifting, in the freezing temperature, came the back spasms; those little or big knots in the muscle that feel like stones under the skin. I had a good one in my middle back, but I managed to tune it out for the most part.

THAT was my biggest mistake.

A couple of days later, when the pavement was drying up, I went out for my usual lunchtime walk.  I was walking pretty fast at this point, and even had thrown in a few sprints in the back of the property at work.   I walked my usual route, and did some stretching along the way.    I got a little over-confident and started to do my sprints.  The first one I got about 50 feet before I felt AND heard a tear in my back!   I almost fainted.  I could not even walk without this hellacious pain in my back.  Bad thing was, I had to walk back about 1/2 mile to my office.  It was the most painful walk ever.

That decision sidelined me for weeks.  I ended up at a Sports Medicine clinic, and in physical therapy.  One good thing that did come out of it, was that I was introduced to Larry my Pedorthist, and that I ended up with my Supershoes!

From that day forward, I have listened to my body more than my stubbornness.  I still push the limit a tiny bit, but know when it’s best to wave the white flag for a couple of days.

My white flag… today I am waving it.  I may wave it tomorrow, but at least I know I will be back on my feet running again sooner than I would be if I were to get out and run right now.

That experience keeps me sane in times like this.