My Kryptonite

The more miles I run, the more...

... confident I feel.

...strength I feel in my legs.

... motivated I am to keep running.

... my heel hurts.


Wait, run that by me again? My heel.... hurting.... oh yeah. It's not hurting me now but it definitely has greeted me this morning.

Well, I suppose this heel pain not all directly related to running more miles. Or is it? My heel and I have a history together. Technically it dates back to 1975 but for the purposes of running this "history" dates back to 2010. In spring of 2010 I started to experience a lot of heel discomfort, some pain, to the point where I would limp around the house. It's strange because it has never really bothered me while I run, and not even immediately following a run. But when I'm just minding my own business, at the store or cooking dinner or what have you, I would feel discomfort.

Now, this heel issue started to arise in spring of 2010 mostly because I was running hills. I was training for the San Francisco Marathon as well as the Run Through Redlands, hilly courses both of them, so I needed to train on hills. That and the many miles I was running following my first marathon... well, that was a bit of a volatile combination apparently. About seven weeks before the marathon, I shut it down for one week, ran fewer miles and fewer hills but still did well in San Francisco.

I haven't logged as many miles as I was logging then until now. I believe in May of 2010 I ran something like 130 miles, which was if not my high close to my all-time high.

I have run 153 miles in October already, and I'm in the midst of my first 50-mile week (fingers crossed). I ran 47.85 miles last week and through Tuesday I have run 17 consecutive days.

I love to run. I am setting lofty goals and meeting them. I am entering new territory as a runner and it feels quite motivating to be able to do it.

Will this heel stop me from doing more?

I don't want to overreact. I'm not going to disrupt everything I've worked for because of one or two incidents. But I also need to be cautious.

I thought avoiding hills would help, and I suppose it has. I haven't done any hills with any regularity for a while because of that. Well, I take that back. The Lopers course is a bit hilly. But that's just once a week and it's not as hilly as Mt. Rubidoux and some of the other courses I'd run regularly when I was training for San Francisco.

We'll see what happens. I will, as some of the coaches I interview regularly say about their players' injuries and health and fitness, continue to monitor the situation closely.

Milestones

I will be part of a few running milestones in October, hopefully, if all goes well. Not all involve me...

* I've run 910 miles in 2011. I have to run 90 miles in the final 21 days of the month to get to my goal of 1,000 for the year. Actually, that was just one part of my goal. I'm not quite sure if I made a goal as far as mileage goes for the year but whatever the case, getting past 1,000 was sure part of it. Now that sounds like a lot to ask for but I'm scheduled to run 10 miles the next two Sundays and 11 on the 30th. So take that mileage away (90 - 31) and you're left with 59 miles in 18 days, which is totally manageable. That's less than four miles a day on average. I ran 35 miles last week and I hope to at least run that much each week in the foreseeable future. I should be able to - barring injury - reach 1,000 before Halloween.

* I ran nine miles with my pace group on Sunday and four of the finishers had never run that distance before. I helped pace four runners to their longest distance ever! How exciting is that?!? Next week, I told them that I'm going to bring a rubber stamp so I can stamp RUNNER on them since that's when I get to help pace them to one of the ultimate rite of passage - double digits. Of course, they became runners long ago but it really is exciting to be a part of something like that.

* I tried to get my run streak started again. I did actually, had it up to seven days but on the seventh day I fell during my run. I hurt my knee, well, actually it was just swollen but I wasn't able to run on Saturday. Boo! Still, I felt the difference on Sunday from having run 26 miles from Monday through Friday and 13 the two days before that. I did my nine miles in 1:27:44 which is a 9:44 pace overall. I felt strong the whole way through. And I re-started my run streak. Sigh. One of these days it will get past 20.

When Dogs Attack, And More...

Is this thing on??

Seems like forever since I last posted. Oops.

Anyway, felt like stretching my, uh, fingers now and dusting off trusty blogger for a post of random thoughts...

* Went out for a family walk yesterday. The girls were walking our vicious chihuahuas just ahead of Mrs. LB and I. We were probably a mile in, getting close to home, when a huge dog (I think it was a boxer) came running across the street, charging right at Kennedy and Rooney. For a split second I saw in my mind the dog tearing Rooney apart and then chewing on Kennedy. I ran ahead and pushed her aside, trying to shield her with my body. I grabbed poor Rooney's leash and lifted it as high as I could. I yelled at that dog in Spanish (Sacate cabron!) while Mrs. LB screamed something behind me (she later said she was yelling "Come get your f-ing dog!") I was just about to start kicking at the dog when the owner finally came over and got his dog. The mean vicious dog wasn't actually all that mean or vicious. He really could have done a number on both Rooney and Kennedy but it really did seem like he just wanted to play. I was shaken though.

* Does that guy count as an irresponsible pet owner? Or was it just a freak thing? He claims he just opened his gate to his backyard and the dog shot out. We were on the other side of the street just minding our own business so we weren't necessarily antagonizing the dog - we didn't ask for it, you know. I kinda decided on the spot that it was a freak thing and because of that didn't go off on the guy. I think I would have been well within my rights to have gone off on him but I didn't. I was relieved neither Kennedy nor Rooney were hurt and that it was over so I didn't want any extra drama to be honest but part of me thinks I let that guy off the hook too easily.

* When I get upset, I sometimes will spew words out in Spanish. And when I'm dealing with animals for some reason I'm almost always talking to them in Spanish. I don't know why to be honest... pero ese pinche perro ayer me hizo sentir tanta rabia y la verdad me asusto, pero afortunadament nada paso, A la proxima si le voy a meter patadas a eso perro cabron hijo de su chingada madre....

* On the running front, I've been really sporadic with my runs because of my trips to Costa Rica and Mexico. But now I've gotten my legs underneath me once more and am gonna start another run streak. I really think that's what I need to become a stronger runner and maintain that strength, to just run every day. So far I'm on Day 4 (Tuesday was my fourth straight day) and I've gotten in 23 miles in that span. We're going to be getting up to higher miles here soon with the Lopers, got nine scheduled for Sunday, and then all of our Sunday runs will be double digits from here on out. I need strong legs and a strong attitude to pace my group effectively, so strength I shall give myself.

* Check this out. Isn't this so cool?!? I hope it happens. I'd definitely get it. Maybe I should pledge some cash...

The Beginnings Of A Pace Group

Sunday's Loper schedule called for four miles. It's not much in the grand scheme of things. Before too long that will be just about the midway point in our runs and then it won't even be that.

But Sunday's run really felt like it helped from the semblance of our pace group. I led the group for the whole run and kept a steady pace. Fewer runners ran ahead of me this time than last and the whole group was close, there wasn't too much spacing between the front and any stragglers in the back.

It felt like a pace group, not like a collection of runners.

It was nice being in front and having the runners stay behind me. There were some runners who I know can run faster than the pace I was holding but they stayed back, or level, with me. And when I was going a little too fast, I slowed down and the runners around me also slowed down.

Some runners went ahead, four to be precise, but three of them I know are experienced marathoners so that's fine. They can run on their own and be okay. The rest of the group stayed back.

It was a solid, strong run. Of course, it's only four miles but in a way that's good that we had this kind of run now. The miles will only keep increasing. Next week is five, then six, then seven, eight, nine and 10. Once we hit 10, we won't single digits again.

But that's the good thing about these short miles. While the first-year Lopers are just getting used to running longer miles, us pace leaders are getting the hang of this pace-leading thing. By the time we hit double digits we will all be ready for it.

END OF THE STREAK

So much happening on one day...

On Saturday, for the first time in 19 days, I did not run. I couldn't. I was much too sore to run. It was a bummer because it was the end of my streak.

All told, I ran about 95 miles over those 18 days and I really did get my legs to be stronger, which is what I wanted when I began the streak (although I didn't set out with a streak in mind).

It's not a long stretch of time in the grand scheme of things but it felt great to force myself to get out and find new ways to fit runs in. This boot camp that I just started - which is the culprit for my run streak's demise - forced me to find ways to get my miles in around that. And running two-a-days, which I did twice this week, also helped me get my miles in which forces me to be more disciplined.

Funny thing is, I ran eight times this week, which averages to more than one a day obviously, but still my streak ended. Irony.

Anyway, none of the progress I've made in the last three weeks will regress. In fact, I plan on leaping to the next level. The boot camp classes will help catapult me into becoming a more fit person, not just a better runner, but it will help carry over into my running as well. A strong core is such a benefit for a runner to have and that will be nice to have once more. My core is not strong as I don't usually work it out. Stronger leg muscles and more toned muscles will also help out when I run.

This end of my streak is merely a one-day break. Sunday's four-miler is the start of a new streak. We'll see where I am 18 days from now. That's the most exciting part about all this, just seeing my progress as I gain more and more strength.

Taxing Week

I am so tired.

This week has been a bit of a difficult one. I've got my run streak going but I also started a boot camp style workout routine. The two worlds collide indeed.

Friday was particularly tough. I ran 2 miles at home to warm up after dropping the girls off at school, then as soon as I was done, jumped into my truck and went to the boot camp gym about 10 minutes before class started.

We warmed up a bit but I was already warm, and then we jumped right into it once more. I did single-leg step-ups (30 sec on each leg) then jump squats, repeated about five times; then reverse lunges using a rope (30 sec on each leg) then knee highs (basically, running in place with the knee coming up really high, hence the name), repeated about five times; then we put our backs against a wall and squated down so where our thighs were parallel to the ground and held a 16-lb kettle ball for 30 seconds and then side-stepped with a band around our feet rotating five times; then single-leg thrusts (30 sec on each leg) and squats, rotating five times. And then some other squats to properly destroy my thighs and butt.

When we finished of course I hadn't had enough torture so I went on a run and wound up running four miles. The first 2.5 miles were mostly uphill. In fact, one particularly rough stretch saw me go from an elevation of 938 to 1227, from mile 1.3 to mile 1.68. Yeah, that's pretty much straight up.

So here's the body count then thus far for the week. I've run 28 miles this week. My goal was to stay at 40 for the week like last week. I think that would make it my first-ever consecutive weeks of 40 or more. Not sure if that's going to happen though. Sunday I'm running four with my awesome pace group which means I'd have to run eight on Saturday and I don't know if my legs have eight miles in them. I may set out for 5-6 on Saturday morning and then see how I feel. One option would be to run whatever I can tomorrow and make up the difference before or after our group run on Sunday. But as long as I get out and run I'm not going to fret too much about the mileage.

I feel good. My legs feel good. Well, right now they don't actually because I had to hobble around just to sit in my office chair to write this blog post. I'm probably going to be sore as crap on Saturday and Sunday so getting out and running might be a chore.

Well, I'll let you know how things go on Saturday and Sunday. I know it's Labor Day Weekend and most of you probably won't be on your computers reading blogs but if you did happen to stop by, thanks for including me in your weekend and have a great, fun, safe and hopefully run-filled three-day weekend!

Best Week Of The Year

Is it a stretch to call this the best week of 2011 for me? Well, maybe the best week that did not involve a race, how's that? The best training week of the year.

I can't remember a better week.

First, the stats

Distances

Mon - 10.07

Tue - 3.38

Wed - 6

Thu - 8.15

Fri - 6.05

Sat - 4.17

Sun - 3

Mileage for week: 40.82

That's seven runs in seven days. My total run streak is up to 13 consecutive days. And this is my highest-mileage week in months. I usually get close to 40 during January because A) I'm running 13, 15, 18 miles on Sundays and B) I'm refereeing HS soccer games and count the mileage. But this might be my highest mileage week ever of just straight runs, excluding the mileage I get from reffing soccer games.

How am I holding up? Physically, fine. I did feel some heel discomfort on Saturday morning, briefly, but I think that's because I ran eight hilly miles on Thursday and my heels don't like the hills so much.

I'm hoping to extend the streak for another seven days and get up to 20 so hopefully next Sunday I will be able to reflect on that. I don't see any reason why I can't keep going to be honest.

It's really, really hot right now. I was planning 10-12 on Monday but the weather is supposed to be ridiculous on Monday morning. I can't start until about 8 and the forecast for 8 on Monday is 78 and sunny, and it's supposed to be 86 degrees by 10, so I'm not sure a long run will fly on Monday. Might just go for 6-8 or I might get adventurous and split up the mileage, run 6-8 in the morning and do 4-6 in the evening. Oh yeah! Maybe I'll throw in some two-a-days here for kicks.

Regardless, it's been a great week and I really do feel like my legs are getting stronger. Days like the ones I've had are causing a snowball effect. The better I run, the more confidence I gain, the more confidence I gain, the more I want to run. I'm completely embracing this and am glad and grateful that I have the ability to run, both physically and with my job. Believe me, I don't take anything for granted. A month ago I wasn't running jack, and now this.

It truly has been the best training week of the year.

Hilly Run, Streak Lives

It's a streak now, a bone fide streak.

Ten days of running and counting. I made it to 10 on Thursday after knocking out 8.15 miles in 1:22:39. It was quite warm during my run but that wasn't the toughest part of the run.

Check out the elevation:

This is a run I've been wanting to do for a while but haven't been able to. Just wasn't trained properly enough to do it.

As you can see it's quite hilly. I started at my house and ran straight up a street that takes us over a hill and into a neighboring county. Over the hill, I usually turn around and come back but that would have only gotten me six so I ran a little more on the other side of the hill and then came back. So that's the same peak that I ran over and back.

The crazy part (since this is the first I've ran this with my micoach app, all of these stats are new to me):

at .75 mile the elevation was 942 ft.
at 2.1 miles the elevation was 1289 ft.

That's a gain of 347 feet in 1.35 miles. It took me a little more than 14 minutes to run that stretch. Now, that's the tough part, right? Well, on the way back you drop that much, 347 feet down, in 1.35 miles, so you can go pretty fast for that stretch.

Crazy stat from the way back.

Mile 5.25 - 1060 ft
Mile 5.94 - 1289 ft

That's an elevation gain of 229 feet in less than three-quarters of a mile.

Now, this hill I ran a lot when I was training for San Francisco. This and the one I ran last week were the two hills I used to train for the hills of San Fran. It worked obviously since I ran that in 4:37:51, besting my then-PR by about five minutes.

So the streak continues and it lives on after a tough run. Wouldn't have it any other way.