Tyring to Get Back to It

Well, I finally got out for a short run. It felt, well, weird. I felt slow. I felt out of breath. But the significance in what I didn't feel - pain! On the one hand I am pretty excited. On the other I am discouraged. I felt like I had just started making some big strides (no pun intended) in my running - knocking over two minutes off my 10K PR, running more efficiently, going longer each week, etc. Yesterday I felt as though I was laboring to get my four miles done. My pace was slow (10:15) and my heart rate high (83% MHR).

But, there were some bright spots. As mentioned before, there was no pain. That was a huge relief. I can't tell you how worried I was that there was something structurally wrong with my hip. Also, at my turn around point I still felt as if I could go another mile or two without any problems.

I was looking forward to a good half marathon in a couple of weeks. I am coming to grips that I won't be running at peak form. I was shooting the possibility of breaking 2 hours. In all likelihood, I probably will be somewhere in the 2:10 to 2:15 range. Still a PR, but a little disappointing knowing that I can do better. But, I need to remind myself that I need to be patient. I need to stay healthy and pain free. That way there will always be another race on another day. I just want to make sure I'm not going to go out too far too fast and end up on the bench again.

Yesterday's Agony

I had hoped to get out for a run yesterday to get things back on track. Because of my tooth pain on Friday, I had revisited my dentist, received some more work on the affected tooth, and actually had a decent night's sleep. I woke up somewhat refreshed, relieved that I didn't need to resort to vicodin. I sat down with my cup of coffee, took a huge swig, and spit it out in agony! Something that I had never even thought of was the effect the heat would have on everything else going on. I spent the rest of my day in absolute torture. The pain was sharp and constant. The only relief I had was to take a swig of ice water and hold it in my mouth. Late in the afternoon, I couldn't take it any longer. I was up to my eyes in water and was in absolute debilitating pain. Then my wife had a brainstorm, "What about an icepack?" I had not even thought about the obvious! I took an icepack, and in a couple of hours I was at least feeling less pain and could *finally* watch some TV. By the evening I felt comfortable enough that I was able to get a *good* night's sleep. Whew.

This morning I can feel the effects of the infection. My ears are somewhat plugged - just like an ear infection. My lower jaw is sore and I can't bite. My upper jaw and cheekbone is sore. But at least there is no fever. The new antibiotics seem to be taking effect. I was even able to enjoy my coffee this morning!

If this continues, I might try to run this afternoon. I'll attempt an easy four miles to see how my hip is doing. If there is a silver lining, this tooth has made me take two weeks off to let that heal. It means that I probably won't be at my peak for my race on January 1, but I'm hoping that I can still run it!

Forced Rest Day(s)

Okay - I am itching to get back out. I want to test out the groin pull to see how it will react after a couple of days off. The issue right now are my teeth. (See my blog entry from a couple days ago: http://therunningfatguy.blogspot.com/2008/12/unscheduled-rest.html) I have been in absolute agony since Wednesday night. I had to resort to vicodin for the pain yesterday.

Hopefully things might be changing though. The pain subsided in the evening, and I actually got a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. This morning though the pain is back. I'm going to call my dentist this morning to see what the issue may be and what I can do about it. Right now I'm kind of physically and emotionally drained by the pain.

Merry Christmas!

No running for me today. My teeth are still causing a lot of pain for me after my root canal a couple of nights ago. I'm not sleeping at night. I am overall pretty miserable right now.

I did manage to pull dinner together last night. Christmas Eve is our traditional night for family dinner. Around our house, family can get quite big. Total count last night - 32. There was plenty of food, fun and deserts for all!

Merry Christmas!

Unscheduled Rest

Yesterday was interesting. I was planning on a four mile run to see how my hip adbuctors were going to react to two days in a row. But, I didn't sleep particularly well Monday night because of a persistent toothache. Throughout the day the pain became worse. At times it became absolutely unbearable. I finally threw in the towel and decided to call a dentist. I found one that could see me at 7:30 PM (he is my brother-in-law's wife's ex-husband). I got there and xrays were taken. The xrays were quite an eye opener! Remember that bike crash back in June? (http://therunningfatguy.blogspot.com/2008/06/down-for-while.html). Well, turns out that the nerve in tooth#3 involved had necrotized and had created a huge abscess under the tooth. Luckily, the dentist was old school who basically does everything himself! An hour later, the root canal was done and I was on my way.

No running today. I will be in the kitchen cooking up dinner! Wishing everyone the best this Holiday Season!

Two Miles - No Pain

I put in an easy two miles late in the evening yesterday. The good news? No hip pain. The bad news? Some pain and discomfort, but in my muscles!!! This morning I am pain free! I am very happy!!!

I started feeling some discomfort as I was wrapping up my run yesterday. The discomfort though was in my butt and my thigh. No pain in the groin. Definitely nothing in the hip. I did some homework this morning, and everything is pointing to a groin strain - the same as a hip abductor strain or tendinitis. This is exactly what Coach Sumner had surmised the problem was when I explained the symptoms to him last weekend.Turns out there are five abductor muscles that connect the pelvis to the knee. When these muscles are strained, or the tendons that hold the muscles to the bone become inflamed, the symptom is pain in the groin area radiating into the thigh. Yesterday's run presented pain right where the tendons are - butt (pelvis) and thigh.

The only way to resolve this is rest and anti-inflamatories. So, no more speed work for the time being. Everything will be at recovery or easy pace for the next couple of weeks. This week I'll limit my long run to 6 miles or less. I'd like to put in one more 12 miler prior to my half marathon (planned for January 10th) to tell me whether doing the half is a go or not. Longer term will be based on how I fell in the next month or so. Don't know whether a marathon is in the cards early this year or not.

Hip Update - One Week Later

Today marks one week since my last run. I've been resting in the hope that my hip will allow me to start running again this week. I visited with my running club yesterday, partly to pick up my new shirt, and partly to talk to Coach about what the issue may be.

First off, this year's shirt is pretty cool. Now that Coach Sumner is no longer involved in the OC Marathon, he can go back to using New Balance equipment (instead of Avia):

Much nicer than the silly white one with the blue block letters that we wore last year. Hopefully this one will wear a little longer too. My shirt from last year looks pretty ragged with snags all over the place.

Oh yeah - the hip. I spoke to several folks yesterday. We discussed my symptoms:

• I can run fine with little discomfort and no pain


• Pain starts *after* my run is complete and I've had a chance to rest for a bit


• Pain is worst when trying to lift my leg (like lifting my knee toward my body)


• There is no clicking or catching sensation in my hip when running


• The pain seems to be in the groin and radiates into the upper thigh

The consensus seems to be either a strained groin (hip abductors, groin muscle, etc.) or a strained hip flexor. No one thinks that I have a labrum tear because there is no catching or clicking in the hip. Whew. Now for the bad news....

If I have a groin pull, I need to scale down the miles for the time being. No speed work, no hills. Definitely no marathon distances. It's this injury that often times is the death of a professional sports career. The only recovery is rest and strengthening/stretching , and even with that it could be a year or so until it is completely recovered. Coach thinks this is my problem. And, since he has over 30 years on the business and has seen it all, I certainly respect his opinion.

Beginning this week, I will scale back my miles and put the hard workouts to rest. I think the first thing I will do is an easy 2 to 3 miles on Monday with a rest on Tuesday. I'll see how I feel on Tuesday and take it from there.

Downpour! Running in the Rain

I got one of my photos from the Dana Point Turkey Trot. Running in the Rain! Oh yeah!



This is actually the first photo of me running that I've been pleased about. Wow - look at those legs!

Surprised Myself!

As I sit here doing my morning blog and Runner's World forum thing, I started thinking that it would be interesting to see how many miles I have run this year. I opened up SportTracks, and created a report. Wow!

That's right - 947 miles! Considering that I was down for two months after my cycling accident and taking a week off here and there for business travel, I am 53 miles short of 1000! I was more shocked than surprised!

This morning my hip is pain free and there is no discomfort. I am hoping that this continues for a few more days so I can get that extra 53 miles in before the end of the year!

This Hip Thing....

It's been exactly *two* days since I last ran. Seems a lot longer than that. I really want to hit the trails. But, this hip thing has me running concerned and a little scared.

I still feel a little discomfort - now more toward my lower back and right quad than deep in the hip and groin areas. I am trying to remember when this all started, but one thing for sure - it got to the point where I couldn't walk after a run. It got particularly bad last week. I did an easy four on Monday and felt pain after the run. Then I did a 7 mile interval workout on a padded track on Tuesday. After that I felt a little discomfort, but no pain. But, the next day I did an easy four miles on the pavement and was in excruciating pain that night! That sent me to the shoe store for my new shoes. I went for a short run on Friday and felt pretty good then. But, after my 10K on Sunday, my hip and right quad were very painful in the evening.

When the pain is there, I feel it in my groin and deep within my right hip. The pain radiates into my right quad, and makes getting up from a sitting or lying position painful. The pain is dull and constant - not sharp or stabbing. It makes walking or going down steps difficult. The thing that has me concerned enough to stop running is that the symptoms are indication of a labrum tear. In most cases, labrum issues are indicated by anterior hip pain, which is exactly what I am experiencing.

Of course, I could just be a hypochondriac too! Labrum tear is the worst case scenario. It could be nothing more than a muscle strain caused by my old broken down shoes (as broken down as 200 miles can make them). Additional symptoms of a labrum tear would be catching or clicking of the joint - none of which I have. Turns out the labrum area is rich in blood flow, so rest often times resolves the problem. Same with a muscle strain. Whatever the problem is, I am eager to make sure it resolves and to not rush back just because I am OCD. I guess I'll need to give up my prize money (rolling eyes).

Race Report - Make Room for Santa 10K

Time for another race report! This time with a better outcome (and a few less people) than on Thanksgiving. After my little wet and wild adventure then, I waited with baited breath as the weatherman predicted rain Saturday night and Sunday. I had decided that if I woke to wet sidewalks, I was climbing back in bed. I parted the blinds to relief! It was a *beautiful* sunrise. Some high clouds, dry sidewalks and no wind. I packed my gear and took off up the road to Irvine.

I was in my car for just a couple of minutes when my car started dinging at me. What?!? I looked down at my instrument panel - what's that snowflake doing there? Yup. When it's below 37* out, my car switches into "Winter Mode" in case I run into ice. Guess what - 36* at 6:40 AM, and I'm less than a mile from the beach! Glad that I wore the long sleeves!

This race, even though a small affair, was well organized. Parking was a couple of miles away, but the buses were running frequently enough that the wait was less than 10 minutes. I got to the start line and was surprised to find hundreds of people milling about. I was hoping to set a PR. The people were only going to make it tougher.

This race is a combined 5K and 10K. All runners start at the same time, and a couple of miles in the 5K'ers split and then rejoin the race at the 5 mile point. So, it was a little crowded. In fact, when the horn sounded, it still took a minute to get to the start line (more on that later).

The race was sold as a "flat and fast course." My legs were telling me different though. My first two miles of 8:56 and 9:07 were as much about the steady climb as they were about dodging slower runners. After the race, the elevation profile showed a steady elevation gain of a little over 200 feet over the first three miles.









But, where there is uphill there must be downhill! At the three mile mark, the net uphill became a net downhill for the remainder of the race. By this time, we were about as far north as the City of Irvine goes. The views were nice, the streets were clear of traffic, and the crowds were thinning out. Time to push the pace a little to see if my goal PR (55:00) was within reach. I fell into a rhythm with a bunch of other runners. I glanced down at my Garmin and noticed that my pace was down in the 8:30 range. Wow! I've never run at this pace this far into a race before. The best part - my heart rate was sitting right at 160 and I felt good and strong!

The next two miles were on a wide open street with a couple of rolling hills thrown in for good measure. We passed the Mile 5 marker and turned left along the freeway. Just as the race organizers had promised, downhill finish! That's right! From mile 5 to the finish line! About 150 feet down! I pushed the pace even more. I was thinking that a 54:00 was within reach! I passed the 6 mile mark and pushed a little harder. All of a sudden - alarms were going off! I had set a new PR! Heart rate that is! 185! 108% MHR! I *had* to slow down for a few seconds to catch my breath - costing me about 15 seconds on my total time. Next thing I knew I was in the finish slot crossing the line. I looked at the clock and looked at my Garmin. I liked what the Garmin said - 54.11! But, the crowds conspired against me. The official clock said 55:32 as I crossed the line. Still - that meant a PR by over 2 minutes! I was happy that RoseRunner and travelmama from the Runners World forums talked me into this one! Thanks guys!



After race, I wandered around a bit grabbing some water and some of the snacks that had been laid out for us. I stopped and talked to Ted Newcomb from the shop I had bought my shoes from (which by the way are working out great). I ran into a few folks that I had run with before, including Lori and Matt from the OC Trail Runners (http://www.octrailrunners.org/).



I also ran into Santa:

Mrs. Claus:

The running nativity scene:

The Whos from Whoville:

And Rudolph (or was it Max?)!

All in all, a satisfying run and a nice way to spend a morning! I'm now done for the rest of this year. In fact, I am having some hip problems that may sideline me for a while. That, though is the subject of another blog entry...

Four Mile Spin

So I took the new shoes out for spin yesterday. For sure the problem were the shoes. I wanted to air things out a little to see how the new ones would feel. I comfortably put in four miles in 37 minutes. The only issue is that the foot beds in these GTs seem a little rougher than the Kayanos, so the soles of my heels started feeling hot toward the end of mile 3. The lurid details - 4 miles, 37.22 minutes, average heart rate 150. Not too bad for a slow old fart!

My only issue now is my hip. I had a fitful night of sleep because I just couldn't get comfortable. I did some searching on the Internet this morning, and my symptoms point to a hip strain. The research says that this can be caused by overpronation. My theory here (maybe it's something I want to believe) is that my old shoes were shot, allowing me to overpronate on my slow runs when I would be most relaxed. I guess I'll see here.

One thing that I am toying with is with the impending rain, maybe I'll take the week off after my 10K on Sunday. If it is a hip strain, the rest should resolve the issue. If it doesn't, then hello doc!

Unscheduled rest day

Boo hoo! I decided to take an extra day off this week to see if I can get my legs feeling normal again. The pain is pretty much gone and I can walk normally at this point, but my legs still feel tired and listless. I think I'll try an easy three or four miles tonight to see how things are going (or if they are going to go on Sunday).

I ended up purchasing some new shoes yesterday. I tried out a new store recommended by Cal Coast - Runner's High in Irvine (http://www.runnershighirvine.com/). The owner, Ted Newcomb, and Coach Sumner go back a long ways. I had a great conversation with Ted before getting down to the task at hand. We went through some of my other choices (Mizuno Wave Nirvana, New Balance 1224). It boiled down to the Asics feeling the best on my feet. We discussed my *real* issue - 250 miles per pair. According to Ted, a "normal" shoe should get somewhere around 400 miles these days. But, given my symptoms, and he agreed that the indications say the inner cushioning is gone. A lot of my issue this time is no doubt related to my puddle run (Turkey Trot -http://therunningfatguy.blogspot.com/2008/11/dana-point-turkey-trot-10k-rr.html).

Instead of dropping another $140 on another pair of Kayanos, Ted pointed me to a different shoe - the Asics GT 2140. As he put it, it's the same basic shoe, just not a fancy looking. Plus it saves me about $40 per pair. I picked them up and will give them a try. Hopefully I can make it out today for a quick spin. I'll see how my legs feel later today. Then again, maybe an extra day of rest is good....

In Some Pain Here...

Yeah - I'm in some pain here today. Again. Just as last week, my quads are screaming today. After something as easy as a *slow* four mile run. I suspect my shoes because of the following:

• They got absolutely soaked (and squishy) in Dana Point on Thanksgiving
• I have about 250 miles on them now
• And - I ran a relatively comfortable 7 miles Tuesday night on a padded track. But, yesterday's 4 miles on pavement had me in agony a couple of hours later.

I run in Asics Kayano 14s. 250 miles does not seem like a lot of miles on a product that is so expensive. This is my third pair this year, and I got 280 miles on one pair, 255 miles on the second. So it appears I am about ready to swap these out. I want to try something different, but the last time I did, I was in agony much sooner (I tried a pair of Saucony Progrid Hurricane 10s - not enough support for my feet). I normally shop at Road Runner Sports, but maybe I'll head over to A Snails Pace today and see if anyone there is more knowledgeable. In fact - I think I'll contact Cal Coast and see if Coach has any recommendations.

Track Work

Yesterday was interval day. I made it over to the CDM track a little after 5 to put in my miles. Today was 3 x 1600 at 10K pace. 2 mile warm up, 1 mile warm down with rest laps after each interval for a total of 6.75 miles. Nothing really exciting about the run other than I surprised myself by having to slow down to stay at 10K pace. I want to be careful about not blowing up at this point because I only have a few more weeks before my HM goal race.

After I got back, I started analyzing data and noticed a big issue. The purpose behind interval training is to improve VO2Max. The best way to improve VO2Max is to run at VO2Max, which typically occurs at 94% to 98% MHR. Notice a problem here?

Yup - an hour plus of running, three 1600 intervals, and I barely touched VO2Max HR near the end of interval three. I think I still have more to learn about what my body *should* feel like. Maybe that's why I'm still a slowpoke!

While I was finishing up, Cal Coast showed up to do their interval work. They had quite a turnout - at least 60 runners. Has me thinking that I should join them. The only problem is they start so late in the evening (start time is 5:45 PM, so they really don't get going until 6:15 or so).

Feets Don't Fail Me Now!

Yesterday I went out and did an easy, slow four miles. With a 10K coming up this weekend and as sore as I was, I considered sacking the workout, but I wanted to get my legs moving to see if I would feel better afterwards. Did I say slow? How about 45 minutes slow! My heart wasn't even pumping too hard this workout. I also thought that perhaps some stretching at the gym might do some good, so after the workout I headed over to 24 hour fitness and got a good stretch in. This morning I am a *lot* less sore than I was yesterday. Hopefully I am on the right track!


On another note, I spent last night reading at least a dozen CIM and Tuscon race reports. Reading those reports is such a motivator for me. I am amazed at the number of people who are able to run and maintain sub 8 minute miles. I am more amazed at the folks who can go out and BQ their first marathon! The best stories, though, are those that give us some emotion. My vote for top RR for the weekend belongs to RW forumite edwardian (http://forums.runnersworld.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/224106038/m/6301022085). Great report!

Ugh. Oof. Rrrgh.

That's the best description of how I feel right now. Something is going on here that I hope means I'm getting faster stronger better. I am soooo physically sore. Walking the first few steps after sitting is tough! My quads and hip flexors are saying "stop for a few seconds while they catch up with the rest of Glenn's body." The good news is there is no joint or tendon pain. I think I'm suffering from training load the past week. The soreness all started when I substituted a six mile run for a four mile run last Wednesday and then followed up with a 60 minute tempo on Thursday in place of a 45 minute tempo run. Ever since then, my first step is a little (OK - a lot) slower.

Now for the good news - I put in a 12 mile 3/1 run yesterday. My first couple of steps were slow as my quads rebelled, but once I got moving the run went fine. I threw in a little variety by going up the San Diego Creek trail instead of around the bay. The advantage of San Diego Creek is the lack of hills. There is steady elevation gain (obviously the stream needs to run downhill), but out to the six mile point, there is less than 100 feet in elevation gain. There are plenty of short hills though - each time the trail crosses a street it's down into an underpass and back up on the other side. Here's the elevation profile (I think the last blip just past mile 6 is a Garmin error - there is no 50 foot hill at that point):

As you can see - there are about 10 underpasses in the first six miles - Campus Dr., down into a drainage channel at Harvard, Michelson Dr., 405 freeway, Coronado, Main St., Alton, Harvard (again), Paseo Westpark, Culver Dr (2 of them) and West Yale Loop (can you tell I was bored on the way out?). There is just enough variety to make the run a little bit of a physical workout. And there are just enough cyclists to keep me awake. And, the other reason I like this trail is there are no cars to worry about!

Back to yesterday's run. Once I got moving, the miles started passing. I have to admit, the six miles out were quite boring. I never really got my heart rate at the top end of goal for a long run, but was running at a comfortable pace. At my turn around, I checked my watch. 1:05 to that point ( a little over six miles). Not bad! I started the long trek back to my starting point. At nine miles, I stepped up to half marathon pace and surprised myself by holding it for the next three miles! In fact, I remember thinking how my breathing didn't even really change for the first 2 miles of this segment (My heart rate did make it into the low 90% range by the time I finished up). Final stats - 12 miles (last 3 at HM pace), average heart rate 79% MHR. Total time 2:06 - seven minutes faster than I've ever gone this distance before.

One thing for sure - I will be taking it easy on my recovery runs this week. 11:00 here I come!

Feeling Better Four

Yesterday was another four miles around the Upper Bay. I feel like I'm fighting some burnout. I am suffering some sore legs and general tiredness as I finish week seven of this training plan.

The plan called for a twelve mile 3/1 run. But, it was SAT Saturday yesterday, and I had to get my son and niece situated. They have been studying for the test for a few weeks now, and we made a last minute decision to take the test yesterday. There is a way to take the test on a "standby" basis by showing up on test day with check and application in hand. This last minute decsion came about becuaseof some recent changes with score reporting. In the past, all scores at all sittings were reported. This meant that a bad test got reported with everything else and could affect the decision process. Beginning this year, a student can select the sitting that they want to use to report to a college, so scores from a bad test does not have to be reported. This really means that there is no penalty for taking the test many times. And the best practice for the SAT is taking the test! So, I showed up with them at 7:30 AM to take care of business. This meant that I missed running with Cal Coast. Instead, I went over to my favorite coffee house, grabbed a coffee and bagel and enjoyed my morning.

I finally got the motivation to get out of the house in the late afternoon and did an easy four miles around the Upper Back Bay. Once I got going, I actually felt pretty good and finished the run in just over 40 minutes. The soreness went away. Average heart rate was a little high (78% versus 75% MHR).

Today I'll make that 12 mile 3/1 run!

Tempo Thursday

Another Thursday, another tempo run. I lengthened this one out to 60 minutes from the scheduled 45. Apparently, this at the current edge of my abilities at this time - I am physically wiped out! My legs are sore and aches and pains abound. I am glad that today is a scheduled rest day.

There were a couple of interesting things about yesterday's run. First off, I was trying to hit LT during the hard part of my run. I had a tough time hitting 90% MHR though. It was like my legs just weren't there. I was able to get to 80% pretty easily, but getting my heart rate above 85% was difficult. Hmm. The other thing that was interesting was that I hit a 10K distance in less than an hour. That also included 10 minute warm up at the beginning of the tempo and 10 minute warm down at the back end. Which either means that my 57.41 at the Turkey Trot was slow, or I'm running my workout too fast. I'll find out next Sunday in Irvine!

Six Easy Miles

At least they were supposed to be. I was scheduled to run four, but with the loss of Tuesday and the fact that I was able to start early in the afternoon, I decided that a three mile out and back around the Upper Back Bay was the ticket! Now, as I sit here this morning, I have no idea why my quads are so sore! My shoes are reaching that point where I expect some soreness (200 miles), but that is usually in my calves and knees. This is definitely muscle soreness in my quads that is causing me to want to sit here enjoying my cup of coffee this morning.

Today I have a 60 minute tempo run on tap. I am sure by the time my workout comes along everything will have a chance to stretch and feel better. Getting old sucks.

Flexibility is the Name of the Game

Yesterday was supposed to be VO2Max training on the track at CDM. But, finals week is coming up for my son, a Freshman at UC Irvine. I came home to him stressed out about his computer programming class. I spent the afternoon and evening going over program flow, control structures, selection structures and repetition structures with him. They are using a language called Python (probably because it's open source and the school doesn't have to worry about licensing) instead of a "real" language like C#. As is normal in these type of classes, his professor is spending way too much time on command sets and a lot less time on structure and program flow. I feel for my son....

That means that I need to mash my schedule around somewhat this week. One option is to make today a 45 minute tempo run, tomorrow my interval training, then an easy 4 mile on Friday and long run (this week a 3/1) on Saturday. Two issues here are back to back hard days and I'll end up putting in nine days in a row before a rest day. My other option is to just let yesterday go, get two rest days this week and change my scheduled tempo run from 45 minutes to 60 minutes. Doing the latter still gives me a 30 mile week and provides a *little* extra rest. The more I think about this the better it is sounding! All in favor? The ayes have it!

On another note, I'm back to tracking calorie intake. I'm using a new tool over at http://www.fitday.com/. The jury is still out, but last week's results were good. The interface is a little more time consuming than SparkPeople, but I think that fitday does a better job at predicting calorie burn. I'll take some time this weekend and provide a brief synopsis of fitday.

Four in the Fog

I got my four mile easy run in last night. As mentioned earlier, I had another appointment in the late afternoon, so I couldn't start until a little after 5PM. It was noticeably cool and the fog was rolling in. As I left the car and ran up the San Diego Creek trail, I couldn't help but notice the steam rising from my uncovered head. The run back was even cooler! It was quite surrealistic. Swirling fog. Steam rising from my head. Mist droplets in my headlamp beam. All I needed was the Barenaked Ladies singing the Haunted Mansion theme!

The run was quite uneventful. Since it was a recovery run, I kept my pace slow and heart rate down (73% MHR). I finished feeling pretty good. In fact, I headed off to the gym for some stretching and core exercises (first time in several weeks).

Four Tired Miles

My legs are tired. Based on the data from my short recovery run yesterday, my legs aren't the only thing that's tired. I was able to maintain my heart rate at 75% MHR, but I had to keep slowing down to get there. I felt like I had to drag my legs behind me the whole time! In fact, looking at data after the fact, I noticed that my heart rate the first two miles was consistently in the 75% to 78% MHR range. Heart rate on my return trip was lower, but then so was my pace!

I'm hoping I can get out this evening for a quick four miler. I have another appointment at 4PM, so it's highly unlikely that I will get out before it's dark. I'm also hoping that I'm a little less tired this evening. I want to make sure that tomorrow's workout is a quality run.