Well, my 4-plus miles on Monday caused a little pain in my right lower leg (on outside of Achilles). I took it easy Wednesday, 2 miles with Connor, then felt better for yesterday (Friday). It got a little sore as I was running 3 miles with Madison and Connor, and it's a bit sore this morning, but it's not injured. I just need to take it easy on that leg.
I ran hard with Madison and Connor yesterday. Three miles, Sugar Hill run. 8:35, 8:11 and 8:30ish type miles. I was hurting at the end, but it did me good to do it. The best thing is I enter February with a great month under my belt, running consistently. I'll just build on this.
Running bike path on Valentine's Day 2010.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
4.25 miles
Happy Birthday, Tammy!
I really felt like I could do this, and I did tonight. I ran two town loops in Wayland for 4.25 miles. I ran the first loop in 20:11 and the second in 19:41. So it was about 9:22 pace. This is good. My base is getting pretty solid, and now I probably need to throw in a surge or two as I run.
Half-mile: -- 307 W. Front
Mile -- House with inflated snowman
1.5 -- Intersection of 4th and Pearl.
2.0 -- Daycare.
I want to taper back on the mileage a little and not do too much too soon.
The weekend was very good with a 33-minute run on the treadmill Saturday. I threw in some 10 minutes at about 6.2 and a minute of 6.9. So it was very solid.
It feels close to when I was getting ready for track in high school. I'm way slower, but it feels similar. I will get to where i want to go with running and coaching. God wants me to have fun doing this, and I am.
I really felt like I could do this, and I did tonight. I ran two town loops in Wayland for 4.25 miles. I ran the first loop in 20:11 and the second in 19:41. So it was about 9:22 pace. This is good. My base is getting pretty solid, and now I probably need to throw in a surge or two as I run.
Half-mile: -- 307 W. Front
Mile -- House with inflated snowman
1.5 -- Intersection of 4th and Pearl.
2.0 -- Daycare.
I want to taper back on the mileage a little and not do too much too soon.
The weekend was very good with a 33-minute run on the treadmill Saturday. I threw in some 10 minutes at about 6.2 and a minute of 6.9. So it was very solid.
It feels close to when I was getting ready for track in high school. I'm way slower, but it feels similar. I will get to where i want to go with running and coaching. God wants me to have fun doing this, and I am.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Keep going
Here it is, less than a month before track starts, and I'm rounding into pretty good shape. I ran about 3 1/4 miles tonight after school in Wayland, going south on Pearl Street, out on the Sugar Creek Hills, left on 120th, then left on Delaware and back into town.
I ran about 30 minutes, then a lap on the track, for probably 3.5 miles. 9:20ish pace. This is good, it was a hilly run. 1 mile to the trailer park sign, 2 miles is the Wade mailbox, 3 miles is the stop sign on Highway 78.
Then there is a 2.1 mile course across the highway, turn right on front, wind around the nursing home, right and all the way to 4th street, then left on Pearl and back to the school.
I ran about 30 minutes, then a lap on the track, for probably 3.5 miles. 9:20ish pace. This is good, it was a hilly run. 1 mile to the trailer park sign, 2 miles is the Wade mailbox, 3 miles is the stop sign on Highway 78.
Then there is a 2.1 mile course across the highway, turn right on front, wind around the nursing home, right and all the way to 4th street, then left on Pearl and back to the school.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Winter run
It was a real nice run, 30 minutes, in 18-degree, pleasant weather. There's a lot of snow on the ground. Very pleasant. I was real tired, but it was one of those pleasant tireds.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
On a roll
If all my runs could match today's. I warmed up with 6 minutes on the treadmill, then stretched. Then I went outside for about 25 minutes, up Linden Drive and back, adding a little time by circling around on some side streets on the way home. I was running easy -- I passed the first mile marker in 9:24.
The day was beautiful, light blue sky with some clouds, and the road viewable for a mile -- like a white ribbon through the town.
It was 30 degrees -- after a few days of the coldest weather in Iowa in 10-12 years. So it felt great, with a south breeze that didn't cut through my body.
My lower legs are feeling great. No Achilles problems, strains, or soreness. I did a little self-diagnosis and decided not to wear the orthotics anymore. That, combined with good, new shoes, has given my legs new life.
Thursday was one of the best treadmill runs I've had -- 32 steady minutes, with the last 4-5 minutes a pretty good pace. I felt light, like I was really running.
Tuesday, I ran with Connor, about 20 minutes through Wayland, then with Madison, about 4-5 minutes in the halls, then I stopped on the way home and ran down a desolate gravel road near Olds for 3-4 minutes and back.
Thank God that my running is going very well.
The day was beautiful, light blue sky with some clouds, and the road viewable for a mile -- like a white ribbon through the town.
It was 30 degrees -- after a few days of the coldest weather in Iowa in 10-12 years. So it felt great, with a south breeze that didn't cut through my body.
My lower legs are feeling great. No Achilles problems, strains, or soreness. I did a little self-diagnosis and decided not to wear the orthotics anymore. That, combined with good, new shoes, has given my legs new life.
Thursday was one of the best treadmill runs I've had -- 32 steady minutes, with the last 4-5 minutes a pretty good pace. I felt light, like I was really running.
Tuesday, I ran with Connor, about 20 minutes through Wayland, then with Madison, about 4-5 minutes in the halls, then I stopped on the way home and ran down a desolate gravel road near Olds for 3-4 minutes and back.
Thank God that my running is going very well.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Great start to 2009
The last several years, I have been locked in a belief about my running. I had chronic Achilles tendinitis, for which I had customiazed orthotics made several years ago -- at least 10. So, ever since I started this blog, and well before that, I wore the orthotics. But I remained injured.
Finally, in November, I got a new pair of shoes -- Saucony Guide -- and decided to try running without the orthotics. I started on the treadmill, took it pretty easy. I tried outside on the streets once, and the soft tissue outside the Achilles was sore. So I went back in on the treadmill, recovered. Then I decided to run on the grass of the soccer fields and that area of Eastlake Park. It has been a great revelation, and I plan to just continue.
This week, I ran 20 minutes around the school -- the surface was a little rough, and I felt just a little soreness, so I stopped short of the goal of at least 25 minutes. Wednesday, I ran outside in brutal cold for 28 minutes on the grass. Then tonight was my best run yet, 31 minutes.
I have to keep going. I want to run with my athletes starting next month. I want to run this summer, and during the fall. I want to lose weight and attempt my ultimate goal of a 5-minute mile. So far, things are going well. I feel this is what I was meant to do and I am doing it.
Finally, in November, I got a new pair of shoes -- Saucony Guide -- and decided to try running without the orthotics. I started on the treadmill, took it pretty easy. I tried outside on the streets once, and the soft tissue outside the Achilles was sore. So I went back in on the treadmill, recovered. Then I decided to run on the grass of the soccer fields and that area of Eastlake Park. It has been a great revelation, and I plan to just continue.
This week, I ran 20 minutes around the school -- the surface was a little rough, and I felt just a little soreness, so I stopped short of the goal of at least 25 minutes. Wednesday, I ran outside in brutal cold for 28 minutes on the grass. Then tonight was my best run yet, 31 minutes.
I have to keep going. I want to run with my athletes starting next month. I want to run this summer, and during the fall. I want to lose weight and attempt my ultimate goal of a 5-minute mile. So far, things are going well. I feel this is what I was meant to do and I am doing it.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Happy New Year
It may seem hard to believe, but I am planning to make this my most fulfilling running year ever. I have several reasons to say this:
- I am an assistant high school track coach. I will be coaching distance runners after assisting with the cross country team last fall. I will resume over the summer and fall and be the assistant cross country coach again. We have some good runners, all girls, whom I am looking forward to coaching.
- My own running, surprisingly, is going well. I have run 28 and 30 minutes Thursday and today (Saturday), with no pain. The last two months have been very productive. I have rested my sore Achilles tendons and left knee. Then I got new shoes, Saucony Guide. I decided to quit wearing my at least-10-year-old orthotics, and I am running on the grass of the Eastlake Park soccer fields. I was amazed how little pain I have felt the last two runs. Before, I had been feeling a pain on the outside of my left Achilles tendon -- not actually the tendon, but some soft tissue in that area. So, to relieve that pain, I have been running for only 20 minutes on the treadmill. It didn't hurt, and there were no after-effects the next day. Then, on New Year's Day, I decided to try running on the grass in my new shoes. I was able to, amazingly, go 28 minutes. There was no pain. Then today, I went 30 minutes. I will continue to run on grass, maybe around the WACO school grounds, every other day and see how it goes.
- I feel it is God's will that I progress on this course. I guess my New Year's resolution every year is to do the best with what God gave me, follow the path of Jesus as well as humanly possible. That means being the best husband and father I can be, the best Christian I can be, and the best at my "work" -- or role in the world. I want to have my best teaching year ever, and I want to share my love of running with these kids I coach. That makes me a happy man.
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