Feeling better

I woke up today to my foot feeling better -- just a little tender, but able to run. I did a warmup lap in the park, then ran a 1.2 miles down the airport road and back. I measured off a mile, which I ran in 8:23 going with the wind and 8:59 coming back against the wind. It felt very good -- the foot actually got better the longer I ran. It's a weird thing -- just some soreness near the achilles, but it doesn't get worse. It actually improves as I run, and then at some point, it will go away completely. I don't know if it is the change in shoes or what.

Then I ran 5 minutes back and forth on the soccer fields as kind of a cooldown for a 32-minute run. The 5K including the warmup was 26:30 -- which is outstanding, 8:33 a mile. My conditioning has come a long way.

Miles for week -- 14

Miles on new shoes --22

Turkey update

I ran 20 minutes on the treadmill Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, and just seemed like I needed to because I was hurting -- left achilles area and knee.

Then I rested Thursday to save up for a good run Friday. And it was real good. I ran 45 minutes -- probably averaging 8:30-8:40 pace for most of it. I ran on trails in West Des Moines as we stayed with Jenny. Very strong effort, but then the knee and foot(feet) sort of told me it was a little too hard.

I got up this morning and they were sore, but as I worked through the day raking leaves and taking a walk with Tammy, they felt better. Now, at 8:40 p.m., they feel good. So I think this thing will go away soon. Tomorrow, I think I will just run on grass -- a pretty easy effort -- maybe 30-35 minutes.

Miles this week -- 10.3

Miles on new shoes -- 18.5

2 runs

41 minutes saturday, then 31 minutes last night.

My feet and knee have been hurting a bit, so I'm going to kind of slow down a bit.

Run through light rain

I wore my new shoes (Saucony Guide 2) tonight and did a nice run of about 3.8 miles around the 2.5-mile path, into the park 5 minutes and back, then around the .3-mile block at home. It was about 35 minutes of running, some of it semi-brisk. Nothing too fast. My knee is still sort of acting up and I need to take it a little easier on it. The shoes felt good. I ran through a light rain, but there was little wind and just a bit chilly -- 45 degrees or so.

Miles on new shoes -- 3.8

Miles for week -- 6

Slow, soggy

I slogged through 23 minutes on the Winfield golf course. It was raining, the wind was blowing 20 mph and higher, and it was 40 degrees. A nasty night. I needed a short, easy night anyway. My legs are still feeling the effects of the 55-minute run, which followed the intervals at Old Threshers.

Miles on shoes -- 294

Miles for week -- 2

55 minutes

Saturday was a 55-minute run -- the 218-34-linden drive loop (3.4 miles) followed by the trail loop (2.5 miles) then around our block (.3 miles). So I am thinking I ran more than 6 miles.

The knee hurt a little, the left achilles area (it's not the achilles, it's the area to the outside of the achilles) hurt a little from Thursday. But it warmed up and it was fine. The pace was probably appropriate for a longer run (9ish plus). It was good to do.

Miles on shoes -- 292. Now I retire these from running. They were possibly the best shoes I've ever owned. I made some amazing strides with them. My sister Kim got me exactly the same pair for my birthday, so I start with my next 300 miles.

Miles for week -- 14.5

Tough workout at Old Threshers

Tonight I ran about 14 minutes as a warmup the long way to Old Threshers. Then I ran three 800ish repeats on the gravel path (starting at the bottom and winding up at the end of the first road). I think it must be 800 or so. It's kind of a switchback trail and uphill in a couple of spots.

My times: 3:50, 3:36, and 3:23, with a couple of minutes rest between each one. Nothing too great, but I ran pretty hard. I concentrated on keeping it smooth and even, but it was hard to, especially in the dark. The other time I ran this workout I ran 4:00, 3:48, 3:36 -- 10-13 seconds slower per run, plus I had less rest this time. This was Sept. 20 -- so almost 2 months ago. This felt good. Strong. I recovered pretty well.

I ran back (the south route) about 11:30, so the total time was 40 or 41 minutes.

4-4.5 miles. Total miles for week -- 8.5

Miles on shoes --286

Nice, soft, easy run

I stopped at the golf course at Winfield on my way home tonight and ran three perimeters -- about 4 miles. I felt a little stiffness, soreness from my run on Sunday and didn't push anything at all. Just tried to establish a nice rhythm. It felt great on the grass. Nearly 35 minutes.

Miles for week -- 4

Miles on shoes -- 281.5

Hard Indian summer run

Sunday, it was about 70 degrees and I felt strong. I drove out to the park, ran home, then back out -- 4.5 miles in 38:12 (8:30 pace). I ran the last half in 18:39 (or about 8:17 pace). Then I ran 3 x 80 yards at a controlled pace strides.

Miles for week -- 19.5

Miles on new shoes -- 277.5

Beautiful, hilly run

On a morning when it probably hit 60 degrees, I ran about 5.5 miles in 50 minutes. I started with a lap around the Mount Pleasant golf course, a very hilly mile, then took off for 15 minutes along old highway 34 going west. That half-hour covered 3.45 miles -- about 8:40 pace over a hilly stretch. Then I did another lap of the golf course. I ran it pretty slow, more of a cooldown, over the extremely hilly terrain.

As I suspected Wednesday, this represents a step up in my conditioning. I was running about 9:15 pace on such a run, then it dipped to 9:00. Now, I'm around 8:30 to 8:45. This is very exciting going into a great winter of running. What I need to do is keep up this great stretch and add some tempo running, 8:00 or a little faster, to keep me sharp.

I do want to get the long run up to about 80 minutes at some point this winter.

Tentative weekend long run schedule:

• Nov. 14 -- 55 minutes
• Nov. 21 -- 60 minutes
• Nov. 28 -- 40 minutes
• Dec. 5 -- 60 minutes
• Dec. 12 -- 65 minutes
• Dec. 19 -- 70 minutes
• Dec. 26 -- 40 minutes
• Jan. 2 -- 70 minutes
• Jan. 9 -- 75 minutes
• Jan. 16 -- 80 minutes
• Jan. 23 -- 40 minutes

I want to still make it 4 runs a week. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday.

Tuesday: Interval/threshhold work. Keep the pace smooth and steady. Don't sprint or go hog-wild.

• Warmup mile, 7:45-8:00 mile, 5 minute jog/walk rest, 7:45-8:00 mile, cooldown mile (threshold).
• 40 minutes Fartlek run (4 x 5 minutes at threshold pace).
• 2 miles steady (17:30) -- then 6xneighborhood-hill loop (2 miles) -- then 15-minute cooldown (intervals).
• Warmup 10 minutes to Old Threshers, then 3x800ish loop there in 3:30-3:40ish, with 3-minjute rest, then cooldown by running back (intervals).
• Same thing at Cedarcrest: warmup lap, 3 x 1st tee-to-green loop in 3:30-3:40, with 3-minutes rest, then cooldown by running another lap (intervals).
• Warmup mile, then 6x400 in 1:45ish, with 2 minute rest, then cooldown mile (intervals).

Thursday: 35-40-minutes easy, then 10 strides.

Saturday: Longer, 8:45 to 9:00 pace.

Sunday: 30 minutes.

Next week: Tuesday, Nov. 10: Old Threshers intervals.

Thursday, Nov. 12: 35-40 minutes easy, plus 10 strides.

Saturday morning, Nov. 14: 55 minutes.

Sunday morning, Nov. 15: 30 minutes.

Miles on new shoes -- 273

Running easy

If I ever achieve the success I am trying to achieve, I might look back on tonight as a breakthrough. It wasn't a real quality run -- but I felt light, I ran easy, with no pain anywhere. I ran at a good pace -- about 8:30 on a medium run of 4.5 miles. I took two laps of the perimeter around the track, about a mile and a half, and then ran about 3 miles on the track. At one point, I was running 2:04 laps (8:16 pace) pretty easy. That is an indication that my conditioning is reaching another level. I plan to have an awesome winter of running.

Miles on shoes -- 267.5

Excellent run

Tonight was great. It was about 50 degrees, near dusk, and I took off around the bike path around the school and home -- then up Linden Drive to the Hy-Vee road and back. I ran about 45 minutes -- steady for the first half, then a 7:58 mile (mostly uphill) headed up Linden Drive, then I eased back down the hill. About 5 miles. I was inspired partly by the state cross country meet on Saturday, where Jake ran his guts out and got 11th in class 2A.

Friday night, I got home and ran 32 minutes through a terrible wind. Some nights, like tonight, I feel 35 or 40. Some nights, like Friday night, I feel 50.

Miles on new shoes -- 263