Holding up

As the headline says, I am holding up, despite some pain. I ran 5.5 miles with Kim and Shane last Thursday, May 15, which gave me a lot of confidence. It also gave me a lot of soreness in my lower legs. Then Saturday, I ran on the grass trail and soccer fields at the park -- a real solid run. Then last night, Monday, I ran about a half-hour in the park. My conditioning is very solid. I just need to make sure I'm staying stretched and not pushing it too hard so that I hurt myself. This is the most perseverance i have shown in running for a long time. I am so motivated to think that I may be running with my own cross country team in the fall. I need to hold up and stay with it.

Things are going well

My running has been strong lately, kind of buoyed by the distinct possibility that I might be coaching cross country in the fall. I'm very excited about it, trying to put myself into the right frame of mind as I run.

Yesterday, I ran 36 minutes to Hy-Vee and back. I think I might scale it back to 30 tomorrow. I'm on an even keel.

Nice run on track

The base of my right Achilles, where it connects to the heel, was hurting last week. So I took Friday and just ran 20 minutes -- very easily. Then come Sunday morning, it was feeling great. So I ran 32 steady minutes on the track. I felt in great condition, cranking it up to about 9-minute pace. But I wasn't labored -- things were smooth. I feel like sometimes I am doing a better job of listening to my body.

Nice trail run

I ran on the Sac and Fox trail at school -- during the break in pasteup. I went 16 minutes out and back for a total of 32 minutes. that was beautiful. It was a nice, warm day. I don't know if I was necessarily running fast, but nice and steady. Probably 3 1/2 miles. I really, really need a trail in my back yard.

That was followed by 3 miles on Monday morning. My Achilles right down at the base is a little tender, but it's manageable. After a day of rest between runs, it is nice. I just had to run tonight, it was so nice.

Courageous run

It's been a while -- a few weeks. On March 29, I had a great run -- 4 miles and I was on pace to run 36 minutes. So I was right on track. About 30 minutes into that run, I felt a twinge in my lower right calf. Actually, it felt like the Achilles area. It was a strain of some sort -- sort of a cramping, but it felt like it strained a tendon. So I did a nice job for the last two weeks of nursing it along. Not completely staying off it, because I swear that is not the best solution. When I do that, I believe I make myself more prone to injury when I return. So I rode my bike, did a little jogging (not much), until I ran Wednesday, April 9, about 20 minutes at the track. It felt fine, then just a little bit of a twinge, so I ended the run.

Then yesterday, I read in the paper where there was a 5K at East Lake Park. Just a fun run, predict your time. My leg felt great, and I said, I'm just going to try it. I'm happy I did. On a cold, wet, even with snowflakes flying, I ran a nice run. I even ran longer -- probably 2-3 minutes -- because I didn't know the course. I made it in 27:55 -- so I was running 8-9 minutes a mile. It was great, and I feel pretty good right now.

I'm going to join the running club and get together with these people on MOnday nights. I feel good, like I can make some good progress now.

Fighting the elements

Tuesday and today I ran against the wind. Tonight, I went 33 minutes -- the first 11 into a cold, steady wind. It tired me out but coming back I found a rhythm. My cardiovascular conditioning feels outstanding. The difficult thing is fatigue from a day's work -- being up since 5 a.m. then running after work. But I am making good progress. Tuesday, it was warmer, but I was tired and just ran and ran. Not fast, but good steady running around East Lake for 38 minutes. That was my longest run.

Feeling strong

I've probably got more of a task ahead of me than I think, but I did feel strong on today's run. I ran 3.6 miles in 34:39, starting out slow and pushing it the second half. I was running about 9-minute pace coming home.

So my goals for this year may be a little steep, but that's OK. I am feeling good -- staying healthy -- and that is the important thing.

I am aiming for the Bix 7 in 55 minutes. Shane and Sue may try to run it, too, and I'm sure Dave and Kim will. So that's a great goal.

Races this summer so far:
- Eldon 5K on June 14 (22-23 minutes).
- Bix on July 26 (55 minutes).
- Hopefully Run for the Schools in October (break 20).