Longest run

Tonight, on a beautiful, windless 70-degree night, I ran 4 miles. It took me about 39 minutes, but it was good to run it. I've been pretty steady about my running. About 4 times a week, usually 30-ish minutes, so it was good to get this in.

I have an appointment June 4 with Dr. Novak, and hopefully we'll begin to get this knee feeling better.

I have some kids running at the district meet tomorrow. Our best bet is freshman Madison Roth in the 3,000 and 1,500 meters, and anchoring the distance medley. She will most likely make it in the two longer runs and we hope in the relay.

Good changes

I'm doing a good amount of running, and having fun with it. My health seems to be getting a little better. I have very little problems with my Achilles tendons and the soft tissue around them. Those things seem to be OK now. I ran 3.5 miles in 32 minutes tonight, the grass trails in Eastlake. That is going to be basically my home field. I really enjoy running out there. I don't like the pounding on asphalt or concrete. I can't run that way all the time. The other thing I need to keep in mind is that I can run once a week on the treadmill. That saves the stress on my legs.

My knee, the left one, which I believe is probably arthritic, gets cranky sometimes. But I am trying to strengthen the supporting muscles -- quads, etc. -- to take some stress off the knee. I am doing some dips and it seems to be helping.

I've been very involved with running also this spring through my coaching. Working with the WACO kids has been interesting -- a great learning experience. There aren't what I would call many "runners." I have good athletes, even good track athletes. But there aren't many people who might run for a lifetime activity. That's what I'm seeking.

That being said, some things will change next year. I won't be teaching at WACO, this little farm community in southeast Iowa. I will be moving to Columbus High School in Columbus Junction, where I will be teaching a variety of English classes, as well as advising students on production of the school yearbook and having the kids write some articles for the Columbus Gazette, town newspaper. It will be a good experience. In addition, I will be coaching middle school cross country. I am so pumped about it. They have a good cross country tradition. Last year, 17 kids ran middle school cross country.

This is a good change for me.

Great grass run

I run so much better on the grass. That's what I did today -- 5,700 meters (3.5 miles) in 32:40 or so. It felt great. The soccer fields-driving range area at Eastlake is 1,200 meters. I ran that four times, then the path is 900 meters, and I ran that once. It felt really good on the grass. My knee is a little cranky, but it's OK. I'll run more consistently every other day instead of every day with the runners.

Persevering through pain

I'm feeling pretty good except for some pretty bad pain in my left knee. I jarred it a few weeks ago, and have just aggravated it with my running lately. But I'm getting in shape. Sunday, I ran 15 minutes on the treadmill after a good week of running last week. Then Monday, I ran the 3.1 mile course south of Wayland in 28 minutes. Tonight, I played ultimate Frisbee with the distance runners.

I like how these kids are looking. They are pretty good athletes, most of them. I think we can put together some good events.

Hill workout for the kids tomorrow: 1.3 miles to 120th street.

4 x 260-meter hill.

1.3 miles home.

Fast run

The 2.1-mile run I have been doing in about 19:50-20:00 I did in about 18 minutes tonight. I was sort of trailing Madison and Brooke on our first night of track practice. They ran sub-8-minute pace, so I ran 8:30ish. It felt surprisingly easy. Sure, the knee is a little balky and I have been recovering from a cold, which is much better, but this was a good night of running. A total of about 22 minutes -- 2.6 miles.

I have two very talented runners in these two -- I'm actually very happy and surprised.

Beautiful night

Nice run on a nice night -- high 30s. I walked 15 minutes with Tammy, then warmed up for 9 minutes and stretched. Then I ran for another 24 minutes, so it was 33 minutes of running and 15 minutes of walking. I love the area over in Eastlake -- the half-mile loop through the field, then the soccer fields/driving range. In the spring, I'll add the grass trails through the timber. I was able to pick it up a little tonight especially on the soccer/driving range fields. I'm really feeling like I am fired up about coaching/running with the WACO distance runners this spring. It's gonna be a beautiful track season.

Ready to surge

It was a nice run last night on the treadmill -- 32 minutes. I had a few surges when I went a little faster and it felt great. Eventually, I will throw a surge or two in my runs and improve on my anaerobic conditioning. I was thinking about a mile up the hill on Linden Drive, then running a harder threshold-type mile on the way back for about 3 miles total. My legs will have to feel very good to do that, but I think it will work out fine in the next few weeks.