Had a good run for 4 miles

Thanks to a good 7 hours of sleep last night, my wakeup heart rate was 55, a significant decrease from the 59 I had on Monday and the 60-62 I had last week. I left home about noon and ran my 4-mile route again. The shade temperature was 70 (F) when I left, and I didn't carry any water. I did drink from the fountain at the East Pavilion (both coming and going), and that was enough. The sky was mostly cloudy (rain expected this evening), and it was a great day for running or walking or cycling or whatever you do for exercise.

I've noticed on several occasions, including today, that I feel great for about 1.75 miles, and then I start getting tired. My turn-around point is at 2 miles, and I start feeling tired just before that point. I did take one rest stop during the run today, this time at about 2.7 miles into the run. It appears that my body does great for 1.75 miles, and then it starts to feel the stress of the run. 1.75 miles doesn't seem like much, but I remember a year ago that I was running/walking about 1.5 miles. And I remember January 2009 when I was attacked by blood clots and could only walk 10 feet (couldn't run at all). So, I've made a lot of progress during the past year, and I'm grateful for that progress and grateful to be alive today. I have a friend that I see on the Jordan River Parkway often. He can't walk very far, and he drives an electric cart on the Parkway. He breathes oxygen through a tube. He likes to be outside, and he notices the plants and wildlife along the river. He is doing the best that he can. That's all any of us can expect: do our best and take each day, one day at a time.

I found another golf ball near the Parkway. The golf course is separated from the Parkway by a barbed wire fence, and the golfers aren't able to get their balls that go out of the course.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OldManRunning/~3/rWAleOFmPjI/had-good-run-for-4-miles.html

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Ran 4 miles in the mid-day heat

My wakeup heart rate this morning was 55, a big improvement over the 60+ that I had last week (including Saturday). I've been getting good sleep for the past week or so, and it looks like that sleep is finally having its effect on my body.

I left home not knowing how far I would run. The rule of thumb for time needed for recovery from a race is one day per mile. Based on that I would need 3 days. Today was day 2, and I expected I would get tired and abort the run. The shade temperature when I left was 82 (F), and I used the 90/66 ratio of left-foot steps running and walking. I ran at a relatively slow pace, and I took rest breaks every time I saw a bench that was in the shade. My body felt fine, and my legs felt fine, too, although they did get a bit tired during the 3rd mile.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OldManRunning/~3/5BTwnK5onwA/ran-4-miles-in-mid-day-heat.html

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How To Push Past the Pain, As Champions Do (NY Times)

The NY Times had a great article yesterday called "How To Push Past the Pain, As Champions Do", with a little insight on those spit-coated elites and how far they push themselves. My favorite quote:

?Mental tenacity ? and the ability to manage and even thrive on and push through pain ? is a key segregator between the mortals and immortals in running,? Ms. [Mary] Wittenberg said.

In that case, every 100-miler I know is immortal! ;-)

Here's another good quote:

?We have towels at marathon finish to wipe away the spit on the winners? faces,? she said. ?Our creative team sometimes has to airbrush it off race photos that we want to use for ad campaigns.?


Yummy!

- SD

Source: http://runtrails.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-push-past-pain-as-champions-do.html

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When is a Black Toenail not a Black Toenail?

For an endurance athlete, be it a runner, a triathlete or whatever the sport of choice, it's in their nature to push it to the limit and then beyond.  Today just happened to be one of those days.

Today's plan was changed last night. The weather report stated that the rain would come mid morning. So I set myself up for a 4:30 wake up call, 5:15 run time. The way I figured it, the rain would be about here by the time I was finishing my 20 miles. Yeah, slow... I know.

As I left the house, the wind was blowing and the clouds were low, dark and very heavy. You could tell they were loaded. Not a good sign was my first thought. But I got on my car and off to the park I went.

Wasting no time upon arrival, I proceeded with my run. One loop around the park and a couple of miles down the road later the rain came. Not to hard, but it was here and it was early. Oh, well. A run in the rain never hurt anyone

I have been nursing a sore calf from what appeared to be a severe cramp last Saturday.  It was sore but not in pain.  If I changed my stride in any form, I could tell right away because the muscle would let me know.  So, in addition to having to watch for the wet pavement, I had to be extra careful with my calf, did not really want to aggravate the injury this close to marathon day.


I could tell my pace was slower than usual.  If I tried to push it, I could feel it.

So off and on the rain kept coming.  Nothing really bad, just annoying.  That is until the bottom fell off.  It rained so hard for about five minutes that the rain was hurting as it hit my body.  I had no where to take shelter so I just kept on going.

By this point it was just about survival.  The last six miles of the run were an adventure, to say the least.  Every stitch of clothing was wet, heavy wet.  It was like carrying an extra twenty pounds with you.  The shoes, but specially the socks were soaked.  (Note to self:  gotta get some good wicking socks).  My Garmin had condensation build up.  Couldn't see out of my glasses.  I was cold and seriously hoping that one day I would be able to warm up again.

But as the miles kept coming I was determined to finish strong.  My plan today was to run one mile and walk (fast walk) one tenth of a mile.  I would use this time to reload, refuel, recup.  I stuck to this plan to the end.

So, when is a black toenail not a black toenail?  I tell you.

When I got home and took of my shoes, I saw a very disturbing sight:  A red (blood) ring on my left sock.  Weird, I remember thinking.  So, I took of my sock and my second toe was covered in blood.  No pain, just blood.  My toenail was not black any longer!  So I guess the blood blister that was making my toenail black was no longer a blister which made it no longer a black toenail.  Usually, black toenails grow out, this was a first for me.

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Source: http://www.triathlonat55.com/2010/04/when-is-black-toenail-not-black-toenail.html

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