Time Off....

Well, I am officially taking a week off from running. My last run was last Thursday morning. I have been ignoring my hip now for about a month thinking that ice would magically heal the problem (bursitis I believe as it mostly hurts after the run on the side to partially back of the hip at the top of the IT band). However, it is not getting better (well it wasn't until I stopped running...it has been feeling a lot better through the weekend!). It seemed to hurt more after a hard workout on the pavement, although it is still generally sore after easy ones as well. The groin issue is still there; it just appears and goes away...really just a bit nagging rather than truly acute. So, I am taking a bit of time off while there is still snow on the ground. Bummer as I had a great MAF block that resulted in some steady efficiency improvement.

I am thinking that these two issues got a bit worse when I switched down to the racing flats and really started after I hit 300 miles on the the Precision 10's. So, I have ordered a pair of Elixir 5's which are still very light (under 10oz), but have a bit more stability to them than the Precisions and certainly the Ronin's.

Time to reset a bit...maybe time to reset expectations and plans for the year as well? We will see.

1/2/2010 - Easy mid-long run

1/2/2010 - Easy mid-long run

Ran real slow again. Turned off my pace display and just ran by HR. Worked to keep it under 150...overall average of 148. So, so given the pace ended up being slow. Not a great run actually, day after a big guac dinner my stomach was just not into it. Frequented BK and the Waneka bathrooms to take care of business...ugly and a waste of precious time. Hip still hurts a bit as well. Wondering if I need to take a week to get everything back in order before starting my HR focus. We will see.

12/30/2009 - Wednesday - Easy with some slow tempo

12/30/2009 - Wednesday - Easy with some slow tempo

No pain today for any of the run. HR was a bit lower than this identical run on Sunday with a slightly faster pace. Temperature was similar. What gives? Good run overall. Still running in the Precision 10's, working great. Probably will consider moving to the Ronin's for my next shoes.

Day 4 of my case of Pink Eye. The kids have all had it at this point, Lily and Owen are in their second weeks are and finally resolving. Mine still suck at this point, very dry, itchy and uncomfortable. As a result, I have been wearing my glasses rather than contacts. Kind of a bummer as it has been a bit bright lately.

The muscle right above left hip on my back is still sore. Hurts a bit when I walk up stairs or push off. Does not bother me during the run, but is definitely a bother. Mostly feels like a small pull of some sort.... I am thinking it will resolve with time.

10/8/2009 Thursday

Dragged my sorry ass out of bed this morning for a pre-work run. Had a few good nights of sleep so it was not as hard as it could have been. Hit the road around 5:50 or so for an easy jaunt around Louisville. Ran down to the Coal Creek Path and then over to Dillon. At this point I decided to mock the golfers by doing a loop around the Coal Creek Golf Course. Figured they were all asleep and warm in their houses, especially since it was still dark and raining. Ran along the cart path that the backs up to 36 and then up the hill to Avista. Nice little jog in my typical run along this course.

Made a point to keep the Garmin under the jacket and reversed so as not to get the damn thing wet. It seems that the thing is not only not water resistant, but more of a sponge. This allowed me to run on feel.

Overall pace of around 8:30 or so for 6 even with a little build near the end in the low 8's and some high 7's thrown in.

Not a bad run, great to get it out of the way in the morning. The kids are finally sleeping late enough that I can realistically start moving my runs to the morning. This will be key to me finally adding miles as long as I leave early enough to get back just before 7am to get breakfast ready. Looks like I may not have the family as my excuse for much longer. Certainly I would prefer to run in the light of day at work, but it is so much more efficient to get it done in the morning...and, if I get up early enough I could conceivably starting seeing 7 mile-10 mile runs before work. This would be nice. Probably could add a double or two during the week at work as well.

Ran in the old Mizunos this morning. Overall felt ok except for the freakin callous on my big right toe right on the joint. I think this is the main result of moving to a less supportive/thinner shoe as there really is not much cushion under foot whereas the bigger, thicker sneaks seem to shield me from this problem. Need to figure out some solution to this as it is getting really annoying!

GPS Data here....

Moderate run from home - 5.04

Excellent run this morning from home. Intended on doing an easy one, but after about 3 miles I felt nice and loose so I picked it up for a bit. Did about 3/4 miles at around a 7minute pace and then finished out the last 1.20 around 7:18. Not a real hard effort as my HR was around 164 for the .75 and then 161 for the last mile (kind of downhill for this part of the run). The run average HR ended up around 151 which is very close to where I should be for an easy run.

A little sore in the calves and a slight tightness in one of my right achilles. This feels like a result of my tight calves from the hill climb last weekend and the tempo on Tuesday as well as my renewed focus on mid/fore foot landing. So, this is why I took it easy today. Day off tomorrow for sure. Will wait a week for another big hill effort.

I am looking forward to a nice long trail run on Sunday for Father's Day. I will be heading out early again so I can get back home before 9:30. Maybe will start at the Colton Trail Head and head out to the Springbrook trail to Vista and back. Will have to map this one out first so I don't over-extend myself...more to come.

4.86 Home from Hospital

Felt great today. Knee is definitely getting better, just a few little "tweaks" here and there. Ironic today, really bad accident in front of the hospital on the way home. Would have had to exit via the Campus Drive exit which would have surely been backed way up...287 north was really bad. So, running home may have saved me time!

Anyway, really encouraged after today. May be able to do some tempo or intervals tomorrow morning. May do some hill repeats next week as well, but will ratchet back to 2-3 max and then make way up from there...as the article suggested of course.

Great article by MF on stride. Definitely a big interest of mine over the past year...almost an obsession for sure. Fascinated by the ability to mitigate injury through form. I guess this appeals to my ski racing and crew days where form is almost everything (well, strength and endurance are important as well). Really want to try those Lunaracers as the LunaTrainers definitely did not work for me. The weight of the things are amazing!

Great post by JOHN HALAMKA on Google Health. Fascinating technology, but so simple. Disruptive? Not sure.

4.98 to Work

Easy run to work. Terrible sleep the night before as we went to bed a bit late and O woke up not long after, was up for an hour or so. So, not in the best, most alert state for the run. Noticed that my legs were a little tired and my left knee kind of hurt early in the run. This evened out a bit, but might have been favoring the knee as my right one flared up a bit near the end. Really just sore with no acute pain, but annoying nonetheless. HR was much higher than it should have been given the pace. Was even a bit hot in my pants and shell. Weird weather.

4.77 Hospital to Home along Coal Creek

First run since the little knee "tweak" at Eldora on Saturday. Was going a bit fast down a narrow, groomed trail when I hit a slight knoll. Lost a little control as the stiff Volkl's unloaded out from under me. Saved the fall, but tweaked the back side/outside of my knee. No pop and was able to ski the next few hours without incident. However, on the way home had intended to do a Betasso loop or two. No dice, as each stride definitely hurt with a near feeling of the right knee giving out...or rather, it felt that way when it hurt during the stride. Anyway, iced and rested it since.

Today, after much worry about the potential for a prolonged injury, the knee felt ok. I could feel the tweak if I overstrided or landed with my knee straight, but as long as I ran with decent form and a slightly bent knee under my center of gravity the knee felt fine. I even did a stride down in the low 7's and it felt better if anything. So, it seems that there is no real acute injury and that whatever happened is on the mend. Even several hours after the run as I write this the knee does not feel tight or painful. So, no ACL tear for me...

Overally decent run at a reasonable pace given the slight uphill all the way up Coal Creek, through Old Town and to Home. Faster than I normally run this route...probably because there was not drastic head wind as I had feared.