Runs #16 and #17- The Apollo Creed creed

Tuesday was a decent 4 miler.

Today was anything but.

I decided to attempt a longer run before my vacation tommorrow. Halfway through it, and halfway up a hill, I stopped to walk. I wasn't physically tired or in any sort of pain, but I stopped. I psyched myself out of it. I contined to move on once I reached the top, but after a few blocks, I stopped again. It was warmer than I expected (around 80), but it wasn't overwhelming. I decided that if it wasn't making sense today, I would turn into the nearby trail park to take the shortcut home.

After stopping to sit in the shade of a pavillion, I forced myself to reflect on this unprecedented wussification. It could have been any number of things; the heat, loss of focus on my training, poor diet, recovering from a demoralizing 6 month assigment in a department where I shouldn't have been assigned in the first place.

The clarity I gained was along the lines of "so what?"- in Rocky III, Apollo Creed yells at Rocky when he's unmotivated in his training. "There is no tommorrow!"

With that weird mantra, I decided to grab a drink of water from the fountain, get back onto the trail and finish what I started. It wasn't a graceful, powerful enduring run. But I did it. 6.23 miles.

I'll try it again in a week.

Run #14 and #15- writing home about it

Little triumphs in the last two runs. When I felt like stopping to walk on 3 occasions during run 14, I didn't. Run 15 was a continuous 5 miler that felt pretty good in 62 degree overcast weather. I need to start increasing my weekend milage soon.

Not sure yet what the toll might be if I take a week off in L.A. My hotel doesn't appear to have a workout facility. Cheapest 3 star hotel in the west coast.

Run #13- I've seen fire, and I've seen rain

A slightly muggy run turned into a downpour. The good news is that it cooled me right off. The "bad" news- it soaked me to the bone, making me feel about 10 pounds heavier. I thought I'd beat the rain in any case, but it beat me. I kept going at a good pace; even got a car horn honk out of it (though this might have been some kids flipping me off or something- I didn't see. Or it could have been a "way to go!" honk). Overall it felt pretty good to be out there today; about 4.5 miles. I'll need to get in some longer routes soon- a good one before my vacation in two weeks.

Still doing yoga, but not daily. Also, I'm feeling fat, so I want to eat more sensibly, cutting down on carbs and eating more greens. Ideally, I should be 15 pounds lighter by the time I do this thing. If I follow my own perscription for the next 5 months, that should just about do it.

Run #12: Good Cool Run. Feel Fat.

No need to elaborate. I'll get over it.

Run #11: Step back

Today was kind of a wash, so I determined that I sm training dumb. The good thing is that I'm not really stiff and the knees don't hurt. Endurance sucks, but that may have to do with a relatively warm day, and a large walleye sandwich for lunch. I stopped to walk a little about every half-mile to catch my breath, and I psyched myself out that I might throw up too far from home.

I lead a wonderful life.

Run #10- A New Hope

Not bad today. Same distance, but the pain in my knees has subsided significantly. No ice packs. No pills. Au Naturale. Just a litle touch of gas had me walking a block. Otherwise, no ill effects.

I'm wondering if my stops and walks will affect me in the long run. I'll feel better when I'm able to carry on continously for a good distance without breaks in the stretch. Just need more time and consistency- no real worries.

Run #9- tired of the same complaints

Let's just say that two icepacks are better than one. The same applies to ibuprofen.

Yoga, Yoga, Yoga!

Guess what I did tonight? I think it may may a difference if I keep it up, at least on my off running days. I'll attempt a decent run tomorrow.

Alarming how the two segments I followed OnDemand ended with a Life Alert ad. A friend of mine observed that it's probably the same demographic.

Yikes.

Run #8

In about the only sgnificant thing I've done all week, a 5 mile run was a landmark. The knee still hurts, but the ibuprofen/kneebrace combo helps me to make it though after a rough start.

Eagan is, for lack of a better word, hilly. I was able to conquer, at least in part, my notion that hills were impossible to surmount at this point in my training. Turns out that it was fine, with a few stops at traffic lights and hiking up the brace. An 11 minute mile pace is alright.

I'm still concerned about the dang knee, though. I am straddling the line between toughing through the discomfort or doing continuing damage to it. I think I need to intercept this by other means, stetching, etc. Just want to be responsible.

Run #7 - Wet Nursing

Now that I have your attention...

The left knee is still causing me some grief- same shape as it was on Monday. I wanted to get a run in before the SNOW (yes, snow) came tonight and plagued Minnesota for the next few days. In May, for crissakes. It wasn't pleasant, but I got it in.

A reversal of an earlier route and 30 degrees cooler than Monday made for a better jaunt this time. I was pelted with sleet halfway through and took on a few pounds of water, but it was an improvement overall.

I'm going to give it a few days to heal up with an icepack or two; give her another go on Saturday at the earliest. If I can dig my way out of my house, that is.