Catching Up

As planned I took most of last week off from running. Instead I became Lee's unofficial Ironman training partner and joined him for a few workouts.

Monday - Off

Tuesday - In the pool for nearly a mile. It was wet, cool, there was a lot of water around and I continued to go back and forth for about an 45 minutes. Swimming always makes me feel great the rest of the evening.

Wednesday - Off

Thursday - 22 Miles on the bike with Lee. We did a looping route through Fairmount Park before heading down the bloody nipple and then down MLK and back home on Kelly Drive.

Friday - Another trip to the pool with more of the same. I did work in some 100m repeats, something I couldn't have dreamed of doing a couple months ago. They kick your ass but break up the monotony of swimming and they make the slower laps feel that much easier.


Saturday - My foot started feeling better and getting loose on Thursday. I continued icing and as planned went for my first run on Saturday. I was at my parents place in New Jersey, I decided to do a few loops of their housing development and stay close to home to make for an easy walk if I needed to stop.

Each loop took around 6:30 and I am guessing that they were about 0.85 miles. 4 loops = 3.4 miles in 26 minutes. It was hot and there was no shade so I was sweating horribly but my foot felt decent. Tight but no pain. I iced it after a shower and stayed optimistic.

Sunday - I made a stop and Philly Runner and picked up a new pair of sneakers, Saucony Riders, or something like that. They are supposed to have a little more arch support as compared to my Asics. After running in one type of sneaker for so long I was nervous about switching but change can be good.

In the evening I went out for 5 miles in the Wissahickon on Forbidden Drive. The new shoes felt different but good and I tacked on an extra 3/4 miles at the end of the run. 5.75 in 43 minutes.

My foot feels decent this morning. I stay a little light on the miles this week in prep for the River to Sea Relay this week but hopefully I can work right into marathon training starting next week.

Plantar What?

Using the powers of the Internet I have turned myself into a doctor, specifically a podiatrist and made a preliminary diagnosis of my problem, Plantar Fasciitis.
Of course I've only had the problem for a few days and I may be jumping conclusions, worrying to much, whining, or all three but it can't hurt to take precautions and try and find out what is going wrong before it gets worse.

If you take a look at the right-most foot image and notice the area with the 42%. That is just about exactly where my pain is and it radiates slightly down the 14% band down the arch.

A couple of my symptoms match with other aspects of the problem: The fact that it is especially tight and tender in the morning and that I have gained an obscene amount of weight over the past couple months. OK maybe that isn't true. The other symptoms I've read are a little vague and they may or may not match what I am feeling.

The good news is that it is reversible, the bad news is that it can takes months to get back to normal. To help I can purchase running shoes with a little arch support as opposed to my normal neutral cushion. I'll take a spin to an actual running store for a little advice on what to wear. This is a very common running injury and they probably have a few good ideas and options. I can also ice it (as I am doing as I write this) and perform a few stretches that are supposed to give some benefit. Other than that I think I will avoid running until at least Saturday unless I see some marked improvement.

I swam about a mile last night in the Jim Kelly Pool. It was fairly uneventful, just putting in laps.

Absolutely no improvement with my foot, if anything it is worse this morning.

Back from Seattle and sitting at my desk, a place I really don't feel like being this morning.
Heather and I went out there for her brother's wedding and it went well despite the weather which was cloudy, cool, and mostly rainy. It was exacty how the east coast pictures Seattle but Heather swears that this weather is not typical for July, in fact it was one of the rainiest July weekends they have had. I am suspicous.

I didn't get in as much running as I would have liked. I snuck in 9-10 miles through the Wissahickon before we left Thurdsay evening. I ran a 5 mile loop near her parents house on Friday and Sunday. The loop has one killer hill in the first 2 miles and the remainder rolls along through the evergreens. I took the loop at much harder pace on the second go round and really pounded out the last 2 miles trying to get under 35 minutes.

Everything seemed fine Sunday night but when we got to the airport on Monday morning I had a tender spot on my right heel, just in front of the ball of my foot on the left side. I didn't think much of it and had forgotten about it after flying for 6 hour but it was back as soon as we walked off of the plane.

I scrapped the run I was going to do last night but this morning it was exactly the same, a sharp pain when I rest my weight on it and it aches for a while after I walk on it. Right now I definitly cannot run on it so I will take tonight off too. I plan on icing it this evening and seeing how it feels tomorrow.

I have a bad feeling about it, the pain isn't bad but it just feels different that aches I've had in the past. I hope I am wrong, it's not the best way to start the first week of marathon training.

Tuesday, 5 mile group run in 33 minutes, a little faster then I expected especially in the heat but it went well. Ian and I had an interesting incident that he recounts very well here. I had a slightly different take on it during the ride home. Ian is right, running isn't supposed to be divisive, but when somebody is a big ass(figuratively but by coincidence in this case also literally) that is the way it goes.

I got home from work on Wednesday night and wolfed down a huge sandwich that Heather brought home for me. It was sitting like a weight in my stomach and I thought that a run was off the table for the evening. I'd just take Wednesday off instead of Thursday. However, as the evening rolled on I was itching for a run and by 9:00 I was out the door.

A short trip through Manayunk in extremely humid conditions. I was still digesting during the run which made things a little uncomfortable. I tried to find streets I'd never been on before but after 6 years in the area, even in a extremely dense area, that is becoming more and more difficult. 4+ miles in 30 minutes.

This evening I am headed to Seattle with Heather for her brothers wedding. I should get a run in early this afternoon before we leave and then I'll see what I can squeeze in out there. The weather should be in the mid 70's and just about perfect for running. Hopefully I can log decent number of miles.

I was looking to put in a few heat adjusted tempo miles last night. However at the start of the run my legs felt dead and achy. As I entered the trails in the Wissahickon Park I was already playing the mental game of planning routes to chop a couple miles off of my planned 10.

I kept the pace easy and hoped my legs would wake up, which they did after a few miles. I still took a pass on the tempo and was content to run the trails to a little above Valley Green and then back on Forbidden Drive. It's always nicer to end a run stronger than you started.

10 miles in 75 minutes.

Back into the pool on Friday night. For this trip I was joined by Heather and Jenn, who due to injury hasn't been able to run with us but she can definitely swim. Heather and Jenn worked on some sets in one lane while I just cruised along in mine. I lost count of the laps but I think I hit a mile. I felt like I really made some progress with my form and pace.

The pool is great cross training and I look to make this a weekly occurrence all summer long.

Saturday morning I hit Wissahickon Park and ran the length of Forbidden drive. At the top of the park I made a left on Andorra Road and followed for a mile before turning around. The weather was decent for a July morning and I felt great most of the way. 15 miles in 1:55

I should get out the door for a late run tonight. With that included, the week, 45.3 miles running and a mile in the pool. That's three weeks in a row of 40-45 miles and a few swims, I'm feeling good and excited about the official start of marathon training on July 22nd.

Donations

Running 8 miles at 6:30 pm is more difficult when you donate blood at 10:00 am. I haven't run the day of donation in the past and to tell you the truth I was fairly apprehensive. Half of me was interested in what kind of effect it would have and the other was thinking that maybe it wasn't the best idea on an evening in the 80's, with a running partner that happens to be named Ian, who is more than bit faster than myself.

Instead of an 8 mile loop we ran two, 4 mile loops, I could quit in the middle if need be. I felt fine at the start, the pace was somewhere in the low 7's. We hit three miles and MLK Drive, the pace dropped below 7 and I was starting to feel it, more than I should be. I hung on for the trip down MLK and when we finished the first lap stopped I thought about calling it quits for a minute but thought if we just slowed things down a bit on lap two I'd be fine.

We kept things slower, or at least it seemed that way, on the second lap. I was definitely working harder than I normally would be at that pace but all was good.

8.4 miles in 59 minutes.

I met Raymond for a run in Wissahickon Park last night A rainstorm rolled through just before we started and it changed what had been a very humid afternoon into a ridiculously humid afternoon. It's not an exageration to say that it was like running in your bathroom after a long hot shower, there was even a mist hanging in the air.

We kept the pace easy as we made our way to the Northwest end of Forbidden Drive and back. The pace felt faster than it actually was and I think this was due to the workout in the morning. It became even more pronounced as we made our way up an easy hill to the finish, my legs were dead. I cooled off afterward and had to wring out my shirt and shorts before getting in the car. I am happy that this weather breaks today.

I am looking at my calendar at work and I just realized that I signed up to give blood at 9:45 this morning. Is it wrong for me to ditch the appointment just so I can run tonight?

8 miles in Wissahickon Park last night. Temps around 85 and high humidity made for a really uncomfortable run. I was soaked with sweat by the 4 mile halfway point, but I kept things easy and enjoyed the run.

I stuck to the upper trails for the first 3 miles and then onto Forbidden Drive for the last 5. The park was empty due to the heat, I was surprised how many people it scared away. 8 miles in 60 minutes.

Co-workers talked me into a workout class this morning that is run at my work. "Crossfit Philly". I've never done a class before and was hoping it wouldn't be to easy. I needn't have worried.

After some fairly easy warm up exercises the instructor moved right into some difficult stuff with weights and medicine balls that really kicked my ass. It was part aerobic and part strength training. I should be quite sore by tomorrow morning. Hopefully it won't effect my running to much.

G5Kizzy

The event of the summer, Guerrilla 5K 3 was held on Sunday morning in Center City Philadelphia. You may have heard all about it on the National News yesterday evening but I'll give you a personal perspective.

It was my second time running the event which had moved from the pastoral fields around Montgomery Hall to the concrete confines of Center City Philadelphia in it's third year. It was hot, real summertime hot, when the humidity is up and the temps are in the low 80's by 9:00 am. I had built up a sweat just walking the several blocks from my car to the start on the North Side of City Hall.

The race was huge and Ian had to move onto a step so his instructions could reach across the throng. It was easy, get from the start to the corner of Front and Spruce and back. If we took the grid of streets it was 5K, if we cut through parks, garages, national landmarks, people houses, underground, it could be as short as 2.8453 miles.

The only shortcut that stuck out in my mind was Washington Square, which you could take at an angle across a city block, I aimed for that as the gun went off. Juniper to Walnut, Washington Square, through the fountain, 4th street, Spruce to Front. I was alone just after the start but had been joined by Stevus and Seebo by the time we reached Washington square and after turning around I decided to just follow Seebo back to City Hall. He was the fastest of the group and if I could stick with him I could count on a date for the finish in first/second place.

My planned worked perfectly, I stayed within 10 feet of Seebo who wasn't killing himself to pull away and as we approached the finish we joined hands in true G5K fashion and crossed the line. 3 miles in 18 minutes.

On serious note, I was happy with the time. I had run over 14 miles the day before and I wasn't killing myself with the pace during the race and still ran 6:00 minute miles. It felt kind of tempoish despite the heat.

I have to catch up on the rest of the weekend as well.

Friday: pm 1000 M in the pool

Saturday: 14.5 miles. 8.5 with group and 6 on my own through Fairmount Park. I felt good until the very end where I think heat was catching up with me and I developed some cramping in my stomach.

43 miles for the week and twice in the swimming pool. I'll take it.

Birds and Bio

I won't detail my run last night. You can read about it here, here and here.

However, I will detail my close encounter with the sinister bird of prey that resides somewhere near the Girard Bridge on MLK Drive. I was running with Steve K, and we were deep in conversation about the flavor of quarks when suddenly Steve was violently attacked, a squawk, a flutter of wings and a scream. It all happened in an instant, I barely had time to react. Luckily, I was able to catch a photo of the attack with my camera phone. "THE ATTACK". I don't know why Steve was running in his army boots and camo. Maybe he has a secret desire to join the military.

I took I-76 home and after I went under the Girard bridge I saw a small bird attacking a large hawk and chasing it across the highway, away from the area where Steve was attacked. (This is not made up). I really wouldn't be surprised if this was the same ill-tempered bird. The run was around 8 miles in about an hour.

I had today off as part of "summer hours" at my work. 9 hour days and every other Friday off. I got out for a run around 10:00. An uneventful 6 miles on Kelly Drive except for passing Fast Elizabeth going the other way near St. Joe's boathouse. Elizabeth ran with group a lot in the past and I completed many long runs with her building up to the Philly Marathon in 2005. Hopefully we'll be seeing her with the group again in the future.

6 miles untimed. I forgot my watch.

In other news, it looks like it's back to school in September. I was excepted to the University of Pennsylvania in the Master of Biotechnology Program. This was my first choice among the colleges I applied to and I am ecstatic that I was actually able to get in. It's been over 9 years since I sat down for a class, I'm excited and nervous at the same time. This will take priority over marathon training, although I think I should be able to fit both in.

A tweak in my right hamstring that I mentioned a couple posts ago really tightened up on Tuesday morning. I thought a swim on Monday would loosen things but apperently it didn't help at all. In fact, it seemed worse on Tuesday, but I would imagine it would have felt this way with or without a swim. I'll blame it on the trail run Sunday afternoon. I can't rememebr a specific instance where I might have tweaked it but it is the most likely candidate.

Anyhow, I skipped the group run on Tuesday night and opted to stay close to home on an easy run with Heather. After about 1 mile my leg wasn't loosening and I turned things around and called it a day. Maybe a little conservative but I can't see the point in pushing it right now and I am sure I would have done more harm than good running the proposed 8 miles were going for. It really isn't even worth counting in the logs so I'll just call it a day off.

Wednesday things felt somewhat better and again I went out with Heather for an easy run on Forbidden Drive. Heather consistently runs 6-8 miles and she is trying to up her distance in prep for the River to Sea Relay on August 4th so we set out for 10 miles.

It was the cooolest 4th of July I can remember with temps in the mid-70's and a few sprinkles. After a couple mile my leg felt fine and we finished 10 miles in 1:25.

John B. Kelly Swimming Pool

Last summer Heather made many trips to the public swimming pool next to Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park. It's an Olympic sized pool named after the a local hero of the rowing, and father to Grace Kelly, John B Kelly. Heather loved going last year, and talked about how she had half of this huge pool practically to herself to swim laps.

As a native Philadelphian who is used to the crowds of kids that normally fills these pools, I was skeptical. However, we pulled up to nearly empty pool on a beautiful sunny afternoon yesterday and for nearly 30 minutes we were the only two people swimming laps.

I've obviously been in a pool outside before but this is the first time I've gone to one specifically for a workout. It's great. Swimming indoors at L.A. Fitness compared to the outdoors in this gigantic pool is similar to running on a treadmill in your bathroom all winter and then running outside on trails come spring. The outdoor pool is also 50 meters and makes for a better workout because you hit the walls half as much and can't push off as often.

I swam somewhere between 800 and 1000 meters, mostly at a very easy pace because that is about all I can keep up for any length of time. Hopefully I can increase the distance and my speed as the summer goes on.

What a great weekend. The weather was perfect, temps in the upper 70's and low 80 and the humidity was lower than I thought was possible for the end of June. It made a for a few good workouts.

Friday I was itching for a run all day at work. I couldn't wait to get home and get out the door but Heather called me on the way home to let me know she had a big dinner just about ready to go. The thought of ribs and corn on the cob outweighed my desire to run, plus could I really tell Heather I was gonna skip her dinner after she had worked on it? That wouldn't have been a good decision.

Instead I ate and then went for a bike ride, a much more stomach friendly activity after a big meal. I took Henry Avenue up to Northwestern and then cut across the very top of Wissahickon Park to Germantown Avenue and the big hill that leads up to Chestnut Hill. It was then a trip through Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy back to my house. This route translates into a challenging training run and it is almost exactly a half-marathon at 13.2 miles. I may run it a few times through the summer and fall.

I mentioned running through Fairmount Park before the Saturday morning group run a Deirdre was interested. We took MLK up to Montgomery and then on to the fire roads in Fairmount Park. We linked numerous trails together for a long route on a beautiful morning. I felt great and it was nice change of pace from the Drives that I originally thought I would be running.

As we were making our way across Girard Avenue and back to the Art Museum I could not believe that we had already put in 85 minutes, the run a flashed by. I got back to Lloyd Hall and put in a few more mile to get over 1hr 45 min, my goal for the day. 14+ miles in 1hr 50min.

On Sunday it was a late afternoon run through the Wissahickon Park. I expected to feel tired after Saturday's run but after a slow first mile I was cruising. I stayed on easy trails for the first 4 miles before hopping onto Forbidden Drive for 6 more. My pace was generally in the 7:00-7:10 range and it felt easy. I probably should have run a little slower but when you are feeling good it can be hard to hold back. 10 miles in 73 minutes.

Today will definitely be an easy day. My legs are tight this morning especially my right hamstring.

For the week.

45 miles running ( I thought I ran fewer than this a pleasant surpise when I looked at the total)
13 miles on the bike.