Thanks for comments from everyone on yesterday’s post.

There’s an article this month in Design News about the new Adidas 1. Its got a sensor and a motor in it to adjust in real time the cushioning depending on where or how you are running. It will retail for about $250 when it comes out in December.

In other news, I also found a similar article about the Nike Mayfly. $45, 4.8 ounces, and lasts for 62 miles. I say, buy 3 pairs and run 5K’s all summer. Funny joke article here about it.

I didn’t run yesterday. I was feeling pretty good from my faster run on Sunday, and I went and did a 10 minute soak in the hot tub at the gym. 10 is about all I can take. Today DOMS is setting in and I have some tightness in my left calf near the ankle. Other than that, I’m doing ok.

Not sure how to do my 5 miles today but I think its going to be more like a recovery run, slow and easy. Higdon has a race in the plan for next Sunday but I’m going to bow out and take this week as a setback week. I’ll probably do either 7 or 6 miles for the long run, then it jumps to 9, then 10, then 13.1! Uh, the 13.1 will be run much faster, I hope. ;)

I was just looking at the stats in my log and discovered:

1) This past week was my highest mileage week ever. Its only 17 miles total. What has happened in the past is that when the mileage begins to build, I would get injured and end up cutting out the mid week runs, and just do long runs.

2) I am within 2 miles of making this the highest mileage month ever. That puts it at 54 miles which, again, is because in the past I have cut my mileage down due to injuries.

Its funny, looking at the graph, I can see a big ramp up, and then it drops to nothing (injury), then another ramp up, and then a drop. Here’s hoping that there isn’t another drop coming soon. It seems to hit right about this time.

I spent some time this morning looking McMillan’s pace charts and I am way too fast in my training. What I lose in doing my long runs too fast is time endurance like Richard said. I need to train myself to be on my feet running for a long period of time. Cutting back on that time will rob me of training time. McMillan has alot of discussion of the physiology of running and what your body chemistry is doing during that long run. One of them is “teaching” your body how to store and use glycogen more efficiently. Don’t want to miss that training.

If I back calculate my long run pace only, I’m basically training for a 1:40 half marathon. Does that seem reasonable? It doesn’t to me. Maybe if I were doing all the other parts of the training, it would be ok, and I’d just think that I had made a miraculous recovery from my ITBS and that I would have shaved a full 10 minutes off my 10K time. Uh, huh.

Time to go back and do more reading. I think I’m losing site of the training plan.

I did my 8 miles this AM at the park. I got there later than I had planned, around 9:30 and the place was already filling up with runners, walkers, bikers, dog people, and the disc golf folks. Everyone was trying to get in the last few nice days left. Been getting colder and colder lately.

I actually got up at 6:30, but had some delays getting out of the house. I thought of Susan when I looked out at the pitch black outside (its darker here in the AM because we are on the edge of the time zone). I had the hardest time convincing myself that it was ok to run in the dark. I tried to think of where my headband was for my maglight, and if it would actually stay on my head while I ran. I tried NOT to think about Chris getting up at 4:00 AM and already heading back for his shower by this time. Then I got delayed so it didn’t matter.

This was another pretty good run. I had a regular breakfast this time but it was a few hours before the run. Here’s the times:

Mile time
1 8:58
2 8:51
3 8:48
4 9:08
5 9:18
6 8:52
7 8:50
8 8:43

Total time 1:11:33, 8.0 miles, average pace 8:56/mile. For those in metrically diverse countries, that’s 12.9 km, 5:33/km pace.

I did pretty good keeping the pace even in miles 4 and 5. I remember feeling sore in mile 5. My left shin was getting tight. The knee too, a little, but they both worked themselves out. My shins were a little sore after the run. I had to walk a mile back to the truck because of how the loop went. It was a nice cool down but a little farther than I wanted to go.

Once again, though, this is faster than I wanted to go. Yes, I like that I was able to keep up the pace, but I’m concerned that I’m taking the long runs too fast. And yes, one might be thinking “Duh, Jon-idiot, then slow the heck down.” But I can’t seem to keep that slower pace right. I tend to the fast pace now. When I go slower I find myself getting very, very slow. And I also tend to stoop. I end up looking down too much and then I realize I am running almost hunched over. I found that looking slightly up keeps my shoulders up higher.

Had my chocolate mile with cinnamon waiting for me in the truck when I got back. And a banana. And I had a gel with watered-down gatorade on my long walk back.

Now I get to mow the lawn! Yeah! Don’t worry, its a riding mower, which is ALOT more fun. Pictures of poison ivy later today.

Forgot to post what I did Thursday. 1 hour of crosstraining. Guess what I did today. 1 hour of crosstraining. Bike, stepmill, stepper. This is getting really, really dull. The only fun part was seeing VH1 pick the new Lori Partridge. Lori was like Marsha Brady, but more annoying.

I put in an interlibrary loan request for Explosive Running that Mark had recommended. So maybe in a week or two I will have it.

Not much else to say. I have an 8 miler in the morning. I didn’t do much in the way of carbs tonight. Not that I really need to carboload for a 8 miles but I like to set up a pattern for my body to get used to. I carry the water on my fuel belt, even though I won’t need it all. Just gets me used to running with it so that when (someday!) I am running my 15 mile run, I will be used to carrying it.

Not much time left before the Hell-o-ween. 8 miles, then 9 miles, then 10 miles, then race! I don’t think there’s a medal or even a T-shirt, but the snacks have great potential. :)

My first half marathon was last March. I was thinking last last about where I was during that training…er…at this time…then. You know what I mean. Anyway, digging through the posts I found this one which was technically a few days before where I am today but sums up very nicely my sentiments at the time.

Flashback

I was fighting shin splints that were bad enough that I was having trouble even running. According to my log, I ran nothing that week, and only 9.5 miles that following week.

It kinda makes me feel good to know that its not like it was before. I remember taking that first step each time and getting hit with intense pain in my shin, and trying to grit my teeth until that first mile was done so that the pain would subside. Not like that now. There is some pain, but I’m miles from where I was. Hey look, progress ;)

Last night I did 1 hour of crosstraining and lower body weights, except shins and calves. I ran out of time. And just where the hell did my time go? 1 hour of cross, 20 minutes of stretching (total), maybe 5 minutes to change clothes, 20 minutes for lifting. Somewhere, somebody stole 15 minutes from me.

And a special note to the guy talking to me in the locker room. Yes, its pretty funny that people always seem to end up with lockers right next to each other, but don’t linger so long talking to me about when 1) you are naked, 2) I am naked, and 3) you are standing that damn close to me. You seem like a decent guy, but you will never be the person I want to stand naked next to.

Not to get on a rant here but what the heck is going on in the showers at the gym? There’s a whole array of showers to choose from and when I’m the only one in there, which shower does the next guy take? Yes, the one right across from me. What’s up with that? Its bad enough they force men to shower in full view of each other, but why are people intentionally making it worse? Are we all so lonely that we need to shower near someone? Nothing spoils a good, cold, after-workout shower like the site of a another guy washing his private areas 4 feet from you. And don’t talk to me in the shower either. I don’t care about the water temp in your shower. And don’t talk to me at the urinal. Why do people feel the need to fill the time with small talk? I’m holding my johnson and urinating, you have no business talking to me about the weather, or John Kerry, or the towels at the gym when I doing that. We can talk in the lobby, but please don’t say “Can we meet in the lobby to talk?” while I’m holding my johnson and urinating, especially while you’re doing the same thing. Two grown men have no business talking about anything to each other while they are standing elbow to elbow, both holding the hose, and washing the big white mint. Its just wrong. Ok, I’m done.

4.5 miles tonight and strength training.