A Passion for Running

I headed out to Millcreek Ravine with Nick again today where we ran about 8k on the dirt and gravel trails. It was a perfect day weather-wise for running, and the variation of terrain was totally pleasurable.

We clipped along pretty good and it felt great. There’s just something about cruising through the trees (when you’re not running your noggin into them) and feeling the trail that beats the heck out of an asphalt path isn’t there? We made our way ’round a loop with Nick promising a “treat” along the way. Minutes later we were going past Millcreek Pool (Bikini Central) where I suddenly felt compelled to take a walk break. Hey! I’m aloud to do that after what I wrote about yesterday!

We got to the second Peace Mile marker where I secretly began timing our way back to the first one carefully making sure we didn’t speed up. I was pleasantly surprised to learn we’d been running an 8:15 minute-mile pace. Not bad.

Another good day!

Got a rare treat today. I got to run with my “sis” Corinne. It was the better part of a year ago when Corinne changed her hours effectively ending our lunchtime runs together.

But she’s got more running-friendly hours for the summer so I have her back for a couple of months. Yay!

We did the usual 7km route with me doing the last half in my bare feet. My feet were tender today and I was a bit worried because I was nursing a drying out blister on the ball of my left foot. I’m so happy because that old skin didn’t even tear which means my barefoot pose method form must be improving!

At the end of the run, we climbed the 225 step Hotel McDonald staircase. Man, was that ever hot on the feet! It was 26C/79F out there but those wooden stairs felt way hotter on my feet! Youch! I did those stairs as fast as I could lemmee tell ya!

Anyway, it was a lovely albeit hot run and it was great to have my Sis along for company.

I should not have joked about running into a lamp post. Karma has a way of getting even (I think that’s sorta the point!) and I ran into a tree today. Yes, you read right. I ran into a tree.

It was hot so I decided to duck into nicely shaded dirt trails. Seemed like a good idea at the time until I overestimated the height of a series of branches going across the trail and did not duck enough. I hit it pretty hard! Not hard enough to knock me on my ass but I do distinctly recall seeing little tweety birds floating over me.

Good thing I was wearing my impervious Canada running hat or I’d have quite a nasty scratch/bump!

Today was a hot, humid and grueling 6km run. Here’s to tomorrow!

Some people will probably be happy about that!

Anyhoo, I ran 6km with soon to be married Aaron dude yesterday and another 7 in the hot hot heat today. Took lots of walk breaks. Blah!

Over Roger…

I’m doing better than expected on my goal to run every week day. Today was supposed to be a short one (3 to 4k) but Nick joined me at the last minute and there’s never enough time to solve the world’s problems in 4k so we did eight again.

Midway through the run, we heard someone yell Nick’s name and a fellow named Roy joined us. Next thing you know he was taking us off the paved path and into the dirt, pebbly-gravel trails. I haven’t run on a trail like that since last summer plus it was another first for doing it pose style. I was a bit worried too since it was also a bit wet, slick and muddy not to mention being quite undulating.

I thought it was going to be a real challenge for me but it turned out to be very very enjoyable. Running in pose form rocks on the trails. Wahoo!

In the last two kilometers, Roy was toying with us by doing some surges. I managed to keep up but it was tough to do so. It was only after the run when Nick told me Roy recently ran a 2:50 marathon so - how do I say this? He’s just a smidge faster than me.

Anyway, the push into the trails and the speedplay turned out to be just what I needed plus it was great fun!

Six kilometers today. Three in the h-streets and three barefoot. I was a bit concerned about the blisters I acquired last time tearing apart but it wasn’t too bad - they actually held up pretty good. However, I still think I should have listened to Aaron and tore the blister skin out so the stuff underneath could have started hardening because something tells me they are going to tear way more next time. What would you have done? Leave ‘em or tear that old white blistery skin off?

Nice discussion huh?

Anyhoo, it looks like three to four kilometers seems to be my comfortable limit for running barefoot on our old asphalt paved paths. Incidentally, there is a big difference between new and old paved paths. New paths are smooth whereas the old ones have a lot of pebbly roughness to them. My feet will require much toughening to handle longer distances on those paths.

In contrast, I love running on concrete sidewalks (who’da thunk that huh?). They are really smooth! I bet I could run a full 8k no problem on sidewalks and/or freshly paved paths. That said, my favorite surface to run barefoot in is grass. It just feels…AWESOME.
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Ever since Bill pointed out the words I bolded in one of my previous posts, I am looking at the way I write differently. For the record, the bolded words in this post are: you love that

hmmm…

At our L.A. clinic, Aaron and I watched an amazing video clip of Dr. Romanov running on the smooth icey surface of a hockey rink (Look Mah, no slipping!). The point was to show us that if you are just tapping the “ground” and letting gravity move you forward (i.e. you are not pulling/pushing with your feet), there is virtually no danger of slipping. At the clinic, someone else mentioned the h-street shoes we run in are “slippery” in the rain - a statement that seemed to contradict what Dr. R. had demonstrated.

So why am I telling you this? Well, because today was the first time I’d run in the rain in my h-streets and the verdict is in - I never slipped even once.

In other news, I was a bit more narcissistic than usual on today’s 8k run. I ran a slightly different route back to the office and it took me past a whole block of very reflective windows. It was neat to be able to run and check out my form as I ran past those windows (that is, until I ran into that lamp post…DOH!). For the most part, I was happy with what I saw. The form looked fluid and I seemed to be landing where I was supposed to be landing. There also seemed to be a straight up pull of my heel off the ground. It was nice to see but I think it is still time to do some more videotaping. Perhaps next week…hmmm.

Anyway, I hope nobody saw me checking myself out since I’m sure they would have thought I had an ego the size of Edmonton.

Regarding that title: Don’t you hate when people speak about themselves in the third person?
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Today was as much a mental victory as it was a physical one. Today marked my 5th run in as many days - a streak I haven’t matched since before my injury waaaaaay back in October, and man oh man did it ever feel good! It was hot, muggy and I was tired but none of that mattered because I was running.

And, inspired by Richard’s speedwork and terrific heart rate, I took my first crack at some speed work. Well, it was more of a test than anything but a good start anyway. I warmed up for two miles and then attempted to do a one mile interval. I just wanted to see if a) I could run a mile fairly fast and b) how fast that might be. The outcome was this:

-did the first 1/2 mile in 3:45 - a 7:30 min/pace.
-had to stop and walk it off.
-did the second 1/2 mile in 3:30 for a 7:00 min/mile pace.
-then I ran another mile back to work.
-did it all in form although it got tough to stay in form in the last 100 meters or so.

So, I was by no means a speed monster but that’s ok since this was the first bit of speedwork I’ve done in the last seven months. My heart rate was pretty high (I’m not telling) but I wasn’t overly dissappointed because the recovery time in between/after the intervals wasn’t too bad.

Finally, I had very little calf tension today so I must have learned something from the past few runs and yesterday’s post. Will miracles never cease?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Aaron and I did 35 minutes of running at roughly a 9min/mile pace yesterday after work. We talked a bit on the subject of perspective. Specifically, that being able to run for that long is now so gratifying compared to my last six months and his last year of little/no running. I mentioned it was “good to be back…whatever back means” to which he replied, “I think ‘back’ is being able to run even a few minutes at a time enjoyably without pain”. I think it’s safe to say a year ago, prior to our injuries, neither of us would have used that definition of ‘back’ but there’s perspective for ya.

So, cool - we’re back. Of course, Aaron’s still working on that knee of his but I’m hopeful it will all work itself out - eventually. He’s had a tough go of it and noone deserves to be able to run like he does.

This morning on the way to work I began pondering some realistic running goals. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

1-Run every weekday alternating between 7 - 8km runs and 3 - 5km runs. This is not a huge leap for me since I’ve been averaging 3 to 4 runs per week lately but I need to write it down because it will accomplish two things for me: First, it will provide a first stage for increasing my running mileage and second, it will allow me to better manage the stresses I’m experiencing at work. I’ve found even twenty minutes of running can make the world of difference with my stress levels so I gotta do it for my sanity!

2-Throw some 100 - 200 meter intervals into the shorter runs.

3-Run a 5km race barefoot in the late summer or early fall. I’m gonna do it barefoot so I can focus solely on running it with good form and not on actually racing the thing. It’ll be more fun than anything plus, I am really missing the whole racing ’scene’.

4-Up the water intake and decrease the coffee intake. This is something I’ve always had to do each time I’ve gotten back in the saddle and this time is no different…water=good & coffee=bad.

That’s it for now. To be certain, these are not lofty goals by many standards but I’m reminded of that ‘perspective’ word again.

Onto a more outward looking thought: Wow, there sure are a lot of RBF members racing lately with some astounding results. You are all very inspiring! Keep up the good work/play.