5k and Counting

2019 - Hoping for a Healthy Year

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 00:55:00 +0000

2018 didn't end well. I was plagued by a pulled calf muscle in the left leg. It started on November 19 running down a steep part of the Harlem Hills. I was slowing down and it felt like a simple tweak, which I've had many times in the past. Usually, I take a week off and rest it. Then, it's back to normal training runs. This time, I gave it a week (Nov 26) and went through the same thing after 1 mile. Slight pull. Again, I waited and rested. This time, I gave it 10 days (Dec 6). I went out and made it 2.5 miles before the pull. I was definitely getting aggro about it. I have now waited 4 full weeks since the last attempt. I got out and ran restrained and smooth tonight. I did 1 mile out and 1 mile back non-stop at an easy pace. No pain and no pulls. Finally, but we'll see how it goes. I did some light stretching after the run.

I didn't do any resolutions so to speak. I have goals for this year. One of my goals is to workout 6 times per week with a focus on strength and flexibility. The stretching and run counted today toward a workout and flexibility. Here's to more of it for 2019!

2018 Running Year in Review (or lack of running)

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 02:16:00 +0000

This is a summary of 2018. I moved from Orlando to New York City in January. I did not run when I got here. There was too much to do including getting used to a new job.

I ran a few times in the spring and just like in Orlando, I cut out almost all running in the summer. This was due to working too many hours at the day job and the heat in the city. Surprisingly, it gets very hot in NYC in the summer. It's not what you would think. It's like an oven in that all the concrete holds the heat. That's my theory.

This fall, I started running a little more. I may have missed one or two workouts, but I generally ran with MapMyRun tracking. Here's what it says...

Oct 1 - 3.03 miles
Oct 3 - 3.14 miles
Oct 5 - 4.00 miles
Oct 8 - 5.00 miles
Oct 10 - 3.41 miles
Oct 15 - 4.00 miles
Oct 16 - 4.01 miles
Oct 26 - 4.16 miles
Nov 1 - 4.00 miles
Nov 2 - 3.72 miles
Nov 5 - 6.00 miles
Nov 10 - 4.01 miles
Nov 12 - 6.22 miles

In October, most of the runs were 4:00 running with 2:00 walking. As of Oct 26, I switched up the workouts to 4:30 running with 2:00 walking. As of the Nov 12 workout, the 4:30 is starting to feel easy. I only start to feel a little out of breath when running uphill, so that's normal. I think I am ready to switch things up. I don't know if I want to increase the running to 5:00 or lower the rest. Maybe a combo of lowering the rest and the running portion. Since I am not ready to start any kind of speed work, it is probably best to keep slowly increasing the running time and go with 5 minutes.

Running these intervals (slow intervals) has been a pain since I started, because I was always looking at my phone to check the time. I started thinking that there has to be a better way to do this. I thought that maybe I could go through the process of building an app for the phone that allows me to enter split times and the device would beep as needed. The smart thing to do here is see if someone already invented that wheel. Sure enough, it has been done. There is an app (at least on iPhone/AppStore) called Intervals. It is created by Fourthframe Technologies.

Also, it is notable to mention the weather. The temps stayed hot longer than normal (so the natives tell me) and the cold temps came on faster than normal. So, I had to buy some winter running gear (and there may be more like a balaclava or neck warmer) and that has helped. In October, the temps were cool in the 50's and 60's in the early evening, so I was running on my lunch breaks in shorts and T-shirts. That's a nice break in the middle of a shift (working nights and lunch is around sundown). It is dark by 4:45pm now, so I have switched to running during the days. The temps have generally been in the 40's the past couple weeks.

And another big note, I signed up for the New York Road Runners today. 2018 marks their 60th year. This is the organization that puts on the New York City Marathon and I'm guessing they are the largest event organizer in the city for fitness/running. It's not a running club, though. There are plenty of those. I would like to get in the Central Park Track Club, but I need to get in better shape and hopefully get my times down before attempting that.

2017 Holiday Season Started and My Weight is a PR

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 18:24:00 +0000

I can't remember how many runs I've done this year. Not too many either way.

I had a short run on a trip in October while in New York. Maria Hernandez Park in Bushwick, Brooklyn. It has a paved loop which is 1/3 mile. It's cool because the markers are in the ground and made of brass. They say 1 lap = 1/3 mile. It was cool and I ran 6 laps, so 2 miles. It wasn't very far, but exhilarating.

I have to admit that I got on the scale after Thanksgiving and I hit a new high. I weighed 206 pounds. I have never been this heavy in my life. Another note on this, I went into the settings of the MapMyRun app on my phone and it had my weight set for 188 pounds, so that was 18 pounds ago. I wish I knew when that was set.

That triggered me to start running this past weekend. I ran Saturday and Sunday for 6 and 5 files respectively. Last night, our company had its annual holiday party. I ate, but made the committed effort of not drinking any alcoholic beverages, which was tough. I do like to partake. I waited a couple hours after eating and drove to Baldwin Park. There, I ran 2 laps around the lake and put 5 miles in.

After I went home and showered, I put on an old pair of shorts that I haven't been able to button up for a few months. That felt really gratifying. I have a long way to go. I can hardly believe that 3 decent runs this week did much in the way of losing any kind of weight, but it did something.

And here's to charging forward with this season's running. I plan on putting in a few more miles tonight.

Another Lesson about Summer Running... Special Florida Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 00:35:00 +0000

When you have every intention of running after a long day at work, it will rain. It's not my rule. It's a rule for Central Florida. It will rain.

So how do you make up for it?

a) treadmill
b) run in place
c) alternate workout

You still have to go out in the rain to get to a treadmill, so option a is out. Running in place is kept for a special occasion. That is done when I'm hurt... like a pulled hamstring. You don't push off, so it's easier on the legs. That leaves option c. For this, I did a weight workout.

I did an overall better full body workout even though it didn't have the same cardio effect. That's OK. Right now, I need to lose at least 20 pounds before I can do any effective running workouts anyway. So using 10 pound dumbells:

side lateral raises
arm curls
shoulder shrugs
overhead press
overhead tricep extensions
stiff leg good mornings
bent over rows
bent over reverse flys
push-ups
squats
calf raises
sit ups
high knees

I did 4 sets of 10 reps for each exercise. With a 1 minute break between sets to get some water, the total workout was 31 minutes. I feel great.

Lesson about Running in the Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 00:40:00 +0000

I usually sit on my bum throughout the workday. This morning, we had a few problems that needed to be resolved and they couldn't all be done at my desk. I had to get up and I walked around from place to place from about an hour and a half. I knew I walked more than normal and since I was carrying my phone the whole time, I looked up my mileage on the pedometer app. It turns out that I covered 1.15 miles.

This got me excited. Probably too much. I went home for lunch and decided that instead of jumping into a meal, I was going to hop into my running shorts and shoes. I live on a lake with a decent tree canopy... on my side of the lake. That tree canopy ran out after half a mile.

I planned on running 5k. After a mile of 92 degrees, I checked the weather app and it says the feels like temp is 102. Awesome! I want to feel 102. It wasn't very much farther and I changed my route from a single loop with a water fountain at one point to an out-and-back past that water fountain a second time. It wasn't enough to quell the heat building in my core.

That last half mile with some shade under the trees turned into a new workout. Run the sun, walk the shade. Whatever it takes. In total the workout was good and I finished with 2.75 miles. A little short of my original goal, but 102 degrees will do that.

When I got home, I took a couple gulps of pickle juice. I know. How very hipster Williamsburg of me! Gotta get the sodium replaced.

When I run in the afternoons, which is becoming prohibitive due to the afternoon storms, it usually takes about 30 minutes to cool down. Today, it took about an hour. So the lesson is to either run in the morning or evening when the temps are above 80 degrees during the day. I think that's a safe rule.

I don't think I mentioned on here that I changed my running website from ~~EolaRunners.com~~ to OrlandoRunners.com. It is the domain name I wanted years ago, but didn't become available until earlier this year. I am going to list some of the upcoming races in our area at the bottom of my blog posts. Here goes:

Upcoming Races in the Orlando Area

The Ultimate Outdoors Race (multiple distances) - Saturday, August 22 - Winter Garden
Stone Island 5k / 10k - Saturday, August 29 - Enterprise
Valencia College Run/Walk For Heroes - Friday, September 11 - Kissimmee
Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk - Saturday, September 12 - Altamonte Springs

Starting over again

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 23:38:00 +0000

Starting over again. It's never easy to get back into any kind of rhythm. Heck, I guess I'm not even worried about a rhythm right now. I just need to get any kind of consistency whatsoever. Is that a rhythm? I'd be happy to just get three runs in a week on a consistent basis for a month and that'll be a good base for me.

With today's kind of weather, it sure makes it hard. It was 83° and very humid. It was raining in the distance. You could see it but it didn't rain where I was. It's good and bad. The air had the humidity of the storm but no relief from the heat.

I went out planning on running 3 miles. Part way through my run, I thought about taking on about 4 miles, but then gave in and finished around three.

I feel like my head is going to explode. I don't know if you can tell from the pic below, but my face is a little red.

Well Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 02:48:00 +0000

wellspring
noun well·spring \-ˌspriŋ\

: something or someone that provides a large amount of something : a good source of something

or more like.... well, spring.

I went for a run on Monday, March 23. I logged into the MapMyRun app on my phone and it says my last run was in August 2014. I haven't run since last summer. The weather is still nice in Orlando. It has been cool at night (60's F) and warm bordering on hot during the days (low 80's F). I usually go running at the onset of spring which really occurs in February. I didn't run all fall and winter, which is bad enough. Subsequently, I've put on a few pounds. I also added to my running sabbatical and bypassed our pollen season, which is so strong that it actually affects people without allergy problems in Central Florida. The oak pollen is so heavy that you can see it in the air. It coats your eyes, nose, and throat with powder. Normally, I run through it and suffer from non-stop sneezing attacks all night. This year, I skipped my running in favor of my sanity.

Another thing that has been bothering me... I am pretty sure I have sciatica. Pain in my hip, calf, ankle, ball of my foot and all on my left side. I also get cramps on the side of my lower leg and also in my foot... only on my left side. It's getting worse and one of the best things I can do is lose weight and strengthen my core.

The pollen has died down (hopefully for the year). Hence my return to running. It is now Thursday and my legs and thoracic area are still sore from the run. I'm going on 43 and it's sad that I am this sore 3 days later... after running just under a mile and a half. Just sad.

We'll see how things go and if I can stack up workouts into an actual routine.

On a positive note, I have made some updates to one of my other websites. Eolarunners.com. I have started adding local Central Florida races and put it on the front page. The races used to be on a different page and this should make it easier to find. I also bought the domain name OrlandoRunners.com and will eventually transition the website over to that name. Not everyone knows that Lake Eola is the center of downtown Orlando, but most people recognize the name Orlando. It fits. Updates to come. For now, check out the race list and thanks. EolaRunners.com

Run the Straightaways

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 23:20:00 +0000

My running group normally runs at a track owned by the local middle school. The rule is that if it is free for public use unless kids from the school are using it. Well today, it was being used by a youth football team. I think my group was running somewhere else and I completely forgot where. I must have missed a memo.

Not sure what everyone ran, but I decided to make it a speed/form run again. Slight different in that I ran the straightaways at mile pace and jogged the curves. I had every intention of doing 4 sets consisting of 4 laps. Without the group, I was ill prepared in water supply. There is a water fountain, but it is not cooled. In fact, I think they warm it up in case you want to draw a bath.

Due to the temperature of 91 degrees feeling more like this...

and not having a cool water supply, my workout turned into 2 sets of 4 laps each. It was a great workout otherwise. I kept good form and I think I ran around a 7:00 pace on the straights. I am going to have to start bringing a watch, so I can gauge my improvement.

I can't wait for fall, which is more like October/November in Central Florida.

Mid summer Meltdown

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 23:47:00 +0000

Today's workout was a blast. It was around 90° in the afternoon at workout time and the humidity was probably about 2000%.

We had to run 4 sets of 200, 200, 400 intervals with the same jog recovery. Mile pace so we keep good form and not run too fast. It really shouldn't have been that hard of a workout, but the heat really made it difficult to keep going.

I made it though. It is now 45 minutes after my one hour workout and I am almost done sweating. That's ridiculous!

No Time Like the Present

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 04:07:00 +0000

Well there's no time like the present. And it's not a play on words with Christmas either. I decided a few weeks ago that I couldn't wait for New Year's to come around and I need to start running and getting in shape. It's time to lose some weight. I definitely have a few pounds on me that need to come off and who said that we have to base our routines on New Year's, a calendar which is something the Romans dreamed up, to plan our workouts. Did they have Thanksgiving and Christmas packing on the pounds?

So there's that and then there's the coworker that sends you the workout routine and he says, "Hey, it's time to start ramping up for the Corporate 5K in April." That happened yesterday.

I looked over the routine and it looks good. It's 6 to 7 days a week running and I can do it. It's have to be determined and try everyday.

Yesterday, the workout was an easy distance day. I ran just over 3 miles around 9:30 average pace.

Today, the routine was 6-8 x 1000m at tempo with a 1:00 active rest

. I haven't run hard in a long time, but it's either try or do. Yoda says to do.

Started with a 1 and 1/2 mile warm-up, got some quick stretching and got to it.

My splits were:

4:55

5:02

4:51

5:05

5:03

5:11

This is going to hurt tomorrow, but it felt good when I get done. Total mileage was 5.75 miles. Day 2, that's a wrap.

5 Easy Miles

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Sun, 05 May 2013 14:08:00 +0000

It has rained for most of the last week and I needed to retrieve my bicycle from work. It is 1.85 miles, but I wanted my run to be a little longer. Taking that into consideration, I plotted a course that placed a water break exactly at 2.5 miles of a 5 mile run.

I took it easy and didn't push myself. There were times when it was hard not to push it. Especially at a point when another runner came up behind me and got within a couple yards, but never attempted to pass. I could hear her footsteps as we ran in near unison for about a mile until our paths diverted. I wanted to give a burst and put some space between us. That would have been completely psychological and the whole point in running an even pace is to prove you can maintain control over a given length of time. That was hard! Even as slow as I am right now, I want to compete.

The run went mostly well. I had stiffness and pain in my left calf which stemmed from a misstep running on bricks this past Monday. I also had tightness in the arch of my right foot, but that went away after the water break at 2.5 miles.

Well, I got to run and I have my bike back ready to go to work.

Corporate 5k This Week

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:59:00 +0000

It's been awhile since posting, but it is that time of year again for the annual Corporate 5k in downtown Orlando. I have run a few times in the past 2 weeks with my longest run being 5 and a half miles.

I have got to get into a rhythm and just promise myself that running will be a part of my life again. It seems really hard to stay committed and create a habit of exercising. I don't know why. Running and any kind of outdoor activity used to be a standard in my life. Whether it was playing games as a kid or running track and cross country in high school to running up and down the basketball court, running of some kind has been a staple.

I have given in to easy excuses the past 2 years. Sure, health issues were a part of it at the beginning, but now it is purely mental. I put on 20 pounds in the past 2 years. I was 170 pounds and topped out recently at 190. I have been increasingly conscious of what I drink the past couple weeks, haven't really altered my food intake, and increased my activity through running, biking, and swimming. When I weighed myself this morning, the scale read 186.6, so that is some improvement. I would like to get back to 170, where I was 2 years ago, and eventually get down to 160. I think that would be comfortable on my bones.

I'm not going to go crazy and do any crash dieting and working out 3 times a day, though. The exact weight isn't what's important. I'll know when I get there. What feels comfortable, fast, and strong (for a forty year old) will be the mark.

On another note, today was a the Boston Marathon. While I was at work, I had numerous people tell me there was a terrible explosion that took a couple lives and injured many more. I am not a religious person, so I won't talk of prayer. I don't know who would do something like this. My first thought is that someone was trying for years to BQ (Boston qualify) and just couldn't make it, but came close year after year to the point of insanity. Then there is the possibility that someone running the route owed a debt to someone. Now, someone is swimmin' with the fishes.

Thank goodness, we don't live in the Middle Ages. Wait! That was some pretty medieval shit! I don't know, people, kids have to deal with this type of thing every day in Baghdad. We're just used to peaceful living in Mayberry USA. Either way, this is just fucked up!

I hope the rest of the wounded make it out of the hospital and can get back to what they love one day soon... running.

Coolness in the Air Means It's Time to Get Running

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 03:19:00 +0000

The cool air has finally arrived in Florida and it is time to slow down on the swimming and transition into more running. On Monday, I ran 5.1 miles and immediately followed that up with 1000 yards of swimming in the pool. The pool is heated, so it felt great. Both the run and the swim were great actually.

I had a little tightness in my left hammy and my calves toward the end of the run, but switched a little more of the work to my right leg. I was sore a little on Tuesday and Wednesday. Just in time to have another run on Thursday (tonight). I got out to one of my old haunts, Lake Eola in downtown Orlando, and put exactly 6 miles on my shoes. I used MapMyRun on my phone to track my mileage and pace. I love that app.

My average pace was 9:15 per mile. My splits were: 10:04, 9:40, 9:11, 9:16, 9:07, and closed it out with an 8:08. This time my right hammy was a little tight towards the end of the run. Nothing major, so I just pushed through it.

I don't want to promise myself anything, but maybe I can get up to a 10 mile run by Thanksgiving weekend.

Long Run?

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:52:00 +0000

Considering my recent track record, my 5.5 miles was a long run this evening. The weather is just becoming perfect for running and starting to become a little cool for swimming.

Someone I work with has been training for the Savannah Half which is in a couple weeks. Since I am the experienced runner of our department, I have been giving her pointers and encouragement. She was very excited to tell me that she ran 9 miles this weekend.

That was part of my push. The other reason for me to run long tonight came out of a game of guess a number. I asked my girlfriend to give me 2 numbers between 1 and 10. I was going to combine the numbers and then add the digits and that would be my lucky number of miles. She said 7 and 4. That made 11, which added the digits to make 2. That didn't seem like enough miles in my mind with the weather we're having. I just went out and hit the road. I had the middle mileage of 5.5 in my mind, but had no idea how close I was going to be when I finished. My actual mileage was 5.57 according to gmap-pedometer.com.

I feel great now! I feet are little sore, but not too bad. Now, it's time to watch the presidential debates!

Hello, World!

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 16:17:00 +0000

If you are a programmer, you know what that means. I guess it's time to come back to the outside world.

I haven't posted in over a year. Since then, I have had dental surgery that put me out of commission for a couple weeks. I don't even remember if I mentioned in my blog about my parathyroidism, but I had surgery this past January which put me out of order for a few weeks. I had difficulty doing any running leading up to it as well.

Instead of running this summer, I decided to try swimming. I joined a city pool at the beginning of June. It was hard at first just putting a couple lengths together. I can now swim a mile regularly with my longest being 45 laps, so 2250 yards. I can only do 9 laps (450 yards) at a time without taking a break for rest and water.

Getting back into running has been on my mind for a long time. I ran 3 times during a one week period at the beginning of September and my knees and ankles have hurt since that time. It is making me reconsider whether I am a runner or not. The swimming doesn't leave your joints in pain, but I like how I feel during a run and immediately after.

Yoga Stretch for your Hips

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 02:44:00 +0000

I found a webpage from someone on Google+ that gives some yoga stretches as ways to release tight hips. The article tries to explain what the movements are, but unless you are already familiar with yoga... it's another language.

Luckily, there is a video a short ways down the page. Here is a link to the page and here is the video for people like me that have only been to a couple yoga classes that find it helpful, but still somehow foreign.

Namaste.

Wow, it was humid today!

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 03:34:00 +0000

So someone on Twitter posted what the humidity was and I asked him how he found it. He said that he used an Accuweather app for his iPhone. I don't have that (app or phone) and I forgot what he said at the time. I remembered weather, so I went to Weather Underground. That worked, too, since they had humidity information. When I got home after my run this afternoon (and after stretching, resting, and a shower, too), it said the temperature was 81 and felt like 86. It had already cooled off a few degrees by that time and the humidity was 78%. Well, I am not sure if I will start recording this information for all of my runs, but it is interesting to know when it is obviously high. It would have been so much nicer if it just started raining.

I planned on running 2 laps around Lake Ivanhoe at an easy pace and I did just that. I didn't do a stretching routine or a warmup jog. I just started running, albeit slowly, but running just the same. I ran 22:46 for the first 2.5 mile loop (9:06 average pace).

I ran into Marc from my Five and Dime running group and we ran and talked for about half a mile before our paths led us in different directions. It was nice that we were running the same speeds, because he normally runs much faster than I and therefore I would be out of breath trying to talk.

When I finished the first loop, I ran inside my apartment and guzzled down a glass of warm water. And off I went for a second loop. This time I ran an average speed of 8:20 something. I have it logged on DailyMile.com, but that is apparently down right now.

I just have to say that I love air conditioning. I don't know if I could live in Florida without it.

Either way, it was a nice easy run. 5 miles in the bank.

2 Runs Sunday Evening

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 04:40:00 +0000

I completely missed a long run this weekend, but I made up for it by having two short workout sessions this afternoon and then this evening.

I ran the 2.5 miles very easy this afternoon around 5pm. I looped around Lake Ivanhoe and I planned on running 2 laps which would have been 5 miles. There was a thunderstorm coming into the area, so I had to cut it short. I ran it very easy and instead of my normal length stride and turnover rate, I made my strides very short... almost choppy. Very little knee lift and very little toe off / push off. I concentrated on a quick turnover rate, which I think puts more of the work on the buttocks rather than the calves and thighs. No particular reason. Just wanted to work on a different set of muscles.

The evening run was obviously after the thunder and rain stopped well after sunset. I guess I headed out around 10pm. I took the first 1 mile as a warmup. Steady comfortable speed the next half mile and then got up to a good speed for the next half mile. I was probably running around 5k goal pace. I stopped for about 20-30 seconds and then ran the last half mile just a little faster, but not quite mile goal pace. It was a great run.

I love running during the summer after it rains. I would have run around now (midnight) if I didn't have work in the morning. I used to love running late in the evening during the summer when I was in high school. You don't have to go to school in the summer. I wish work was like that as an adult. That whole summer off thing doesn't quite seem to be setting you up mentally for the rest of your life. It's a big, fat tease really. I used to like sleeping in till 10am.

Watermelon 5K at Mead Garden in Winter Park

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 00:44:00 +0000

I have now come to grips that the Fourth of July Watermelon 5K is jinxed for me. Last year, I had a bad experience. This morning didn't turn out too well, either.

I got up early enough, but I don't know if I got enough sleep. I made sure that I didn't make the same mistakes as last year. Only one mug of coffee. Evacuate all waste.

I warmed up by running 2 miles. I ran a mile out and back. I was very thirsty already and hadn't stretched yet, so I made my way through the crowd back to the registration area to get some water. I did make one little mistake thus far and that was forgetting my watch. I had no idea what time it was. I went through my regular stretching routine and when I finished, I could hear people talking over the PA system at the starting line. I asked someone what time it was and he had 7:30 on the nose. I had to make my way back to the start and quickly. There were too many people to get there in time, so I ran down a side street and around the block. That put me in front of the line, but it also put me a little out of breath. I was able to rest for a couple minutes while a young lady sang the national anthem.

I can at this point with my experience tell if I am going to have a good race or not within the first quarter mile. I was not going to have a good race. I could not keep up with my usual friends and when I say keep up, I mean keep them within eyesight by the time I hit the first mile. I hit the mile marker at 7:26, which is a full minute slower than my last race.

It was around this point when I started feeling pressure in my chest and my heartbeats felt really strong. I am used to being out of breath, feeling like my head is going to explode from heat, or not have enough energy in my legs. None of these were the case and any of those things may slow me down, but they don't scare me. I slowed down a little to see if that would help. It did. I tried speeding back up to around that 7:30 pace and felt the same thing again. I could have been imagining things as well, but I swear my heart literally skipped a beat. Oddly, there was no pain. I slowed down again and even tried walking for a few seconds. I went back to normal again. I ran to the next water stop, grabbed a drink and that was just before 2 miles. I have no idea what my time was at this point. I tried getting back into a pace and my chest felt weird again. I had enough of this. I was about 50 meters from the 2 mile clock, which I didn't realize at the time, because it was just around the next corner.

I decided that was it for me. I went straight ahead. It was a point in the course when people were going in both directions on either side of the street. I stayed to the right side and alternated jogging and walking until I got back to the mile marker when I found my girlfriend. She was walking the 5k. I was so glad she came out. Her mom did, too. At this point, I just planned on walking the course with her and just wanted to have a "fun run."

By doing this, I ended up covering over 7 miles for the day.

I wish I knew the cause of my heart beating so furiously. I have been on antibiotics for the past week and a half and pain medication for a broken molar. I wonder if the antibiotics did anything, because I have run on pain medications plenty of times with no issues. Also, I took the past week off from any training other than a leisurely jog a couple days prior. Did that have something to do with it? Did my lack of speed training during the past week make my heart have to work overtime to compensate for my brain telling the body to run at a speed that was apparently too fast? I don't know.

I'm glad nothing serious happened and I had a great day the remainder of it. I went to the Morse Museum in Winter Park, which has more Tiffany glass than anywhere outside of New York. Grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and more in the afternoon and then watched the downtown Orlando fireworks from my place on Lake Ivanhoe late that night. I hope everyone had a great Independence Day.

Signed up for the Watermelon 5k and a Doctor

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 01:06:00 +0000

Just over a week left till race day and I am signed up for the 20th Anniversary Watermelon 5K Run on July 4th. It's a fun race, because many people get dressed up for it. This will be my second time running this race. I started OK last year, but it didn't end well.

I feel like I have lost a step of speed and I'm hoping it's only due to the afternoon heat. I hope it's there for me next Monday. That'll be weird, too. Running on a race on Monday morning.

Even though I try to keep everything related to my running, I have to go into an endocrinologist on Tuesday morning. This is a consult first, but I am sure that I will be going back. I went in for a routine physical exam at the beginning of May and I found out that I have too much calcium in my blood. That led to another blood test and they checked for parathyroid hormone and that was high. That means I have hyperparathyroidism. Yeah, you have to clap that one out... Hy-per-par-a-thy-roid-is-m. I've done my research on the internet and there are a few things it could be, but more times than not, it means that I will need to have surgery to remove the pesky little thing that is throwing off some chemicals in my body mostly related to muscle and bone function. Short term isn't that bad, but long term effects are very serious.

OK. Good that off my chest.

So yesterday was 5 days in a row and this morning, I went out for an easy 3 mile run before work. I was a little stiff in the hips and my left ankle was in a little pain today. That made 6 days in a row and I'm debating running sometime tomorrow. I feel like my body wants more rest, but an easy run shouldn't hurt if it is either midday or afternoon. It's supposed to rain again tomorrow, though, and I don't like running in the rain. Well, the summer rainstorms in Florida are usually filled with lightning. Orlando is the lightning capital of the United States BTW and we all know it.

5 Days in a Row

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 03:00:00 +0000

I figured my legs would hurt more after running 5 days with no rest. I don't remember the last time I ran 5 days in row, but it has been awhile. Maybe years. Maybe even dating back to high school when that's just what we did. We usually ran 6 or 7 days a week.

Today's workout started out as a sauna again, but it clouded up and that made it a little easier. We ran a 4.25 mile fartlek alternating between 2 minutes hard and 1 minute jogging. Coach said to run 30 minutes. It took me 35:17 to cover the course. I actually walked on a few of the jogging sections just because of the heat. I didn't feel like I was pushing myself too hard as far as speed was concerned. It just felt like my head was going to boil over and pop. There was only a small portion of the course that was covered by trees and by the time I got there, the clouds had already started forming above us and it didn't make a difference.

Once I finished up, the entire group got to drink free Mix1 drinks. There were a couple girls passing them out to our group, guys playing rugby, and people on the basketball courts. I've only tried them once and did not like it at all. I don't remember what flavor it was. This time I tried a Acai-Pomegranate and it was decent. It's a small drink that has 10 grams of protein, 10 grams of carbohydrates and a smidge over 1 gram of fat. They do leave a little powdery residue in your mouth, so I chased it with water. It definitely helped pick me up a little.

I laid down on the bleachers and rested for about 5 minutes and then decided that I wanted to do a little more work. I did a few form striders. I ran 100 meters each and jogged back to the start for a recovery and each run concentrated on different types of strides. The first one was high knees, the second was butt kicks and the last one was skipping. Now, my legs were tired. By this time, you could tell that I only had about 20-25 minutes before the rain was coming, so I jogged 1 kilometer to get the tightness out of my thighs.

Great workout and I am really glad that I have made it 5 days in a row! Looks like rain is scheduled all day tomorrow. We really need it. It is time to turn this sauna into a steam room.

How Bad Do You Want It?

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 03:41:00 +0000

I just ran 4 days in a row for the first time in a while. I plan on running tomorrow afternoon with my Five and Dime group, so that should be 5 days in a row.

I ran an easy 5 miles today. Obviously, it was hot again. Mid 90's which is on par this week. I started around 10 minute pace on the first mile, which was my warmup. I didn't stretch. I just kept going. Nice and easy. I didn't want to push myself, because I wanted to make sure I would finish the 5 miles as I intended. I stopped twice. Once for a quick water break (about 20 seconds) at the 2.5 mile mark which is one lap around Lake Ivanhoe. I then stopped at 4 miles to bring my core temperature down just a little. I was overheating. I think I stopped for about 40 seconds.

I finished up in 45:12, which is about 9:02 average pace. I didn't stop my watch for my breaks, so including those, I ran the last 4 miles in 35:12 or 8:48 average pace. Not the greatest speed, but it was smooth.

Another day of putting miles in the tank. This is going to really pay off come fall. I can feel it.

And how bad do you want it? Today, while I was running, I saw a squirrel rolling an apple in the gutter. He tried and tried to lift the apple over the curb. I was ready to help the little fella, but what would be the point if it couldn't carry it up the tree anyway? That was really funny, though. That squirrel really wanted it bad. That would probably be like a person trying to carry a moose.

Mile Repeats or Should I Say Mile ReHeats

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:13:00 +0000

Started today's speedwork with 1.75 miles as a warmup and 4 x 100m striders. Felt great so far considering how hot it was. How hot? As someone mentioned today, "It feels like a hair dryer out there." Yeah, exactly like that. The wind was blowing a little and it was hot air. It was around 95 degrees on the track. I wonder how hot it was directly in the sun. I would guess in the range of 100-105.

The workout: 3 x 1 mile repeats. Thank goodness we got a little cloud cover after the second repeat. It was still hot, but it was almost like being in the shade.

I ran 7:05, 7:19, and 7:20. My goal was to run 7:00 miles. I didn't really push myself too hard. I wanted to make my times, but I was really concentrating on my stride and overall form. Getting a good toe off and knee drive. Relaxing my arms and not worrying about keeping them at a 90 degree angle. I was good about that part, but I did have to remind myself a couple times during each repeat that I needed to have a forward lean, which improved my speed immediately (if only short lived).

I wish I was better at labeling my posts. I wanted to look up my past mile repeat workouts and compare my times. I only used "mile repeats" once in labels. I did a search, too, and that didn't find anything. I can't believe I haven't blogged any of those workouts. I have to do a better job of not skipping my posts.

Today's Goal: Just Be A Runner

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 04:02:00 +0000

Some days you go running to work on your speed by running fast. Some days you work on your endurance by running for a long time. Today's goal was to run just to be a runner. No distance in mind; no speed in mind.

The only thing that I kept thinking about was my form. I went over to A Quest for Running Perfection the other night and Danny posted a video about running economy. No, it doesn't have anything to do with finance. It has a lot to do with form.

I watched the video about Shalane Flanagan and then when it finished, the same company had a video about Chris Solinsky. They think with their techniques, they could put these runners at the top of the world and not just the United States.

The microfibers they are talking about in the videos is called muscle fibrosis. Yes, I googled it and read a few articles. Very interesting stuff. It appears to be cutting edge techniques in physical therapy and of course, they aren't going to tell you how to go about curing this condition on your own. Not even a clue.

I don't know how to cure muscle fibrosis, but I can work on my form. I only ran 2.5 miles this afternoon, but I kept reminding myself not to slack off and jog the whole thing. My brain had to keep reminding my body to lean forward, lift my knees, push off and try not to bounce much. It was a short run that I finished in just under 20 minutes, but it felt really good. I felt very efficient. Economic, if you will.

No Sleep for a Swampy Long Run

noreply@blogger.com (Doug) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:05:00 +0000

I feel asleep around 1am last night and was tossing and turning by 3:30. I tried to go back to sleep, but I just couldn't. I gave up and jumped on my computer. After about 30 minutes, I learned how to do some SQL programming and make it work on my website. There was definitely an upside to this sleepless night. That little bit of code was something that I couldn't figure out in 2007 and never went back to it.

Then, I started reading a little of the latest Runners World magazine. There are 7 covers this month, each of which shows a runner that has battled cancer. I grabbed the one with Lance Armstrong. I really don't care what people are saying about him right now. I was following what little press the US gave to cycling back in the late 80's and early 90's when Greg LeMond won The Tour a few times and Armstrong's name started showing up. I think Armstrong paid his dues and he showed up gradually. It didn't just happen overnight for the guy like Landis. Just saying.

So now it's after 5am and I just said screw it. I'm going for a run. I thought about doing a long run this weekend since Friday, but I didn't commit to it. Running without eating or hydrating enough is tough and those are the obvious things to have before a long run. Running without enough sleep isn't talked about because most people don't think about it. If you didn't sleep well, most people will just not go run.

I went out and felt stiff and flat during my 1.2 mile warmup. I never got any energy as the run progressed, either. I covered 6.6 miles during my long distance run, which is usually 10 miles. 7.8 total isn't bad, though, for the day considering the lack of sleep.

Anyone that lives in Florida knows this well, but it was literally swampy out there this morning. It rained last night and the temperature was close to 80 degrees this morning before the sun even came up. As I ran past a lake, there was a mist coming off it. I was just waiting for a dinosaur to run with me. The cool mornings are gone until November.

I did nap a little once I got home, so all is well now. Time to visit Kim's father and check out the horses.