Steve's Ramblings

I completed a bit over 12 miles today, while the gals did 13. I was hurting during the last 2, so decided not to to the 13th mile. My orthotics were putting pressure particularly on my left knee, and I’m really feeling the pain tonight. We ran three miles to warm up with the 10K training team (Lori is a coach), then stripped down to more appropriate clothes (I went down to shorts and a top, leaving behind a jacket, gloves, and long pants).

That said, it was a good workout – a bit over 2100 calories worth – by far the most ever. Oatmeal for breakfast (single serve instant), a goo after 3 mile warm up, another goo after 7 and one more at 10 (our SAG) and lots of Accelerade along the way. By the SAG, I had set my new personal distance record by over 1/2 a mile.

After the SAG, I was really dragging, though, and my legs felt like jelly. I decided to blow off the last mile so I wasn’t completely spent for days, and it was a good decision. We all got a smoothie at the grocery store, including a protein shot. Then, home, a shower, and a quick nap. I think I won’t have a problem sleeping tonight.

Today, five of us started out together with four different distances in mind. I was running 8 (run to the SAG), another 9 (modified the course), another 10 (first 5 with us then back), and the other two 13.1 miles – a full half marathon distance. I kept up (mostly) with the 13.1 group (Sara and Melanie), and got a return ride at the water / SAG stop that Lori set up. This was planned – although I could have gone a bit further but didn’t want to push too far too fast and risk injury.

My orthotics worked well, although I pushed the envelope of how long I should wear them. The run today was well over an hour which is the limit that I’m supposed to stick to for the first week. The limits are a bit loosy-goosy though, so it’s what I’m feeling comfortable with. So far, they have felt great when I’m running, but I have some knee pain afterwards from the foot straightening that they are doing. In time, all will be well! I replaced my shoes about the time that my foot problem occurred, but they are just a newer model of the same shoes I had, just without hundreds of miles of road wear. One good thing to note is that my old shoes showed even wear, meaning I don’t have any signs of pronating.

Nutritionally, I tried a different goo and broke open a pack of these gummy-bear like shot bloks from the makers of Clif Bar. Three of us shared them (a bit less than a serving each). You absolutely have to stop and chew them, though, since I believe you will choke if you try to keep running. The ones we had were orange and quite delicious – eaten at about 4.5 miles. I also had a vanilla goo with no caffeine a couple of miles later. To start the day, I had my usual single serving of instant oatmeal which works with my belly. I got a solid night of sleep last night as well, so all of the stars were in alignment to run well.

Next week, 3 on Tuesday, 6 on Wednesday, and 3 on Thursday, then 14 on Saturday. We are going to run the 3 with the beginning 10K team first (Lori is one of the coaches), then take off for another 10. I think we will freak out the beginners if they find out.

I went back to the Podiatrist on Monday since I got a call on Friday that he had my orthodics ready. Those are inserts that I will wear in all of my shoes going forward to help straighten out my feet and remove the foot pain I have been feeling. It was a 5-minute appointment (still paid my $25 copay) and walked out with the orthodics in place.

Like contacts, I need to wear them for only an hour or less each day for the first week, then 2 hours, and so on until I wear them full time when I wear shoes. Today, I wore them at the gym while I attempted for the first time in weeks to run. I ran 3 1/2 miles with no pain at all (treadmill). I will attempt to run 6 miles tomorrow night (about an hour) and 13 miles on Saturday. I’m fairly certain that I won’t be able to run all 13 miles but that it’ll have nothing to do with my feet.

Today, I felt some pain in my knees, but that is from the correction that the orthodics have in straightening my feet. A few weeks from now, my only pain will be from covering distances that my 47 year old body just isn’t ready to cover…

So, the pain in my left foot has gotten to be too much. During a 5-mile attempt on Wednesday, I had to stop after 2.5 miles. On Tuesday, the podiatrist told me I had a cyst sort of in the pad on the left side of my foot. It’s under part of the 5th metatarsal. So, he shot me up with some good stuff that took care of the pain temporarily. The shot didn’t hurt since his nurse numbed the area with some cold spray first. Immediate relief for the pain. So, still feeling fairly pain-free on Wednesday, I joined the group for 5 miles. While not a mistake, it certainly was a learning experience.

The pain is still there.

I will try to see the doctor this week if possible and try to schedule the outpatient surgery to get the cyst removed. I’m not at all sure what kind of recovery that involves, but will likely not be running 13 miles in the next two weeks.

Saturday we ran 7 miles around the neighborhood. Other than last week’s 9.45 mile run, this was my second longest run ever. 7 miles is about a quarter-marathon. Half of a half-marathon. Longer than a 10K by almost a mile. No matter how many ways I think about it, it was a good run. I walked a bit, mostly caught up in the congestion that accompanies most people during this time of the year. I ran most, however, and it actually felt pretty good. We ran at almost exactly an 11 minute pace, a pace that I would die for during the half. Lots of hills (relatively), and lots of congestion. I used another PowerBar Gel to get through the distance. That bowl of instant oatmeal 90 minutes before I start is just not enough to last the morning! Fortunately, my good friend and church wife Heather suggested that we hit Melito’s Restaurant before heading home. Great food that filled my belly! For some historical precedence, Mr. Melito designed the Freedom Flag after September 11th, and 3rd place American Idol contestant Elliott Yamin used to work at Melitos since he lived around the corner!

We all made it through even though all 7 miles, I was the last to finish. I was last because I was meticulous about the full 7 miles. According to my Garmin 205, I had to take an extra lap around the parking lot to get in the full 7 miles. The funny thing is that I saw a friend from church pulling into the parking lot at 6.8 miles and we joked about it the next day. Boy was she surprised when she found out that it was at the end of 7 miles! I must be fat enough to look like I run maybe 2 miles at most ;-). I suppose it’s finally time to lose some weight!

This week, we continue the longer mid week runs (3, 5, 3 weekly runs). We’re all concerned on January 23rd when we get to running a full 10K on a Wednesday as a mid-week run. This will be hard since the weather by the end of January is very cold in Richmond! That week, we are replacing our long Saturday run with a Sunday 15K race (9.3 miles). The race conditions over such a distance will be good, and we will have SAG breaks along the race for a change. I will love not having to carry water or pre-mixed Accelerade for a change!

This week, 10 miles is scheduled for our Saturday run. It might be an interesting run since we will need to carry all water and snacks with us! All I can say is to hope for cooler weather than today, but warm enough that I don’t have lots of clothes to weigh me down!

Today, Sara, Melanie and I completed a 9-mile trek through Richmond. It was a moderately warm, rainy day, in the low 50’s (F); warm for late December. At times, it rained hard – but never for long. We ran mostly on sidewalks, so were jumping left and right to avoid puddles. The best we could was to try to avoid them… our feet and clothes were soaked through early on. We got somewhat lost, but friendly neighbors pointed us to the next major street without incidence. One correcting turn and we were back on course.

While I was the slowest of the group, I kept up through the more than the first half, but took a few walking breaks in each of the following miles. After 4 miles, Sara and I ate our Gel (goo?). Mine was the slightly strange tasting PowerBar Double Latte Gel which contains 50mg of caffeine. Fortunately, I ate one yesterday before running a dozen or more miles from home, so knew it would sit well. That single bowl of oatmeal seemed a long ways off by then!

We netted out to 9.28 miles, a few feet short of a 15K. Of course, I forgot to restart my Garmin 205 for a short while after we stopped for a teammate’s bathroom break. So, this was the farthest I have ever run, by 3 miles. It was hard, but know now that I can actually complete a 1/2 marathon even if I need to walk a portion of the course. That said, 9 miles is a long way!

My usual long-run encouragement, other than my new found friends, is my LiveStrong bracelet always found on my right wrist. I try to think that if Lance could do what he did, I can certainly keep myself moving. I hate to admit that I talk to it (in my head) when the going gets tough, but it is what helps when I’m by myself on a long stretch of a deserted road.

Today, my foot held out well after taking care to not lace the shoes up too tight. I apparently broke a blood vessel in my right foot, under my longest toe. It’s a bit tender, but better after some drainage. I will enjoy resting tomorrow and putting it up with some ice tonight! Total distance for the week — over 20 miles!!!

Click here for the run details…