Most Boring Run Ever (maybe)

You know how sometimes even the seemingly easy runs, both on the body and the mind, turn out to be excruciatingly boring? Thankfully these occur rather infrequently for me, but today was one of those days.

After two slightly faster 8km runs this week, and two leg strength sessions, my legs were tight. In particular my left calf, which worried me a bit having felt that twinge/cramp/tear in the past that results from ignoring just this type of soreness. So, I headed off to the gym at lunch (rain and cold outside) to get on the treadmill for what was supposed to be an easy and slow, steady run.

Well, the run was slow and steady (8km at 6.8mph and 2.0% incline, or about 5:28/km pace not adjusting for the incline), but definitely not easy on the mind. I was clock watching within the first five minutes and couldn't stop, try as I might. That 44:08 of running felt like a lifetime. A slow, easy, boring lifetime...

Is it possible that I am actually looking FORWARD to an off day?

Hmmm...

Registered!

Today I took the plunge and registered for my first race of 2010. It's not for a while yet, but I am very excited to run (if all goes well) my first half-marathon! It will be during the Ottawa Race Weekend on Sunday, May 30th and I can't wait.

Well, I can wait because there's a lot that I have to do between now and then to ensure that this will be a fun and worthwhile experience. It's far enough away that I can continue on my present course of building a solid base and yet comes at the perfect time, just when the base building phase is finished and marathon training begins. I don't think I will be running this race with any specific time goal in mind, but the main objective is to run it strong and finish without any injury or problem. In short, it will be a nice solid reward after many months of diligent base building.

Also, as I looked back upon the Friday treadmill run that left my right knee in a painful and worrisome state, I did some research on what the pace equivalents are on the treadmill based on incline settings. I realize that this is an issue perpetually to be debated, but I did find the chart at hillruner.com to be somewhat helpful in explaining why my knee balked. Turns out that at the 7.5mph, 2.0% incline setting that I ran at the peak of my pyramid the equivalent pact was not 8:00/mile, but rather 7:40/mile (not 5:00/km, as I believed, but the much more challenging 4:45/km). Anyway, I don't know how accurate this chart is, but I will use it to plan my treadmill runs in the future and hopefully avoid adding too much speed to my training before my body is ready for it.

Oh yeah, today at lunch I did a nice session of leg weights, and it was good! I'm slowly getting stronger, but still pathetically weak in the lower extremities. Tonight I plan on a moderate effort stationary bike ride for a half-hour, as usual.

A Little More Treadmill

I went to the gym again at lunchtime and ran a nice and easy 5km on the treadmill. This being the day after my first leg workout, and with my hamstrings feeling a bit sore, I figured it was better to stay really conservative. So I set the speed at 6.2mph and ran for 30 minutes. I felt pretty good, all things considered, and I look forward to walking to work and running home tomorrow.

After the treadmill I did some upper body weights, again really easy and light because I don't wish to be too sore, or worse, in the first week back at weight training. The routine was pretty easy:

• Bench Press 2X15 95lbs
• Seated Rows 2X15 80lbs
• Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press 15-12 20lbs
• Dumbbell Biceps Curls 15-12 25lbs
• Cable Triceps Extensions 2X15 40lbs
• Captain's Chair 2X25

That is all...

Back on the 'mill

Had my first treadmill run in well over a year today, and it actually was fun! I remember dreading the treadmill, but that was when running outdoors was still a novelty. Now the novelty is the treadmill itself.

It was my first visit to the gym in well over a year as well, and now that I have a corporate membership prepaid for an entire year it will become a key part of my fitness routine. My main goal is to strengthen my legs for running, but secondary goals include strengthening my upper body and utilizing the treadmills to up my mileage.

With that in mind I hopped on and ran for a total of 30 minutes, completing 3.37 miles (or 5.4km) (works out to 5:32/km or 8:54/mile pace). It seems that all the treadmills are set up to work in miles per hour, so I will have to do the conversion to my more familiar metric units, but that doesn't bother me so much. I ran a bit of a pyramid this time, and I don't even know why, other than it was fun:

5 minutes at 6.2mph
5 minutes at 6.5mph
5 minutes at 6.8mph
5 minutes at 7.1mph
5 minutes at 7.5mph
1 minute at 7.0mph
1 minute at 6.8mph
1 minute at 6.6mph
1 minute at 6.4mph
1 minute at 6.2mph

Way more complex when it's written down than it was while I was running.

Afterwards I "familiarized myself" with some other equipment in the gym and did a few leg and upper body things that are not even worth mentioning. As I was moving around trying this and that I also realized that I don't work very well without some sort of plan. As such, I will have to devise some basic leg routines and upper body routines so that I don't walk around aimlessly wasting time wondering what to do next.

Tomorrow I have 10-12k on the books to complete, and I will run very slowly indeed. Sunday we are back at cross country skiing, this week hopefully to get more of a workout that last. Have a great weekend!

Another 5k on the Treadmill

Today my wife and I enjoyed a day of freedom on account of it being Remembrance Day. Although only government employees like us get the day off, I think a lot of places were closed until noon to let people honour the memories of those who serve, served, and especially those who lost their lives in battle. In case some are not aware, Remembrance Day is celebrated on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month every year and has its origins in World War I. Naturally, we paused for a moment of silence at 11am.

Other than that, we spent the day driving our crappy car around the GTA to various dealerships as we are scouting out a replacement for our current automobile, which is dying a painful and noisy death in its 12th year of existence. We didn't buy anything, nor did we expect to on our first day, but we got our feet wet in the whole negotiating and dealing with car salesmen realm. I cannot express how much I loathe the entire experience...

Once we returned home I headed off to the gym for another slow and short run on the treadmill, and then some weights. I once again ran for 30 minutes at 6.2mph, which translates to 5k at 6:00/km pace. I think my body is still working out the kinks that have been left over from the 10k race a couple of weeks ago, but it felt pretty good all things considered. As much as I hate the treadmill, I am happy to be running again. Also, I am committed to listening to all of your kind comments on taking it easy and plan on running slow and short, adding a little bit of mileage each week as I go. I really hope that the foot continues to improve the way that it has been, but if I have a setback then I will take more time off. I committed to that 30k race at the end of March, but not the 10 miler on Boxing Day so I guess I really don't have to run that one if it comes down to a decision between staying healthy or racing...

I really hope I don't have to make that decision!

My short weight workout was quick and light:

• Dumbell Bench Press 12-12-12 45lbs
• Lat Pulldowns 12-12-12 115lbs
• Rope Triceps Extensions 12-12 40lbs
• Dumbell Flys 12-12 20lbs
• Dumbell Biceps Curls 10-10 20lbs

5k Test Drive

I'm not really 100% as far as being pain free in the foot or anything, but I think I am on the way to recovery enough to start back slowly into running. The added motivation of my new pair of shoes also had me itching to run, and so I hit the gym and it's treadmill today. I had to test drive the new sneakers, after all. And since I can return them as long as I try them out indoors, the treadmill was my only option.

I walked for ten minutes to loosen up and then started off at 6.2mph on my planned 30 minute run. This equated to a 5k at 6:00/km pace, also known as nice and slow. It was certainly not a cardio workout or anything, but at least it was something two weeks to the day after my first race. The foot felt fine for the first twenty minutes or so and then started to tighten up a bit. The shoes felt great, and I did not feel like they were forcing me to pronate the same way that the New Balance 1062s did, which I still think was the cause on my foot pain in the arch. In short, I think the Mizuno Wave Inspiration 4s made a great first impression, and I will hit the treadmill again this week to continue to test them out during the return/exchange period.

Afterwards I spent about a half hour dipping my foot in ice water for a minute, then hot water for a minute, etc... I think this helps, though at the beginning it certainly was not what I consider fun. I can't imagine sitting in an ice bath!

One last thought: does anyone else feel like they are neglecting their Garmins when using a treadmill? I sure do! Nothing to plug into the laptop, no metrics, no graphs... Feels like I've only half-ran or something.

Treadmill Rears It's Ugly Head

Yes, tonight's scheduled run has yet to happen. Due to some family related duties, namely yet another curriculum night, I was unable to fit my run in before dinner. This is probably a blessing since I have eaten already, got some dishes done, and have had a chance to work on an assignment that I have to email off tonight. Now I thought I'd post a quick few words here prior to starting the bed time routine with the younger one. I am planning to run later tonight, but it looks like it will be treadmill for me for the first time in almost three months. I'll get to catch a bit of the Angels-Red Sox game at least, but I am not really looking forward to running in one spot for an hour.

The other thing that has me leaning to the treadmill is the tightness I have in the bottom of my right foot. I think it's from walking on the beach on Saturday morning, but I actually don't know why this is happening. I didn't do that much walking on the sand, though I did carry my 4 year-old for a significant distance at one point. I'm not too worried about this, but plantar fasciitis crossed my mind. I had this condition in the past, and it is not fun to treat since it takes forever to heal (ha ha ha, no pun intended). I think the treadmill may be easier on the bottom of my foot for tonight's scheduled 10k slow run, but we'll see. I may cut the run short if it really starts to bug me. I'll add the details about the run later...

Update: Marci's comment (something about admiring me for banging out the run on the shitmill) is much appreciated and was probably left right about the time I was contemplating my future career as a couch potato. This was quite possibly the most boring hour I have ever spent in my entire life! OK, that is likely not as true as truth since I can think of many family car trips that were worse than drilling teeth for pure agony, but this was close. I managed an hour at 6.3 mph, so I guess I "ran" 6.2 miles, or about 10k as planned. It took an hour, or so the display would lead me to believe, but I suspect that this is October 6th, 2009 and I have wasted a year of my life imitating a hamster. Hey, I guess the upside is that I've now crossed over into the 35-39 age group and am now the most spry of the category, ready to kick some 36 year-old ass!

The foot is sore, but it didn't really bother me too much so that's why I finished the 10k. The biggest problem I had was trying to adjust my form to the treadmill since what has become comfortable for me on the road just didn't translate to the mechanical torture machine. In fact, I think my knee hurts more than it has in a month right now, but I really hope that this is a temporary aftereffect and nothing more.

In short, glad to have done, going to avoid it like the plague. Maybe in the winter this is a viable option, but tonight, dark and cold, I probably should have hit the streets.

Treadmill and Weights

After feeling a built guilty for taking some time off (though it was great to hang out with the boys and M. for the weekend) I got back at it tonight, to a certain degree. Jumped on the treadmill, after walking to the gym 5 minutes, for 20 minutes at 7mph with a 2.0% incline. I walked for 5 afterwards, but during the run I wondered why this short run felt harder than my Sunday run which was at about the same pace but lasted 10 more minutes. Is it the incline? Is it that the treadmill is not accurate?

After the run I did a short weight workout. Felt really weak and tired, yawning constantly, but the amount I was able to push was average for me, weak for the jocks and meatheads.

Bench Press 12-12-12 135lbs
Hammer Strength Seated Rows 12-12-12 160lbs
Combo Dumbell Biceps Curls / Military Press 12-10 30lbs (this one kicked my ass!)
One Arm Triceps Extensions 12-12 15lbs
Machine Ab Crunches 12-12-12 125lbs

Total time spent at the gym was 1hr. Any more and it usually starts getting really boring.

On the down side, I weighed myself and am still hovering at the 199lbs. Am I gaining muscle mass? Fat? Do I need a haircut that bad? I am not that concerned, but I do feel like I am carrying a little bit too much weight, especially if I want to train for and run the 10k.

Update: I received an email from MotionBased and have been told that my getting lost run should up uploaded by the end of the week. I'll be able to see just how I got lost, and the kids will have some entertainment. Why oh why do the so enjoy when their dad does stupid things?