As I headed out into falling snow and onto snowy roads at 6 AM this morning, I fully expected to have to contrive a 20+ mile run. My favorite long run course, and my Boston Simulator course, takes me into a neighboring town, where they do not believe in the use of salt. Even in my town, where they put down plenty of the stuff, the roads were slick and sloppy. But I was determined to put in 21+ miles even if it meant running back and forth 10 times on a one mile stretch of clean road. As I approached the town line at about mile 4.5, I turned onto an as yet unplowed dirt road that parallels the paved road. The traction was pretty good. I was wearing my Wave Riders with the sheet metal screws. Shortly thereafter the first snowplow went by. He rolled down his window and waved and I waved back and moved onto the paved side of the road for even better traction. We crossed paths a number of other times as I headed out and back.

My pace was in the mid 7:40s. Not bad given the slippery conditions and some harsh wind on the way back when I was coming back up the hills. I never felt like I was pushing it and my HR stayed in the low 150's -- comfortable territory.

My quads and ankle are fine, although I did notice occasional knee pain, something to be expected when running on slick surfaces. My right ITB is sore when I stretch my hams but otherwise feels fine.

Victor

Cross-training: 0.0 miles
Running: 22.0 miles
Shoes: n/a
WTD running: 51.5 miles
WTD total: 68.5 miles

posted by Not So Competitive Runner at 12:25 PM | 0 comments  

I decided to cross-train on this recovery run in order to ensure I don't go into tomorrow's long run injured. The quads and ankle are feeling fine.

Victor

Cross-training: 6.0 miles
Running: 0.0 miles
Shoes: n/a
WTD running: 29.5 miles
WTD total: 46.5 miles

posted by Not So Competitive Runner at 4:11 PM | 0 comments  

We go quite a dump yesterday and although I saw plenty of stars when I stepped out the door, the roads were still a mess. Even with my studded Wave Riders, I was slipping and sliding. Overall, I felt OK. My ankle was not sore, although I did notice it from time to time. My left quads also felt better, especially as the run went on.

Overall, I put in 11 miles at an average pace of 7:52 and a average HR of 145.

Victor

Cross-training: 0.0 miles
Running: 11.0 miles
Shoes: Wave Riders w/ Shoe Screws
WTD running: 29.5.0 miles
WTD total: 40.5 miles

posted by Not So Competitive Runner at 4:11 PM | 0 comments  

Eight miles of cross training today. Felt OK...the quads are recovering. Tomorrow, I think I'll go for 12, weather permitting. We are due to get quite the snow storm. If so, I go snowshoeing instead.

Victor

Cross-training: 8.0 miles
Running: 0.0 miles
Shoes: n/a
WTD running: 18.5.0 miles
WTD total: 29.5 miles

posted by Not So Competitive Runner at 11:41 AM | 0 comments  

Not a bad run today. The left quad was OK and speed pretty good (7:25's) in relation to the effort (HR = 147). I was going to run through SF, but the roads were rather icy in places, so I turned around and assembled an 11 mile run. As I turned around, I felt a sharp pain in my inner left ankle. I don't know if it was the ice, certainly I put in plenty of miles this winter on slipper surfaces, or the extra strain put on my ankle due to the sore quads, but it hurt. I stretched and ran easy for a while and the pain lessened considerably. I'll need to watch this!

I ended taking the Polar foot pod off after I hurt my ankle, so I only have the mileage from it through mile six.

Mile #-----Time---Polar Miles
1----------7:38------1.0
2----------7:14------1.0
3----------7:20------1.0
4----------7:39------0.9 (ice)
5----------7:18------1.0
6----------7:24------0.9

The Polar S625X has been pretty accurate ever since I calibrated it. One of the miles it was off was on ice, and I would not expect the Polar to record accurate mileage when running on ice.

Victor

Cross-training: 0.0 miles
Running: 10.0 miles
Shoes: Brooks Radius '05
WTD running: 18.5.0 miles
WTD total: 21.5 miles

posted by Not So Competitive Runner at 1:04 PM | 0 comments  

I went out for a trial run this morning to see how the quad is. It is not bad. I could feel that it was tight, but it didn't give me any pain or alter my stride.

I completed the scheduled run of 8.5 miles, although it was at a slow pace. Both the Garmin and the S625X say 7:49 miles, actually the calibrated S625X has me running a little slower. It didn't seem that slow, but then my HR was a very low 144 so maybe I was running that slow.

Victor

Cross-training: 0.0 miles
Running: 8.5 miles
Shoes: Brooks Radius 2005
WTD running: 8.5 miles
WTD total: 11.5 miles

posted by Not So Competitive Runner at 8:01 PM | 0 comments  

My left quads are feeling better. I decided to sleep in instead of spin so I went for a noontime walk instead. The left quad is still tight but OK. I should be OK to run tomorrow.

Victor

Cross-training: 3.0 miles
Running: 0.0 miles
Shoes: n/a
WTD running: 0.0 miles
WTD total: 3.0 miles

posted by Not So Competitive Runner at 8:24 PM | 0 comments  

Yes, I have had to take a few days off due to that left quad. This is the same injury that took me out for a few weeks before the 2003 NYCM and also this past summer. I could have probably run both yesterday and today at reduced mileage, but it is not worth the risk. I'll take two days off (Sat & Sun) and continue as planned next week. It will mean I do not get in the 21 miler this weekend!

Oh, a correction. You can get mileage splits from the Polar without downloading the data. This is contrary to what I stated a couple days ago. In fact you can get a lot of split data: time, average, max, and ending HR, speed (in MPH?!? not pace in min/mile) ending altitude, ascent in feet, distance, temperature (which will read high if you are wearing this on your wrist and not on a bike mount.

Victor

Cross-training: 0.0 miles
Running: 0.0 miles
Shoes: n/a
WTD running: 40.0 miles
WTD total: 43.0 miles

posted by Not So Competitive Runner at 11:33 AM | 0 comments  

I am still feeling sore from the MP run on Sunday. When I've been in this situation before and continued to run I usually end up with a more serious injury, so I took it easy today. Instead of the 12 mile run I had planned, I ran for 7 and then went home and hopped on the bike trainer for the equivalent of another 3. I am sure I could have gone the 12, but I really want to get in a 20+ mile run on Sunday.

It was warm enough to run with the Polar S625X footpod today. The S625X measured the 7 mile run as 8.1 miles. That is at least consistent with the variance on Sunday. I don't mind if the Polar is off, as long as it is consistently off. That way I can calibrate it and get accurate results going forward.

I also noticed that when reviewing run history with the polar, the laps history shows lap time, average HR, max HR, and ending HR. It is missing lap distance. That is fine if you also buy the IR connector and upload the results to your PC, but without that you don't know how long each lap is. I am guessing that the Polar people expect you to use the autolap feature, which I sure most people will do. If so, then the S625X will automatically trigger a lap each mile, or whatever distance you define as a lap, and you will then know how far a lap is. But if you want to manually push the lap buttons for whatever reason, then you can't see the lap distance till you upload the data.


Victor

Cross-training: 3.0 miles
Running: 7.0 miles
Shoes: Brooks Radius 2005
WTD running: 40.0 miles
WTD total: 43.0 miles

posted by Not So Competitive Runner at 9:17 AM | 0 comments  

The title says it all. I was too tired to get out of bed early enough to run. It is probably better that I didn't since I have a rather bad case of DOMS in my left quads.

Victor

posted by Not So Competitive Runner at 8:18 PM | 0 comments  

Another sub-zero run today. 14 miles at a 7:30 pace. The effort was relatively easy, although I am still sore from Sunday's MP run. My knees are now both fine, but my left quad is a concern. It is quite sore, although the soreness went away after about 8 miles. The soreness came back later in the day.

Cross-training: 0.0 miles
Running: 14.0 miles
Shoes: Brooks Radius 2005
WTD running: 33.0 miles
WTD total: 33.0 miles

posted by Not So Competitive Runner at 8:37 PM | 0 comments  

This morning was an absolutely gorgeous morning. It was a bit cool (zero)
but there was little wind and with the bright moon and the snow on the
ground it was almost as bright as day. Still, I'm having a hard time
appreciating all the beauty of winter. I think I've just had to get out of
a warm bed and into sub-zero weather too many mornings, so winter is
beginning to wear on me.

On a whim, I decided to see if one of my summer loops was passable.
Although we've had plenty of sub-zero days, we have had little snow so I was
hoping that a particular 10-11 mile loop was still clear. It was, mostly.
The road was mostly plowed, although hard-packed snow still covered the road
in most places. The snow was cold enough to give good traction. In one
place, where the road passes near the lake, the road was not plowed and was
covered with ice. That was easily bypassed, but as I slowed down to get
around the ice, I heard an eerie tinkling coming from the lake. I stopped
to listen and looked out over the lake. The first 50 feet was frozen, but
after that the lake was open. Even with the bright moonlight I could see
nothing that far out, but I quickly realized that the freezing small sheets
of ice must be clicking against each other like so many pieces of broken
crystal being gently stirred in a crystal goblet. I didn't stay long, being
in no mood to appreciate this odd beauty.

Tomorrow I'll return to this route and run the 2 mile loop near the lake
three times to get to 14-15 miles I have planned for tomorrow.

On to the run...

I set out to run 11 miles and did so at an easy 7:45 pace with a HR of 145.
The knee pain of Sunday and yesterday was mostly gone. I massaged my quads
a lot yesterday and before my run this morning and that seemed to do the
trick. I also ran in the Brooks Radius '05 again. My initial impression of
these shoes continues to strengthen. These are great shoes. They are
flexible, well cushioned in both the heel and in the forefoot, and fit well.
Neutral runners with medium to wide forefeet should seriously consider this
shoe. I do find, however, that they are a bit cold. These are hot weather
shoes with great forefoot ventilation, but I notice the breeze on my toes
when I run in sub-zero weather.

I also used the S625X HRM again this AM, although without the footpod. The
manual says to not use the footpod at temperatures below 14 degrees. We
haven't had too many of those mornings lately. The HRM is great. The
Wearlink HRM transmitter is incredibly comfortable and light and the wrist
receiver is well constructed and precise. Anyone who is at all familiar
with Polar HRM operation will quickly figure out the S625X.

Victor

Cross-training: 0.0 miles
Running: 11.0 miles
Shoes: Brooks Radius 2005
WTD running: 19.0 miles
WTD total: 19.0 miles

posted by Not So Competitive Runner at 8:47 PM | 0 comments