Welcome back to today's installment - of one middle age man's (OK....late middle age man's) attempt at turning the clock back a little bit and see how close he can come to the glory days of X years and Y pounds ago. For more info on that, scroll to the bottom of the post.
7/8/08 Ran 2 miles - I intentionally took one day off that became 2. I thought it would be a good idea to let some soreness heal. With heat expected at 107 degrees and air quality TERRIBLE expected, I set out pain free at 5:30 this morning. I don't like to run early...always slow. I was not as sluggish as I had expected...but I was slow. It also did not take long for my right calf to get sore. This is a lingering condition from severing a calf muscle a few years ago. Oh well, I can run through it. We'll see how it goes as I run longer. Out in 7:50/Back in 8:00 with a pulse of 170 upon completion. The important thing is that I ran today. Note: a bit later in the day...right calf is tender but knee is in good shape and thighs are fine too!
7/5/08 Ran 2 miles - another amazing story. With knee pain after yesterday's run, I thought today would be the day I would break my string. I'll run over sore....but not over pain...especially in the knee. This morning, my legs were stiff. I waited until tonight and said, "we'll give it a go." I had some kind of cut pain on my toe (and blood in the sock afterward) but went forward. I had a pretty tight right calf too. I was labored on the way out and figuring, because I had already kind of planned not to run, that I would end up walking this one back home...but I didn't. I kept running. 7:38 out and 7:42 back! Pulse 180 when done. No wonder I was thinking I would need to walk. The "back" was way faster than my fastest "going out" yesterday. I swear...I don't go out thinking, "beat yesterday." I am just trying to lay down some base mileage.
7/4/08 Ran 2 miles - still sore but not as sore as when I went out yesterday. For the first time, I ran in the mid-morning....around 10. Very pleasant. I labored, however. No rhythm as I was heading out to my turnaround point. "Oh well, this will be a slow one. Some days are like that. Just enjoy the show." I got to the mile marker and it read....7:55! My fastest of the four days...though I wasn't trying to go fast and was clunking. I ended up coming home in 8 minutes which was as fast as any of my "going out" runs have been. Pulse was the usual 180 at completion. This is a good sign when you start "evening out" the miles....they were within 5 seconds of each other. I had gas in the tank left when I got home. As I ran out, I was noticing some possible pains....not soreness. They went away, though. I'll keep up the two miles for a few more days, keep an eye on pain, see what my soreness level is, and then think about kicking up the mileage. No hurry....no worry. I have a long term plan.
7/3/08 Ran 2 miles - more sore starting out today than yesterday...but it broke loose. Hey, news flash! It's a lot nicer running in the evening in a slight breeze than when it's mid-day and 90 degrees. 8 minutes flat going out and 8:16 coming home into the wind. Wasn't pushing it or shooting for a time...and, I was sorer today than yesterday. Pulse 180 at immediate completion. I feel good...I could have blown this one off due to the soreness.
7/2/08 Ran 2 miles - sore from yesterday...very sore. It's not an injury type sore...it's a "run over the top of it" sore. Running is more like stretching...it's not like weightlifting where you need a recovery day. Not for two miles! Still, it was good to feel some pain. 8:10 out, 8:30 back. Didn't kick coming in. Wanted an accurate read on pulse....180.
7/1/08 Ran 2 Miles - it wasn't pretty. 8:06 out and 8:30 back with a 170 pulse upon completion. No, it wasn't pretty but, as the title of this post says.......
You'll see this post recurring - and it probably won't be too interesting to many of you.
Then again - it may be just what some of you need to see. Remember, there was a day when I clipped off 26 miles at a 6:09 pace.....you can see where I am today 23 years later. About a year and a half ago, I ran all out for one mile....and made 6:59. Today wasn't all out for a mile. That will be coming up in a bit. If I had tried today, I probably could have done 7:30.......30 seconds slower than last February. It COULD get SOME a little down.....
....but - as the post says.........
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