New Group Leader

Ran 2.5 yesterday around Lake Ivanhoe. Today, I went to the Metro 24/7 Fitness gym in downtown Orlando for a group run. I haven't attended in quite some time. There's a new group leader. So it was Dani (sp?), Steve, and myself roughing the high 40s this morning.

We ran 3.1 miles. I finished the last third of a mile strong. Felt great the whole time. We ran a conversational 10 minute pace. It was nice for a morning run.

That's 2 days in a row. Staying strong.

Time to Get Serious

The emails have started spreading.  The people are talking.  Non-runners are showing up at Lake Eola.

It's time to get serious about the Corporate 5k which takes place late April in downtown Orlando.  I decided yesterday that Saturday is going to be the start of my regular training regimen.  I haven't picked out workouts yet, but I am committing to training 6 days a week.  This may be in the form of strength training as well.  I will try to run every day even if it just the warmup.  I didn't tell anyone of my intention, not even Kim, for fear of not living up to expectations.  I've been told by coaches, mentors, and peers that I have lots of potential.  Not just in running, but I have heard this about other endeavors as well.

Well, I'm happy to state that I have gotten off to a good start.  I ran one lap around Lake Ivanhoe this morning.  That logs 2.5 miles so far.  I took it easy.  10 minute pace.  It was a perfect cool morning of 58 degrees.

New Year Run (Almost)

January first would have been the perfect day to start the year with a run, but New Year's Eve celebrations kept that from happening.  The second sounds better.  Ha ha.

I got up early to make up the difference and was on the streets before 6am.  I got to Kensington Park 5 minutes before it officially opened, but the gate was open.  I ran in and it was a bit weird running in a huge park before dawn with no lights.

Traveling south along the Broad Walk, I crossed over to Round Pond and woke a few swans.   Went northeast towards the square reflection ponds at the north edge of the Serpentine.  Noticed those were half frozen over.  South along Carriage Drive and Exhibition Road, then west to the Albert Memorial and back north winding my way back to Queensway.

Overall, it was a great peaceful run.  It was freezing, but I can just imagine running through this park in the spring.  Cheers!

Oh yeah, 4 miles.

3.9 miles easy

Nothing major to document here.

3.9 miles - started pre-dawn

37 minutes (just under 10 minute pace)
felt very easy, but I didn't want to push myself.

Ran through the small Rollins College campus and through a neighborhood by Mead Gardens to the Florida Hospital area.

It was humid (there was fog) and cool. I could see my breath by the end of my run even though it wasn't cold. Temps were in the 60's.

Calves tightened up by the end of the run. No stretching.

Pushing Through Pain

In the past 6 weeks, I have had bronchitis, a broken toe, influenza, and a weekend full of worrying while my significant other has been in the hospital.

The bronchitis was 6 weeks ago, the broken toe the following week, the flu 2 weeks ago and Thanksgiving weekend was spent at the hospital.  I have been holding on to something in my lungs and I could feel myself getting out of breath too easily.

I went out for a run this evening to the tune of 4.85 miles.  It felt great despite getting a blister on my left foot.  I started slowing down and a sinking feeling started to take hold.  No, sir.  I remembered how we used to show each other our blisters in the locker room in high school.  You start feeling the blister and if you just push through the pain for a minute or two, it will start to go numb.  I haven't done that in a long time.  Tonight, I remembered.  Tonight, I pushed through the pain until it faded.  I kept thinking about my pace and my form and I got through it.

Conditions:  cool 65 degrees, slightly humid

A Broken Toe Is Not Good For Running

A couple things to remember here.

I broke a phalange in my right foot.  OK, it's my pinkie toe.  It hurt a lot the first day, but hasn't been too bad since.  The swelling comes and goes depending on how much walking I do on it.  That's one thing to note.

The other thing is that I read a quiz in an email about your quality of life.  Topics were smoking, eating, relationships, blood pressure, exercise and a few more.  I scored in the middle.  That's not how I roll, so I went to the gym the same evening.  When I get there, I ask the guy behind the counter if he can look up the last time I had been there.  June 2nd he tells me.  That's 5 months.  I pay $25 per month in membership fees.  That's not bad at all, but if you go once every 5 months, that's a lot per workout.  I just had a $125 workout... plus tax.

At the gym, I wanted to test out my broken toe.  I hadn't tried running on it yet.  This may be a premature, because it hurts even when I walk on it too much.  This is why I wanted to use the treadmill instead of pounding the pavement, because if it hurts, I can stop at any time.

I start walking very slowly at .5 mph.  I can't feel a thing and either can my lungs.   Let's kick it up a notch I say in my head.  I bring it up to 3 mph.  Still doesn't hurt.  I keep increasing the belt speed to 5, then 6, and finally 7.5 mph.  Still no pain in my toe.  This is awesome!  I end up keeping that pace for 2 miles (8 minute mile).  No PRs forthcoming, but it felt great just to do that.  After the treadmill, I get some lat pulldowns, bench presses, arm curls, and stomach crunches into the workout.  I finished off with 7.5 minutes on the stationary bike for a cool down.

The next morning, my toe was swollen and purple again.  Oh yeah, it hurt a little, too.  Maybe running wasn't such a good idea... at least just yet.

Couch Potato... Not

So this day pretty much started by watching pregame on ESPN at 11am until 1pm.  Watched the Cowboys beat the Bucs and then continued to be a couch potato until 7pm by watching the Giants clean up a Redskin mess.

I stored up some energy with a cheeseburger and some pizza through the day, but I still didn't have a whole lot of energy.  I had to get up and do something, though.  I was inside all day.  I missed the sun completely.

I had to run.  4 miles.  I was probably going about 10 minute pace, but didn't stop so that was good.

Long Run in the AM

I went out this morning with a goal of running at least 40 minutes. Distance and pace meant nothing. I didn't care how far I traveled nor how fast. I didn't have a watch to time myself, but I kept having trouble getting past 2.5-3 miles for distance and 30 minutes for time.

I ran almost an hour covering 5.15 miles. I don't even want to calculate my average pace, because I started jogging at a speed that some people could walk. I didn't care about how far I was going when I started, but I did measure it after I got home.

My next run is scheduled for Thursday evening. Fleet Feet Sports and Harmoni Market is having a fun run. I have to find out the route. It is supposed to be 4 miles starting and ending at Harmoni Market and as sponsors, they are offering a complimentary glass of wine or beer and also a goodie bag to all participants. I did I mention that there is no cost. Oh yeah, I'm in. Run 4 miles and there is a reward at the end. We'll call this the Pavlovian Run.

This is reminiscent of our 7 Eleven runs back in high school cross country. Coach would have us run a few miles for Slurpies and run back to the school. That would break up the monotony of speedwork and long runs and everyone enjoyed it. Now as an adult, the beer sounds much, much better than a Slurpy.

Getting in a Groove - Celebration 5k

I capped off the week with a 5k run on Saturday morning. How could I say no to a race less than a mile from my home? Maybe because I wasn't really ready to run a race of any distance. Nah. I had to.

I did a 1 mile warmup followed by a little stretching and next thing you know, the horn sounds. Off I go. I kept a nice easy pace, walked and drank at the 1 mile and 2 mile water stops. I never saw the 1 mile marker, but hit the 2 mile mark at 18:30. I stopped to walk at about 2.5 miles. Man, was I unprepared. I crossed the line at 28:04.

I love how the kid in front of me has an expression of boredom
on his face while everyone else including myself is in agony.

I wanted to keep up the same routine this week, but I have plans early Monday morning. I went out this afternoon and logged in a run of 2.7 miles in 30 minutes. Lots of work to do, but I feel like I'm back in a groove again.

Pre-Dawn Run

It's been a couple of weeks since I've run and it's been even longer since I've done a morning run. Waking up before the sun and heading out the door has a primal feel to it like a mountain lion out for a morning rabbit. A mile or so in, I find myself with plenty of company on the streets and sidewalks of College Park as daylight peaks its head over the horizon and I am back to being Doug running the streets of Orlando.

I only did 2.5 miles, but it feels good knowing I got a couple miles logged already for the day. I started around 11-12 minute pace, worked my way to 9 minute pace around the half mile mark and kept that through the remaining 2 miles.

Finished off with a cold shower. Feels great. Time for some coffee.