Another Week at Home

This is the longest stretch that I have been at home since January.  I had a good week and even rode my bike twice!  That half marathon I mentioned yesterday?  Didn't happen.  I wanted to do it, but my legs were dead.  Completely.  I ended up just walking!  My only rest day this week was Monday, so I just didn't have the energy.  I am happy to report no knee pain, so that's a bonus!

Sunday - Walked 3.76 miles in 1:00:32, 16:07 pace
I had a strong run on Saturday so this was a recovery walk.

Monday - Rest Day

Tuesday - Ran 7.0 miles in 1:32:19, 13:11 pace
This was a fun one - I ran 2.5 miles on the road, then 2.5 miles on the trail and finished with 2 miles on the road.  It felt good to just follow a whim!

Wednesday - Rode 9.94 miles in 1:06:45, 8.9 mph
This is the first time I had been on my bike since March 14th!  Les rode with me and kept a very stead pace, not too fast, and I felt pretty good.

Thursday - Ran 6.45 miles in 1:23:36, 12:58 pace
This run started out pretty good but quickly deteriorated due to old shoes.

Friday - Ran 3.01 miles in 39:51, 13:16 pace
Tested out my new shoes.  Knee pain was still noticeable, but I think that was just lingering from Thursday's run.
Also rode 8.75 miles in 48:02, 10.9 mph
This was on the road instead of the trail.

Saturday - Walked 6.37 miles in 1:35:57, 15:04 pace
I could tell just a mile or two in that a long run wasn't going to happen.  My legs felt so heavy and my energy level was low.  Definitely should have taken it easier on Friday.

Totals for this week:
Ran 16.46
Walked 10.13 
Biked 18.69
Total 45.28 miles

Goodbye to a Favorite

I have faithfully run in Saucony's Shadow 6000 for about 15 years.  I buy two pairs at a time and rotate them between each run.  They usually last 300-350 miles before I notice wear and know it's time to replace them.  The last couple of times I have bought them, it's been a different story.  I have noticed considerable wear/break down after only 200 miles.  Not good.

I headed out for a run yesterday.  My legs were fresh and I wanted to go about 8 miles.  After about 4 miles my right knee started hurting.  I took a walk break while going up a steep hill.  I looked down and saw my right foot was pronating big time!  I could see the inside of my foot leaning in like this:

No wonder my knee hurt!  Alignment issues are no joke.  I cut my run short, went home and told Les, "It's time for new shoes!"  I noticed that Road Runner Sports is no longer carrying the Shadow 6000, even as one of their "classics" or "endangered" shoes. I headed to our local Saucony outlet to try a different model.  I chatted with the saleswoman and she said Saucony is no longer making Shadow 6000 and any that are still available are probably pretty old.  Meaning the materials have started breaking down before they even leave the store.  No wonder I wasn't getting good mileage on them!

I ended up with the Ride 4.  There is a newer model, Ride 5, but the heel drop is 8 mm instead of the 12 mm of the Ride 4.  My old Shadows were also 12 mm.  Since my injury trend is usually due to old shoes, I don't want to switch to a lower heel drop.

 

I took them for a short test run this morning and could definitely feel better support.  I wanted to run a half marathon tomorrow, but I'm not sure that's a good idea with new shoes and I still have a little pain in my knee.  It will probably be a game day decision.

Goodbye Shadows, you have served me well!

Support for Boston Update

I received this from Road Runner Sports this morning:

Reality Check

Last Sunday morning was the moment of truth... the moment I had been dreading but knew I had to face... I stepped on the scale!  It wasn't pretty.  Not pretty at all.  But it is what it is.  They say grief is heavy.  All I know is that my eating for about six weeks was horrific.  I knew it and couldn't seem to stop it.  It didn't help that we didn't have a scale in Hawaii to confirm what I knew.

So it was back to basics this week.  Tracking every bite, every day.  It's a tedious task, but it works!  As of this morning, my scale said I was down 3 pounds.  I've still got a ways to go, it's amazing how much damage can occur in six weeks!  I have weighed more (much more!), so I know I can do this. 

I struggled with jetlag early in the week, but still managed some good runs:

Sunday - Ran 5.16 in 1:02:21, 12:05 pace.
Found some hills!  Actually, I don't have to look far to find hills here.

Monday - Rest
The real problem with jetlag is bedtime.  10:00 p.m. California time is 7:00 p.m. Hawaii time.  I had trouble going to sleep the night before and could not get up in the morning.

Tuesday - Rest
See Monday.

Wednesday - Ran 6 miles in 1:10:10, 11:42 pace
I was a little shocked when I stepped out the door to 46 degrees! 

Thursday - Ran 5.59 miles in 1:15:37, 13:31 pace
This was my hilliest and windiest run of the week. Santa Ana winds in April is very unusual, but that's what we had.

Friday - Rest
After two days of hills my legs were really feeling it.

Saturday - Ran 9.01 miles in 1:40:07, 11:07 pace
Windy again, but I pressed through.  My pace was at 11:20 at the 7 mile mark, so I really pushed to drop my average. 
It was 69 degrees when I got up, it's currently 75 with 24% humidity.  Big change from Honolulu!

Total 29.76 miles

Support for Boston Victims

If you have a favorite style of running shoes that you always wear, today would be a great day to buy an extra pair and help a great cause.  Click here.

Brr!!!

I have officially turned into a warm weather runner!  It was 46 degrees this morning, clear with no wind.  That use to be my favorite temp.  But 46 felt SO cold this morning!  I wore a jacket and wished for gloves the first mile. But I warmed up after about a mile and was fine.  I forgot what hills were like!  This morning I ran 6 miles with 762 feet of climbing.  Last week I ran 10 miles with 394 feet of climbing and that included a run into the Diamond Head Crater!

I forgot to share these pictures last week, I was too busy packing up to head home.  This was last Thursday morning, my final Hawaii run for that trip.  I stopped and caught some sunrise shots over Koko Head:

 

Boston Marathon

What a sad day.  The 117th running of the Boston Marathon ended in tragedy.  Three are reported dead with over one hundred injured.  I cannot imagine the terror.  There were those who had just crossed the finish line, while others were seconds away. 

As we were talking about it, Les said, "I sure am glad you ran slow at Ojai."  I just stared at him, then I remembered...

The Ojai marathon was my first marathon.  Ojai to Ocean, 2012.  My public goal was 4 hours.  The goal that only Les and I knew about was 3:55.  Three hours and fifty five minutes would have qualified me for Boston.  I would have still needed to get in on the registration day, but the first thing I had to do was qualify.  If I could have gotten in, I would have been there, Les and I talked about it last year.  He would have been in the stands waiting for me.  I could have been one of those crossing the finish line while Les waited in the stands when the bombs went off.

I agree with Les, I'm glad I ran slow at Ojai.  Very glad.

My thoughts and prayers are with those who were there today.