On Foot

Two weeks after the crash and I'm healing pretty well. Put the sling aside over the weekend and managed to get a couple of 2 mile runs in with no incident. Managed do the route at 7' 30" per mile pace. Shoulder movement has improved quite a bit but a photo assignment last Saturday revealed that if I go beyond my current range of motion, it hurts pretty bad.

Running out of Vicodan, which I've only been taking before bedtime, but I seem to be able to sleep through the night now without rolling over on the injured side and waking myself in extreme pain.

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6/22: I'm writing this from Baltimore Airport, waiting for a connecting flight to Louisville to visit the in-laws. Plotted out a nice two-mile loop in a residential neighborhood across the way from the hotel where we are staying and packed some running duds but, as we pulled into the airport parking lot in Manchester, NH, I realized that I did not pack my running shoes.

Crap!

The hotel is a stone's throw from a sprawling shopping mall, so I'll probably go buy a pair of shoes later today. I'm planning on returning to training on the bike when we get back home this weekend. It really sucks to get hurt just as I was nearing peak fitness and getting used to dicing it up in races.

Meanwhile, this past Saturday, two of my MRC teammates did very well in the Purgatory Road Race: Doug K won the Cat 5 35+ quite handily and Len E took 4th in a very strong Cat 4 35+ field. Great job, guys!

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6/26: Leaving KY in a couple of hours. Got some decent New Balance running shoes and a Timex Triathlon watch that has an HR strap, have done 3 runs of varying distances/speeds over fairly hilly terrain. Anxious to get home and get back on the bike tomorrow if the weather allows...

Overdid It

Friday

Distance: 21.9 miles

Time: 1:12:17

Avg. speed: 18.2 mph

Weather (at start): 57º, humidity 99%, calm

Joined the Friday morning "coffee clatch" out of Northboro. Doug, Rob, Carl, Alan, Chris, Gary S and I rode the fairly hilly route, starting at 5:40 a.m. Once we got going, I was lagging on the first couple of climbs. It was pretty cold and I guess I needed a longer warmup because I kept up with the group after that.

As we headed back towards the traffic circle in South Berlin, Carl initiated a sprint which I responded to and rolled into the intersection just behind him. After, we popped into Taza D'oro (we rode from there) and had some "coffee and...". Not a bad way to start the day.

When I got home, I headed down to Landry's to drop my wheels off to be trued and have the hubs overhauled.

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Saturday - Run

Distance: about 2 miles

Time: 0:16:49

My family and I were in Milford, CT this weekend visiting my sister and her kids. Since my wheels were in the shop, I ran instead. Felt pretty good, even though at 6:30 a.m., the air was already pretty hot and thick.

Spent the rest of the day lounging around the beach.

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Sunday - Run

Distance: about 1.75 miles

Time: 0:14:38

I should have left well enough alone. I was warned not to bite off too much too soon.

Went out for another run this morning, same route as yesterday. Legs were only slightly achy and I did a decent warmup/stretch beforehand but with about 1/4 mile remaining in the run, my left Achilles tendon suddenly started to hurt just a little bit. What little I've read on running has warned against "running through the pain" so I slowed to walk the rest of the way back and did some careful stretching.

As I type this, BOTH Achilles tendons are pretty tight and descending stairs is kind of painful. I'm hoping a short spin on the trainer and/or a walk will help loosen things up.

Run #2: Fighting Entropy

Distance: 2 mi.

Time: 0:14:47

Avg. mile: 7' 24"

Weather: 36-68º, humidity 81-74%, wind calm, sunny

iPod: On the Media (podcast)

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Goal for today's run: do the whole 2 miles without stopping. Admittedly, the bar was set low but I really don't know how much "run" I have in me right now so I'm a cautious approach plus I don't want to mess up what I've achieved so far on the cycling side.

I stripped the equipment haul down to just my iPod, which has a stopwatch that also deliver splits. Don't need more than that for 15 minutes of running.

5 minute walk warmup and off went. The first 1/2 mile or so was as bad as last week but after that I felt like I could go on for more than two miles. Don't get me wrong: I was working pretty hard but it was not so hard that I felt like I wanted to stop right where I stood.

After the run, I walked another 5 minutes and stretched for 5 minutes. It will be interesting to see how my legs feel tomorrow and Tuesday.

The two miles split like this: 7' 22" and 7' 25". I need to find out if I should be worrying about time at all or if I should just do the run and see the results after.

Meanwhile, the running shoes I've had since about 2004 (and have worn about 10 times) are falling apart. I'm off to Marx Running later today with any luck.

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