Category Archives: running

Punishment

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I didn’t want to run today. The muscles along my shins were still sore from Tuesday’s run. I had completely convinced myself that I need to take it easy on my running and let my shins recover. I wasn’t going to run. I thought about riding my bike, but I had already declined the opportunity to ride with Charmaine this morning, so it would be pretty lame to go out and ride after that… and the pool is closed on Thursdays, so I wasn’t sure what I would end up doing.

I knew I was going to do something, because it’s the warmest day we’ve had yet this year. We may hit 85 degrees today. I absolutely had to go outside… and that pretty much meant I had to run. So I suited up and headed out.

Right off the first step my shins and ankles were hurting, so I headed straight for the dirt path along the 56. Despite the pain, I wasn’t upset about my jog down the hill to the 56 trail, but once I got there I fell apart. I was walking. My legs were buckling underneath me. It wasn’t pretty.

Eventually I regained my legs and decided to punish myself for the extremely poor performance on the 56 trail. I think that’s about as poorly as I’ve done on that trail since I started running it. It was really bad. So I decided to head on up to Old Carmel Valley, which has this massive hill at 25% grade or more. It’s insane. I let myself walk part of that and I didn’t feel bad about it in the least. Old Carmel Valley eventually connects to Del Mar Heights Road, which has been my main route the last month or so. I felt right at home along there and finished steady.

RunKeeper: https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/175085405

Strava:

Once again my POS Zephyr Heart Rate Monitor recorded nothing. I really hate that thing. On the other hand, my Pebble watch continued to perform very well. I’m really starting to like having it for these runs.

The Struggle

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All morning I told myself I needed a rest day. I didn’t need to run today. I needed some time to let my legs recover from the big ride last weekend. My terrible performance in the pool yesterday was proof that I wasn’t fully recovered yet. My normal run time came and went. It was going to be a rest day! But then something snapped inside my head and I knew I was going to run.

The run started off poorly. I felt wasted. I was hitting every light red, even lights that just go into driveways that I’ve never hit red before. I was sweating profusely even though it was nice and cool outside with decent cloud cover. I hadn’t been running even five minutes and I was already walking. I would find out later that my heart rate wasn’t very high either. I was just struggling mentally. It was pathetic. I told myself it was fine, because even walking was good for me. I would allow myself to walk the 10k, but I wasn’t going to cut any distance.

I tried to run a few times, but fell back into walking a lot of the first 5k. After the turn-around I was actually feeling pretty good, and I wound up jogging most of the way back. I did walk a few short periods up the big hill. I continued to hit every light red, which frustrated me enough that I ran a few of them where there were no cars.

I’m not happy with my performance overall, but I’m not too upset about the second half. I’m happy that I forced myself to go out and do the whole thing. That’s the best part about today’s “run”.

RunKeeper: https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/174118163

Strava:

Fail

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I have several guesses about why I failed so hard today. The obvious first choice is that I haven’t been able to sleep very well for several days. I have been anxious about the post office misplacing 2 of the 4 checks I mailed at tax time. One was tracked until it left the sorting facility, and the other was never tracked at all. I think the anxiety over those missing checks didn’t help my sleep situation any. Luckily, one of the checks cleared my checking account this morning, so I’m hopeful the post office just forgot to track my checks and didn’t actually lose them.

It’s another one of those amazingly beautiful San Diego days today, so I was looking forward to getting outside all morning. Right before lunch time I got a little anxious about the run, but I was feeling good. I stepped out the door to start my run and immediately rolled my ankle. I hadn’t even started yet and I knew I was in for some trouble.

I thought I might be fine, so I headed out on my normal 10k route. I hadn’t gotten too far when it was obvious to me that it wasn’t going to be business as usual, so I headed down to the trail along the 56 freeway where the running trail is in the nice sand that’s easier on my joints. I spent a lot of time switching between jogging and walking, but I eventually made my way back home. I’m not impressed at all with my performance, but hopefully I’ll be back ready for some serious biking by this weekend.

My heart rate monitor was fully charged when I started, but it stopped tracking just a few minutes in to the run. If this was the first or even the second time that had happened I might forgive it, but I’m really upset about it. It’s not critical that I record my heart rate, but I paid good money for this piece of equipment and I expect it to work. It doesn’t work at all when I ride my bike and it only seems to work about half the time when I run. My advice to you: Do not buy a Zephyr heart rate monitor. They suck.

RunKeeper: https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/172031547

Strava:

Running with Pebble

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I supported the Pebble smart watch project through Kickstarter a long long time ago (more than a year). My watch finally arrived yesterday afternoon, right when I was contemplating switching from Strava to RunKeeper. That is significant because the beta version of the RunKeeper app for Android has native support for Pebble baked in and Strava does not.

So today I ran with my Pebble watch. I don’t know if it helped or hurt. It was sort of nice to know my pace at anytime, but I wonder how much of a distraction it was at the same time. The technology is very cool, but I’m not convinced that RunKeeper is the answer for me. For one thing, it doesn’t support the heart rate monitor that I already have. Of course, I’m not very happy with my heart rate monitor, but I’m determined to get my $70 of use out of it. Of course, I’m even more determined to get my (whatever I paid, I don’t remember anymore) of use out of my Pebble… so maybe I’ll be using both Strava and RunKeeper for a while. It may prove to be more work than it’s worth to use both. We’ll have to see how it goes.

I gave myself all sorts of excuses this morning. I woke up early this morning despite going to bed late last night. I rarely perform well without a good night’s sleep. I couldn’t find any of my running socks (dual-layered), so I was stuck using some old biking socks. I didn’t have any caffeine to prep with (they say a little caffeine before a workout helps you perform better and last longer). It was sunny and hot outside, despite the forecast of being nice and cool. I was wearing a dark shirt, which had no trouble converting all that sun into heat. Etc.

Despite everything, I had a decent run. I hit a few lights red on the way out, which probably stopped me from setting a PR on my 5k, but I managed to bring it home for a PR on my 10k. I cut almost a full minute from my previous PR. That means I’ve cut 5 minutes off my 10k time in the last week. I’ll take that!

RunKeeper: https://runkeeper.com/user/jtalbot/activity/171177078

Strava:

Take That (PR 10K)

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I wasn’t feeling especially fast today. I hit more red lights than normal. I knew I wouldn’t be setting a new record on my 5K, but I knew I had to set a PR for my 10K, so I didn’t let myself stop at the half way point to catch my breath. I stopped only long enough to see where I was time-wise, and make sure my GPS updated at the furthest point.

I was hot and dry today. I think it was at least 15 degrees warmer than 2 days ago; that’s a big change. I actually ran out of water before I got back home. There was a nice warm desert wind blowing and the fire danger is high. All those things combine to take a lot out of you when you run. I tried to talk myself out of it all morning and then the first quarter mile. But after I crossed Carmel Country Road and headed up the hill, I was committed.

I wasn’t especially fast or slow, but I knew that in previous runs I had stopped at the half-way point for multiple minutes. If I simply cut my rest there, I could set a PR, as long as I didn’t die and wind up walking or stopping later on… and then I did.

About half-way up the big hill on Del Mar Heights road, there were two landscaping trucks blocking the sidewalk and bike lane. I was barely able to squeeze by on the edge of the sidewalk. They each had huge water coolers and I was just about out of water. I thought about asking the guys if I could grab some water, but then decided that was a bad idea. I broke down and walked for a bit while I considered it. Then I got back into a jog the rest of the way up the hill. Then it was all down hill from there and I finished strong. I was a bit upset about missing the light to cross Carmel Country Road both ways today, but there’s not much I can do about it.

I still managed to set my PR for a 10K. I cut more than 4 minutes off my old PR. That’s pretty huge.

Old 10K PR: 1:10:28
New 10K PR: 1:06:23

Off By One

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It’s another beautiful day in San Diego. I celebrated by running my out-and-back route that gets me a 5k each direction. I managed to set a PR for my first 5k and set my second best 10k time too. I even stopped at the 5k mark to catch my breath and then walked a big chunk of the way back. I was telling myself I could just walk the whole way back and I would title this post “walk, walk, walk, all the way home” or something along those lines. I wasn’t feeling very well after turning around at the 5k mark, so it seemed reasonable. But then I started feeling good, so I started jogging. It felt like a really nice slow pace that I could keep up forever.

https://app.strava.com/activities/49141985

When I got home at looked at my results on Strava, it said I missed a PR on my 10k by ONE SECOND. That is not cool. That pisses me off. I’m definitely going to fix that, and soon.

Out and Back

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I wasn’t feeling like running, but I knew I was going to run anyway. I sucked down 8 ounces of Red Bull and did 50 jumping jacks to get warmed up and in the mood. It certainly warmed me up. I strapped on my heart rate monitor, filled my water bottles, and headed outside. It was stunning outside today, complete paradise.

I started off feeling pretty strong, but found myself walking here and there for no apparent reason. I still managed to hit the 5k mark around 34 minutes, which isn’t terrible. The whole way there I kept telling myself that I only had to run the first 5k, then I could walk back home, because I am still a little sick. When I got to the 5k mark, I hit pause for 3 or 4 minutes to stand in the shade, shake my legs out, and eat a vanilla bean Gu.

That must have been the ticket, because the road back home wasn’t bad. I did end up walking the last section of the massive hill climb, but I was still happy with my performance. I think I can do this route again without the stop in the middle and I’ll be able to set a PR for the 10k distance. Of course, I keep thinking I’ll be able to set a PR for the first 5k, but it hasn’t happened yet.

https://app.strava.com/activities/48048194

Overdoing It

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When I looked up from my work, it was almost 1:00. I didn’t really feel like running. If the pool had been open, I’m sure I would have talked myself into swimming. But it wasn’t. I thought about riding my bike, but I suited up for running anyway. I tried to talk myself into just running the short 2.5 mile loop that I’ve done so many times, but I filled my water bottles and strapped them on. That usually means I’m running the 5 mile loop.

But something strange happened. As I started running there were a bunch of cars pulling in and out of the parking lot, so I stayed on the sidewalk to the right of the parking lot. Normally, I run down the left side of the parking lot when I do the 5 mile loop, so I was a little out of place. When I got to the bottom of the parking lot, I just stayed right and the next thing I knew I was headed away from my normal loop.

I figured I would do an out-and-back across the top of Del Mar Heights Road and get about 6 miles done without too much climbing. I broke down and let myself walk a lot those first few miles, and for that I required punishment. So I ran up to Rancho Santa Fe Farms Road and then cut down to the trail along the 56. I pulled my phone out to see how far I had gone when I got to Carmel Country Road. I was 90 minutes in to the run and had gone just over 8 miles. I was really close to telling Strava that my run was complete and just walking home from there, but I kept telling myself I could always trim it back to any point in the run if I decided to do that later. And so I kept going. But it was mostly just walking after that. At least I didn’t let myself just go up Carmel Mountain. I made it all the way to Carmel Creek before heading home.

https://app.strava.com/activities/45968170

I don’t think I’ve ever gone 9.5 miles in a single session before. That’s pretty cool.

No excuses

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All morning I kept thinking up little reasons why I should take it easy today. Maybe I would only run 3 miles instead of 5. Maybe I wouldn’t run at all. My legs were still pretty sore from running and swimming earlier this week and I know we’ll be doing a big bike ride on Saturday. So maybe taking some time to recover would be just the thing. No. That’s not the way it works. I strapped on my heart rate monitor and my water bottles and headed out to run. I started off slow, still considering taking it easy. Eventually I passed the turn-off for the shorter loop and then I was committed. I knew I could improve my time going up the big hill at the end, but I had to make it there first. My legs really are pretty sore and worn out, but I managed to get through it.

https://app.strava.com/activities/45324795

Undersleep Underperform

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Today was a running day. I broke down mentally and let myself walk a lot of it. I haven’t slept very well for a few nights and I think that may be starting to catch up to me. At least that’s what I tell myself to create a convenient excuse to allow myself to walk. So I need to work on my mental toughness.

I even let myself walk on the down-hill section at the very beginning. That’s not cool. I decided to punish myself a little by going up the really steep hill in the park (20% grade). Of course, I walked that too, but then I jogged the rest of the way home.

https://app.strava.com/activities/45083138