Where's the Donuts?

Eight miles on Beach Drive, I was really spaced out this morning. I didn't even remember to hit my watch on most of the miles, so no splits. Just ran alone, it was cool and cloudy. I wasn't paying attention to pace, so it was a little inconsistent I think. Ran for 56:10, which is a good 7-minute pace. I felt a little sore, not from running (low miles this week) but from hiking. I was in the Olympics for a few days of backpacking and got my exercise that way. I didn't blog it, but I had a few decent hikes and really worked my legs on some uphill trails. So what looks like a light week wasn't as lazy as it may seem. 

supernova red 

Over in Seattle for a wagon-load of family stuff over the past few days, my brother and I snuck out and did my five-mile Husky Stadium loop. Down the B-G trail, cut off at Husky Stadium then around through some UW wetland reclamation area. It's a nice route, and we stopped to see if the UW football team was practicing. They weren't, but looking at their schedule for the coming fall I suggest they get themselves out there. 

Pace was easy, nice to run with Timm and keep it slow. 39:23.

supernova red -- 51 

Last night I'm standing in the grass and my left knee started irritating me. Right on the little bump at the outside of the knee, where a tendon from the lower leg connects. Not a real serious pain, but an annoying little thing that came out of nowhere. Didn't feel it at all in the a.m., but there it was all of a sudden. I jogged a bit and nothing hurt then, but anytime I was standing (or later sitting in the car) it would get painful. 

This morning I felt it as soon as I woke up. I went out and got through three miles; nothing feels wrong structurally but it's a nagging pain that hangs around. After 2.5 I decided to call it quits and come back to ice. So a three-mile run, 23:23. We'll see what sitting at work today brings and hopefully this goes away soon.

supernova red -- 54

Pretty morning, 10 (maybe a bit shy of that, actually) on Tracyton Beach Road out to Essex and back. Good medium pace, just under 7 min/miles. My knee didn't bother me much at all today, once I thought I felt that twinge but it was gone just as quickly. So that's good news. Felt good about the mid-week miles though. 66:49.

supernova -- 64

Cloudy morning, easy run on the 11th-Shore route. Everything felt fine, I was able to hold a nice medium pace for most of the run. I even threw in 6x100m striders, been awhile since I did that. My legs needed the first one and a half to shake the slow-twitch rust off, but they felt good to do once my legs were stretched out. Hopefully the striders will get me ready for more of a workout, I'd like to get something up-tempo into next week's schedule so I can get a few workouts in before August is over. 35:59.

supernova red -- 69

Rainy morning on Beach Drive, first time it's been wet in awhile. Small crowd again, only saw three other Slugs. Started at a good pace (6:40, 6:35, 6:50), then at mile 3 had to hit a bathroom pretty seriously. So I did a walk-run for mile 4 (8:40) and was overjoyed to see the Waterman port-o-pot. Got back on the road feeling better and returned to the pace. I knew I was pushing a bit and maybe didn't need to, since this wasn't a speed workout, but I've struggled with consistency on this run somewhat lately. This run continued that, I was pushing fairly close to Tinman Tempo on some but then lagged a bit on a few — 6:15, 6:48 to the turnaround on a slight uphill, then 6:40, 7:00, 6:05, 6:30, 6:18, and 6:43 when I tried to ease off.

I shouldn't complain about having some fast miles on a 12-mile run, but I never felt in control of the pace or focused on the splits. I didn't set out with a pace in mind, maybe that was the problem. But I felt fine, the knee twinge from the other day was nothing more than that, and I rushed home to shower and grab an early ferry to Seattle. I spent the rest of the day painting, so Sunday was a needed rest day. 1:21 total. I felt good about the week, two runs over ten miles and 35 miles total. The goal for next week is over 40, then evenly bring that up to 50 by the first or second week of September.

If anyone's reading this, go read this week's New Yorker article on Ryan Hall and marathoning. It's a great read, more for a general audience than runners, but some really interesting stuff about the origin of marathon racing in the U.S.  Then think about having a scientist cut out a chunk of your thigh muscle (you'll see what I mean).

Warm and cloudy outside, really nice for a morning run. I did the Warren Bridge-Manette Bridge route, holding a pretty brisk pace. My legs felt very rested and fresh, and even the hills went by quickly. I even timed my bathroom stop for right when the city worker unlocked the facilities at Evergreen Park. Good start to the week. 34:48, under 7/min miles. 

supernova red -- 81 

If I was still in high school my coach would have been yelling 'Henry, you're an idiot' halfway through today's workout. (There wasn't anyone named Henry on the team, but for whatever reason that's what you were called when acting like an idiot. And my team, although talented, were called Henry pretty often.)

I went out toward Tracyton Beach Road, easy for the first two miles with the plan to start a four-mile tinman workout, at 6:15 pace. The miles I had marked off start on a downhill, which I thought would be nice. A little too nice, it turned out. I was really working on #1, but figured that was because my body was settling into the pace and it was morning. Um, until I saw the first mile marker and looked down at my watch -- and I was under 5/min. pace. Ooops. That's why my legs were already complaining. So after the 5-minute mile I decided to change the workout, since four of those consecutive isn't happening just yet (or really ever again). I jogged a minute, then proceeded on a 4, 3, 2, 1, descending ladder at CV pace (maybe a bit quicker, actually), with one-minute jogs in between. I hit the hill before my usual turnaround and started coming back there, jogged for a few minutes and managed to go back up the ladder with the one-minute and two-minute runs. I felt pretty toasted at that point, and was hitting the two big hills so I cut the workout part off there. Eventually got back to a decent pace and finished off the run, though I think it ended up at nine miles rather than ten (60 minutes total).

So a change from the plan because I can't figure out a pace, but still a good strenuous morning. I haven't worked like that and made my legs hurt during a weekday run in awhile, so it's good. I'll try the tinman miles again either Saturday or next Tuesday. One person apparently didn't like my workout, however. Before I started the last two-minute tempo a white van came down a hill to my left and took a right turn toward me. I wasn't near the intersection so I couldn't have affected their stop. But the van slows down after coming around the corner, does a little honk to get my attention, then these two long-haired barfs inside flip me off. Wha? I ran back with an eye over my shoulder in case they came back to throw their beer bottles at me or something, but nothing more than that. That's Bremerton for you.

supernova red -- 90

Evening five on 11th-Shore Drive, warm and sunny and it was a great post-work reliever. Didn't wear a watch, just ran comfortably without thinking about time or pace. I didn't go too slowly. No hangover from yesterday's workout. Picked blackberries after the run, good reward.

supernova red -- 95

Warren-Manette Bridge loop, with a little addition down to Lions Park and the trail there. It's a warm, muggy morning and I felt sluggish. I wasn't pushing, but I wasn't gliding along either. I haven't slept great and work has been kind of frustrating, maybe that's what it is. Got through it though, everything feels healthy and I should get some good miles tomorrow. 47:28. 

supernova red -- 101 

Morning run on Beach Drive, only two other Slugs. Mike and I ran together. There was a great sunrise just as we started, lit up the sky with a dark pink color. Warm out, but not hot (yet). We set a pretty good pace, it was a little faster than planned but fairly consistent. I wasn't working as hard as I have some recent Saturday mornings, but that's also because we were talking the whole time, which took my mind off the pace.  

Here are the splits: 14:23 (1&2), 7:07, 7:03, 6:48, 7:05, 6:54, 6:51, 7:00, 6:36, 6:59, 6:48. 1:23 overall.

In any case a good run, wraps up a solid week even though Tuesday's workout fell a little short and I shorted today's run a bit to run with Mike. Should be healthy and rested going into next week though.

supernova red -- 113

The usual, 11th-Shore Drive on a Monday. My hamstrings were pretty sore, not from running but from weeding in my yard yesterday. They needed a good stretching afterward. Other than that no problems, decent pace but tried to keep it real comfortable. 36:08. 

supernova red -- 118 

Mid-week workout day. Like last week, I headed toward Tracyton Beach Road. Two miles at 7:20 min. pace to start, then began the workout. Rather than Tinman Tempo I bumped that up a bit, since I've run pretty close to Tinman most weeks on my Saturday runs (in the 6:40s for at least a few miles). I shot for CV pace for a few miles. I went 5:23, 5:57 and 5:55. Then I jogged around Lions Park a few laps and headed back to Shore Drive, did 6x100 there and headed home. I was pretty beat on the way home, definitely a good workout. It's not hot outside, but I'm working a split shift today so I ran at noon and it was 75 with 70 percent humidity or something, so kind of uncomfortable. My legs got a good workout, I was dragging a little after the striders and pretty pooped. I thought about adding another 2 miles, but I need to eat and get back to work. 1:10 total.

I had a weird pain in my right knee all morning. I woke up with almost a charlie horse right above and to the left of my knee cap, on the thicker part of my knee there. It continued at work, almost like a cramp except really dull. I felt it the first two miles just as soreness, but three steps into the tempo the pain was gone. It's slowly coming back now as I sit here writing. It's not really an easy area to stretch, though it feels like that's what it wants rather than being damaged. Strange.

supernova red -- 128

Worked until 11 last night, so I slept in (woke in time to watch Usain Bolt trounce everyone) and ran this evening. I thought by evening the clouds would have blown away, but no, it was October out there. I got caught in a little wind and rain storm, not a soaker but enough to get me wet. It really did feel like fall, even some leaves have changed color.

Anyway, the Illahee State Park run. My knee was bothering me at work and on the bicycle ride home, so I went out easy hoping it would loosen up. I was able to stride normally without pain, but I felt it very slightly the whole time. The pain never totally disappeared like Tuesday, though when I stretch my legs on the downhills the muscles feel more normal. Icing now. Other than that the run was nice, easy pace for the first half then picked it up a bit when the weather hit (plus there's more downhill on the way home). 46:27.

supernova red -- 134

11th-Shore Drive, still real cool and cloudy. My knee was bothering me at the start and on the first few hills, but as it warmed up I felt a little better. Maybe because some hip soreness took over. It's aches and pains week, I guess. The muscle on my knee had loosened up
by the end so I was able to run pretty free, still took it pretty easy. 37:02.

I've now played dog-catcher twice. My deadbeat neighbors haven't noticed that their fence comes open when it's windy, so I've had to corral their two big dogs before starting my run the last two days. Yesterday was a little scary because they started growling at me, but today they thought it was playing. What puzzled me about today was the other neighbors were outside (they live across the street from the dog people) and were yelling and screaming about the dogs before I showed up. They didn't even know what house the dogs belonged to, even though their kitchen window and driveway looks directly at the yard where the dogs sit all day. Helloo? Safe to say I won't ask them to watch my house when I'm out of town.

supernova red -- 139

Just a short easy run this morning to test my knee and loosen up, more miles tomorrow. I ran down to Shore Drive and dinked around for 15 minutes, had to go to the bathroom so I ran home. My knee feels much better today, after icing yesterday I was able to get my fingers down to the tissue that hurt and that massage helped. Took a break from riding to work also, biking puts pressure on that part of the knee more than running. In any case, a positive sign. 19:27

supernova red -- 142

Perfect running morning, cool with the sun out. More like September weather than the October earlier this week. Slug at the usual place, with Mike. We met up with another guy, Brian, for a few miles in the middle of his run to help us keep to a more even pace. It worked a little, we had one 6:36 mile but the rest of them were between 6:50 and 7:10, with a few right at 7/pace. I felt us pushing on the 6:36, probably because we were talking politics, but the rest felt relaxed and comfortable. I timed my bathroom stop perfectly on the way out, unfortunately the urge came back when I dropped Mike at 12. So the last two miles were a touch short and a little slow because I walked on and off or jogged very slowly as my gut dictated. Other than that a beautiful run. 1:33 total, so I was actually just a bit shy of 14. Still, a good week for me, finally topping 40 miles. Doesn't sound like much but I'm pleased to be there, it took longer than I had planned at the start of summer. I'd like to stay at that amount and slightly above it (in the 50s for 2-3 weeks) through the marathon in October. Most importantly my knee is healthy after that little scare, and my legs held up well to that amount of mileage. So maybe it's ok to be a little conservative, I'll take that ahead of getting hurt.

supernova red -- 156

Poured all of yesterday so it was a cool, damp morning today. Since the plan is to race next Monday, I won't do a real long run Saturday. To still get a solid week of miles I went longer this morning, at least start on the right foot. My legs were a little lethargic to start, but woke up pretty quickly and settled into a comfortable pace. Tracyton Beach road out to the gravel road past Essex, I think it's a bit short of 5 but I add some on to Shore Drive on the return to even things out. Everything felt good, I like starting the week like this. 1:12.

supernova red -- 166

Easy run this morning, another rainstorm last night so it's damp and cool again. 11th-Shore Drive at a comfortable pace, let my legs take it easy before a little workout tomorrow. 36:29.

supernova red -- 171 

Didn't mean to miss yesterday, but something came up at work and then I went to a neighborhood meeting last night that ran late. I may be a bit short of my mileage goal for the week, though I'll try to tack a few easy miles here and there just to get the 40. Weather is improving, now is more like it -- no downpours, but cool and a few clouds.

Kind of a rough run today. Tracyton Beach Road with a 4-mile tinman workout, which didn't sound too intimidating but would still get the heart rate up. The two intro miles were the usual. The first tinman was quick, in part because I was going to stop at the bathroom at the end of it. But the park's facilities were still locked so I just kept going. Whether it was that or just trying to push early in the a.m. I'm not sure, but I really labored through the three other uptempo miles. The spits were 6:07, 6:24, 6:26, 6:28. The three latter miles were consistent and more what my tinman pace should be, but I wasn't real comfortable. Just never got into a good rhythm or felt strong, but I finished and crept home (bathroom still wasn't open on the way back).

supernova red -- 179

Easy afternoon run on a lazy Saturday to cap a week that amounted to fewer miles than I planned. But I'm racing Monday, so I'll chalk it up to a taper and rack 'em up next week instead. Five on the 11th-Shore route, a really nice quiet run and I relaxed, thought about the race and just let my legs be loose. I needed an hour like that after this week. The race is Monday morning, if the weather holds like this it'll be nice. No watch.

supernova red -- 184