Where's the Donuts?

Missed my New Year's Day run (slept in and then had to rush to a birthday party and head north), but made up for it on Jan. 2. Met Krissy and a few guys at a trailhead off N. Lake Samish Road on a cold and clear morning. We cross the street and ran up to private forest land with a ton of trails, most pretty short, windy and connecting. The first hour was a pretty slow pace, went through some snowy areas and hiked a bit up slick hills. Then the second hour we really got going and ran 7 miles in just over an hour on lower elevation trails and the logging roads. It really was a great run, everything felt great though my feet were a little sore at the end. Nothing serious, I just think I'm not used to that time yet. 2:28 total

brooks cascadia 10-- 95

Easy run from my parents house to the SVC trail, but not too long because we had to get to church and it was co-o-old outside (in the 20s, and most of the run was before sunrise). Hoping to get the mileage up some this week, the last two were short of where I'd like to be. 25:40 

brooks cascadia 10 -- 98

About 45 minutes of 2-on-2, and when we finished I ran two miles at a brisk pace on the Y's indoor track. No watch. 

supernova glide 

Four on the Y treadmill, between work and a night meeting. 7:40 pace

Small workout, but the first one in awhile nonetheless. On the Y treadmill in the evening, 1.5 easy (7:45 or so) then 3 miles of tempo (6:53 pace). Then 800 back at 8/min. Felt really good, heart rate stayed right under 160 the whole tempo, and I was pushed a little (in my head) by a few girls doing a 400s workout next to me. 36:00

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11th-Shore Drive in the early morning dark. Felt really springy and strong, which seems good the morning after a tempo run.  I could feel my fitness has improved from a few weeks ago. 

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The sun came out midday, it was one of our really mild January days the PNW gets every once in awhile. The clouds rolled in just as I was getting going though, so it wasn't quite as warm as I would have liked. But still, a shorts run in winter is always nice. 

Out to Tracyton boat launch and back, heading down to Shore Drive on the way in to add a little extra. Out in a little over 36 minutes, then a slightly better pace coming in. 1:14 total, with a stop at the turnaround to look at the mountains. 

My left knee is bothering me a bit, nothing major but I felt soreness yesterday afternoon and evening, and tonight just a slight ache. Could be the shoes, I'm due to start weaning off this pair. But a good week overall, considering I got some tempo and increased mileage and felt good on this run. I'd probably like 1-2 more weeks of training than what's left but I'll do with what we've got. 

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Slightly icy roads for a pre-dawn run, but I got done before the ice-rain started, which was nice. 11th-Shore Drive. On the return on Jacobson my left achilles tightened up quite a bit, enough to concern me. Stretched and massaged some, and it didn't bother me during the day once I got warm. Maybe something to do with me tip-toeing some on the slick roads. At least I'll hope so. 

brooks cascadia -- 105 

Bad night. I had planned a tempo run on the treadmill, but a mile into it my left achilles got sore. Pretty sore too, by mile 2 I needed to quit. So I stretched well and then iced at home. Hoping this can be solved quickly, I was hoping for a better week here. 

supernova glide

No better on the left achilles today, I walked a bit then tried to run slowly on the treadmill. Didn't hurt much until about a mile in, then it was bad enough that I needed to stop. Not sharp pain, but a deep ache that's exacerbated on every step. I stepped off then rode the exercise bike for 6 miles (about 25 mins, heart rate got up to about 135). I'll take it easy another day, keep massaging/icing/ibuprofen, and hope this is just a strain or inflammation. 

Rode the recumbent bike at the Y again, 12 miles this time in about 48 minutes. Stretched, did core, then went over to the indoor track. Walked two laps, then decided to try and run a bit. Made about 4 steps and that was it. Too painful on every step. 

I'm fairly certain this is achilles tendinitis on my left leg. The achilles itself has felt "thick" or a little hard, and now the pain is gradually moving lower, toward my ankle. I'll shut it down a bit and focus on icing/stretching/rest, see how this goes. Keeping somehat fit will be a priority, since I do still have a plane ticket purchased for Japan. I'll reassess the "best case scenario" in a week or so. 

Six miles on the bike at lower pressure, so not to stress my achilles too much (though that keeps my heart rate way down). Then a hike on the backside of Green Mountain for the holiday (they're logging near the top and Vista Loop trail was closed, which is too bad because the sun finally came out a bit). 

I could feel my achilles during the hike, but nothing too painful. I can tell the achilles is loosening somewhat as I ice/stretch/massage. It doesn't have the firm "knot" that was there earlier this week. I hope that's a good sign. 

I didn't get much exercise this week, just rest/ice/stretch for the achilles. Saturday morning I went to the Y for a light recumbent bike ride, and after a few miles everything was feeling fine. Some guys were playing basketball and needed one, so they asked if I'd jump in. I was a little cautious, but decided I'd play slow, and if there was any pain I'd step off right then. I jogged up and down the court without pain, then played 25 or 30 minutes without any problem at all, progressively going a little harder. I tried not to jump much or do anything really abrupt, but my leg really felt fine. Incredibly encouraging. 

Really light, slow run on the Illahee Forest trails, and once again I could go without pain or discomfort (other than in my left foot a bit, but that's a different issue and I think doing nothing for a week has something to do with it). I won't say I'm out of the woods for my achilles, but I'm much more positive about my status now. 

I won't rush anything, right now I'll go with simply running easy and staying healthy for a month before the race. We'll see how long of a run I can get, but right now I'd take 13-15 and feel good about it. I talked to Mike, he's interested in running a slow pace as well. So hopefully I can show up in Toyko with a healthy leg, enough fitness to get through, and just enjoy the experience. 

supernnova glide (blue) -- 2.5

Another easy run, just about 25 minutes on the Y treadmill. Everything felt fine, but there's no reason to rush back and risk aggravating my achilles. I'll slowly build up this week, see how it goes. And I can feel a little lethargy from the week away, which creates a little stress in my legs. 

After the run, stretched thoroughly and did calf raises, squats with the 10-pound med ball, and clam shells (20xeach side) for my hip flexors. Trying to make sure I keep the other areas strong so additional strain doesn't head to my calves. 

My throat starting bothering me at work today, but I thought I'd take a chance to sweat out a potential cold, since those have been going around. Ran 3.5 at the Y, at which point I was pretty tired and my achilles a little tight. Stretched thoroughly then picked up tea/lemons etc. and crashed on the couch. 

Thursday morning I was much worse, however, and the doctor diagnosed a nasty case of strep throat. So I'm out for a few more days, I can't catch a break this month... 

Pretty encouraging run this morning, in light of the past two weeks. It's a sunny, dry, mild day here, one of the Pacific Northwest January days that feels like April. I ran out Trenton to Iallhee State Park, did a loop down to the beach then back up and through the campground, out and back a one-way street near the entrance then back on Trenton. I cut west on 22nd to Perry, then down to Shore Drive and back my usual route. Ran an easy pace, tried to keep my heart rate really low (other than climbing the trail up from the beach, and then on Shore I strided out a bit). 

No achilles pain, which is great, and just a slight tiredness in my left hip flexor, which I've been a little worried about. And my overall energy level was fine, which was a worry after a few days flat on my back. So even though 8 is about half what I'd planned to be doing today, I'll take it. If I can get two more solid runs like this the next two weeks, at least I'll know I can get through Tokyo. 

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Really encouraging run at the Y treadmill after work. Started slowly, but then felt a rhythm and worked my way down to a few 7:45 miles. Felt like I could have kept it up too, which is the good sign. No pain, good energy level. 

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Morning basketball, then 4 after work on the treadmill at a medium pace (slightly sub-8). We ran pretty hard in the morning, it was fun. Everything feeling good. I regret missing a Wednesday run, just too long of a day. Planning to come back with a longer Friday run, then go for 12-plus on Sunday. 

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Hit the treadmill after work (exciting Friday night!) and did another hour-long run. Felt good, found a nice rhythm but nothing fast. I'll try to get two of these each of the next two weeks, good confidence builders for some fitness and that I've built at least a little endurance. 

glide boost blue -- 35

Sunday afternoon run after church and before the Super Bowl, actually a really nice winter afternoon to do something other than eat nacho dip. Mild, some clouds, maybe 55 out. Shorts in February! 

Ran from home out to Tracyton boat launch, with an addition through Lions Park going out/back, plus at Tracyton I went past the boat ramp to the school and then looped back through the neighborhood there. On the return I extended it through Shore Drive to add a few extra minutes as well. Probably around 12 miles total, maybe a touch more since I had a little better pace coming home. But I tried to keep it easy and even. Legs and fitness felt fine, just a little tightness in my right calf at about 1:05 or so. My watch band did break though, so not a perfect day. But I feel good about this run given everything that happened in January and I have some confidence I can cover 26.2 -- it's too bad I have 3 weeks left instead of 6. 

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Another good mid-week treadmill run, I'm finally in a rhythm with these hour-long runs and feeling healthy. Wish I had an extra 2-3 weeks. (But if I was granted that wish, I'd just say the same thing again in 2-3 weeks.) In any case, an easy mile to start, then a little moderate progression run of 3@8, 2@7:41, and 1@7:35, then an easy .5 to finish. 

glide boost blue -- 55

Evening run at the Y. I cut it a little short because my left achilles was tightening up. Spent the extra time stretching and doing some little exercises for it, then iced. 8 minute pace, Matt Becker was there and saddled up on the treadmill next to me, so it was fun to chat with him through the run. 49:00 

glide boost blue -- 61

Set back today. I started off up Jacobson and Trenton for a planned 16-miler, but about 12 minutes in my left achilles tightened up. I stopped and stretched, walked and tried to start again slowly, but this was enough to make me worried. I slowly jogged back, not feeling any better, and ended up walking a few blocks. No reason at that point to do anything worse to it. Hope to ice, stretch, etc. 

So that's frustrating, in light of the progress and my hope for one longer run before the race. It did feel a little tight Thursday, so I'm not completely surprised by the decline. Back to the ice/stretch routine, we'll see what tomorrow brings. In any case I'm going into this marathon way undertrained, so I may as well take a shot at going in healthy. 

The one and only goal was to finish, and maybe have a little fun as well. So a time that's nearly my slowest ever and a last six miles that were torture through cramping and what I suspect is a stress fracture couldn't stop me from smiling. I was able to fly to Japan, run a world major marathon on a perfect weather day, pace my long-time running partner for 25k and made it across the finish line in one piece. Can't complain about that. 

All the sights and sensations of an international marathon on this scale won't fit in this post, but in a quick word it was spectacular. A race with 37,000 is organized flawlessly and on a very large scale -- the expo itself was several floors and the passage from finish line to exit was at least a 1.5-mile walk. Just an incredible production. The citizens of Tokyo love the race, they line every step of the course up until the last kilometer or so (the terrain gets a little weird for spectators as you approach the finish because its kind of industrial), people even prepare their own fruit and treats and hold out platters of aid for you as you wind through the metropolis. There are dancing groups along the course, traditional drummers, some choirs, and one beat-up old boom box playing a scratchy version of "Eye of the Tiger" on repeat. And because there are two turnarounds on the point-to-point course, you get to watch the Kenyans/Ethiopians and Japanese Olympic qualifiers zip by, which is a little motivational burst. In short, toss your name into the lottery if you like a little adventure and want an experience. 

I entered because my long-time running partner has lived in Japan the past 18 months, and he wanted to try this race. So I had friends to stay with and help navigate some of the logistics (hotels, places to eat, airport pickups). I had been resting the previous 10 days or so after the tendinitis re-emerged, and was pretty nervous on the flight over. My left calf just didn't feel right, and it's not like you stretch out much on a 9-hour overnight plane ride.  But I jogged 20 minutes the day after landing and that went fine, if a little stiff. I iced a few more times, tried to keep loose, and even decided to run in tights as a precaution (weather called for a start-time temperature in the 40s, and I didn't want to risk freezing up while waiting an hour outside). 

Weather predictions turned out to be a little aggresive, and it was sunny and mid-40s, actually very nice. Still didn't hurt to wear the pants, because once packed into our gate we were stuck for about 40 minutes and much of the course is in shadows due to Tokyo's tall buildings. The start was a bit affair, singing and ceremony maybe 75 meters ahead of us, and they shot cannons full of paper hearts to send us off with the gun. 

Mike and I wound through crowds for at least the first 3k, it's a packed race and even in an early gate there's plenty of variation in pace. By 3k we settled into a nice pace (other than one 90-second potty stop, because the lines were too long before the race) and actually held right at it (around 7:20 miles, though I measured kilometers because those were the signs) until 25k. Mike needed the pacing, he later told me he struggled to get going and felt really sluggish the first half. We hit the half-marathon at 1:40, after running past the Imperial Palace and seeing the leaders zip past. I was happy with every step, knowing my achilles was on borrowed time. I was counting on the magic of adrenaline and the couple of ibruprofen stashed in my pocket. 

At 25k my body reminded me that 12 miles had been my long run in training. I knew it, and backed off while Mike kept right on and surged his pace a bit. I was in "management" mode, and that was fine. I knew it would be tough from there and didn't want a crash landing. I backed off to something closer to 7:50/min miles and held those until mile 20 -- where, as you can imagine, my body made another clear announcement. 

The final six are always difficult enough, but especially when you're running on limited endurance and fitness. I began to cramp, first in the right hamstring, then the left, then both quads. It was pretty rough. I stopped to stretch and a volunteer (there may have been 100,000 of them) was immediately by my side. I smiled and said I could make it, and I started again, though the cramps would be severe enough to bring me to a quick stop a few more times. But I always recovered from them, and walked every aid station, and eventually I was home. Running kilometers is nice, actually, because they count down more quickly than miles. Using the "just get to the next one" strategy in my head was a little easier. I ran across the line among people falling over in exhaustion, looked out across Tokyo Bay to the "Dragon Bridge" and smiled really big. 

Mike had finished in 3:21, a little slow for his expectations, after cramping and slowing at mile 23. His wife Tracy was behind us, coming just over 4 hours. We caught our breath and rested in a large auditorium for the Tokyo Big Sight convention center, and eventually made our way out to the food carnival (post-race: coffee, fish and chips, and two onigiri rice balls) and then took the train/subway back to Hiro. Celebration dinner was an okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake with pork and shrimp and egg) and the richest hot chocolate I've ever tasted. After everything this winter, I think I had earned it. 

supernova glide blue -- 93

Hiked Mt. Inari in Kyoto, which was absolutely torture on my quads, both up and down. Yikes. But I had to get some sight-seeing in. So cold compared to Sunday, which meant we truly were blessed with a good weather race day. 

Another half day of hiking up shrines and parks in frigid Kyoto. Legs a little less sore, though not exactly enjoying all the stairs that subway stations feature. The escalators only seem to go up! Don't they know "down" is the direction that hurts?! 

(Ultimately all that walking was a really good thing, and by Thursday my legs weren't sore at all.) 

In Yokosuka, an easy morning run on the boardwalk at Mabori-kaigon. Sunny and brisk, and my legs loosened up after a mile or so. Still some aches and pains (left ankel and right shin/top of foot) but most soreness has worked itself out. 

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Easy afternoon run in Illahee Preserve, back at home and somewhat back on Pacific Standard Time. All soreness is now gone, a week after the race. My ankel and foot didn't bother me at all either, though I can feels some little twings when stretching. A little low on energy yet, but that'll come back soon enough. No watch. 

supernova glide blue 

Now that the race is behind me, and hopefully the frustrations that led up to it, my goals are to be consistent for the next two months in the 30-35 mpw range, strength train once a week, add a little speed work and stay healthy. Jaguars track season begins in a week, so at least I'll be out on the track with the kids a few times a week. 

Wet and windy morning, ran an abbreviated version of a Shore Drive loop. Left ankle is still pretty sore. 

brooks cascadia 10

Evening run at the Y on the treadmill, 8/min pace for about 30 minutes. A little stiff in the ankle and then just a bit on my left achilles/calf. 

supernova glide blue -- 107

Warren-Manette bridges loop on a quiet, damp morning. Cut it off a little early and walked in about half a mile, my ankle bugged me the whole time and then a little hip pointer developed. I'm just not all healed yet (at least I hope that's all it is). I didn't feel quite as wiped as I have on other runs post-marathon, so hopefully I'm recovering some energy now. 

supernova glide blue -- 111

Morning basketball 

Bremerton Jaguars season has begun! I ran about 2 miles with two of the middle school boys on our team, around an 8/min pace, then two laps of 100m stride/jog/stride/jog. 

Morning basketball 

Illahee Preserve in the morning, quiet in there. 33:00

supernova glide blue

Morning basketball, ran full court for an hour. I didn't get a run in afterward because the day was packed wire-to-wire. So a little underwhleming for mileage this week, but I did exercise five days and other than a little ankle stiffness hanging around, I feel fine. 

Rainy afternoon so I went up to the Y and ran for 30 minutes. 

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Morning run and my left ankle and achilles took awhile to warm up. Still pretty stiff when I wake up. 

Through Manette on 11th, over the Manette Bridge and then looped around Evergreen, stopped and checked out the new dock. Then back the same way. 30:00 

supernova glide blue -- 124

Only two of us showed for morning hoops, so after Grant and I shot jumpers for awhile I went and ran two miles on the treadmill, then went to work. 

supernova glide blue 

Quick loop at Illahee, then as I started for a second loop I ran into Jon Buesch, walking his dog. I stopped to say hello, and half an hour later we were still there talking. So I figured it was time to bag the run and go get some dinner. 

About 3 after Jaguars practice. Warren-Manette bridges loop from Bremerton High. 24:00 

supernova glide

Morning basketball