Month: June 2018

Hot and Short – RunLog 6-30-18

On By Harold L. ShawIn runlog

I planned on cutting back a little on the mileage today, since by the time I got done with Bennie’s long walk and stuf, the temps were already in the 80’s and I wasn’t feeling the best this morning – that issue I don’t talk about too much decided to raise its ugly head. With that combination, I try to take it a bit easier.

Going down back wasn’t an option and with not feeling super, I decided that I would do laps on top. That way if I decided that I wanted to cut my 3.0 miler short, I could stop pretty quickly and not have that long of a walk back to the house.

I didn’t attempt to do a fast run in that kind of heat, but I did run a little faster each mile and finished fairly respectably. Actually, the run felt pretty good and I felt better after I got done than I did before I started. A really good thing, but with the heat, I wasn’t going to run any further today.  Continue reading “Hot and Short – RunLog 6-30-18” →

Quarry Road Exploration – RunLog 6-29-18

On By Harold L. ShawIn runlog, Running

Well I am back to just writing a RunLog versus a marathon training log and you know something, after sleeping on it – it was the only choice that I really had to keep moving forward.

Things are looking up, I signed up for the Friends of the 4th 5K over in Winthrop tonight and am thinking about other races that I would not be doing if I had continued with my marathon training.

So I do think some good will come out of it. I might just race a little more.

Continue reading “Quarry Road Exploration – RunLog 6-29-18” →

Decision Day Came and Went Quietly – RunLog 6-28-18

On By Harold L. ShawIn runlog1 Comment

Well there I made the decision that I wasn’t going to train for a marathon this summer. You can read about it here if you would like.

It basically came down to the old body not being up to the task. My right hip just is not right and the bigger miles were starting to bother it too much – to the point where there was too much discomfort even when I wasn’t running.

So what did I do today?

Nothing.

Well I still did some things. I walked Bennie a few times, did a walk in the rain and that is about it. I worked on my old ASUS laptop and got it going pretty well again – at least until it stops working the next time.

Then I rested the mind and the body.

It was really what was needed.

I guess Mary was more than a little worried about my marathon training plans and let me know that she was relieved that I had decided to not continue any further. She is more than willing to support me for a half marathon, but like she said, the full marathon might be a bit too much for the old body and some of my other medical issues that I don’t talk too much about.

Happy wife, happy life 🙂

Tomorrow will start the next phase in my running, I am still not sure what my goal will be, but it will include some longer runs – once the hip is back to feeling up to it. Probably a bit more speed stuff for 5k and under racing which seems to be my stronger suite. Then in the fall I will probably do the Rail Trail half marathon, in mid September. Who knows I might even find a road 10K to play on.

I do know that I will keep running trails, because they do not beat me up nearly as badly, force me to slow down and enjoy the running more. I can feel how running the trails over at Quarry Road is strengthening the old body quite a bit. I did find a pair of new trail running shoes on the door step this afternoon that might convince me that trail running is a good thing.

Yes, I am disappointed and a little down about my decision, but I will fight with a few Orcs, have a bowl of ice cream and think about how I will train to move the old body faster than it has gone for a while.

All in all I am good with my decision – after all it was the only one that made sense.

Time to keep moving forward.

Sometimes Reality Sucks Donkeyballs

On By Harold L. ShawIn marathon training, Running6 Comments

This kind of post is the hardest type for me to write. In them I am admitting to failing yet again and it does not matter the reasons or how good they might be, it was not what I wanted, but it is what I need to do.

Earlier in June, with great fanfare I decided that I was going to jump into the marathon training pool and run the Maine Marathon on September 30th. However, I did that with one caveat, that I could weasel out if at the end of June, if my body was not holding up to the training.

Guess what.

Those are storm clouds coming in and they are pretty fitting of how this marathon training cycle has gone.

Yeah, said body ain’t doing so great. Continue reading “Sometimes Reality Sucks Donkeyballs” →

A Nice Recovery Run & Critters – MT WK4 D3

On By Harold L. ShawIn marathon training, Running

After last night’s trail run, I won’t really call it a race although I ran with other runners. 😉 Although I gotta admit that I was still a bit more sore than I expected. My left quad/knee were a bit sore, but the right upper calf and below the knee still is more sore than I want, along with my right hip issue which is not getting any better.

When we were coming out of the house for Bennie’s long walk this morning, this critter was lounging at the end of the front step. Thankfully, I saw it before I stepped down, otherwise I might have done one of those four foot leaps in the air.

No, I am not a fan of any kind of snake.

On Bennie’s long walk yesterday down on the ledges we saw four chickens wandering around. We kind of thought that some probably dropped them off down-back either because they were not laying anymore or were just developing combs and were overly aggressive. It turned out that they were just developing combs, but were not all that aggressive, just very skittish. When we walked back down there this morning they were still there, so they were a drop off to survive in the wild. Continue reading “A Nice Recovery Run & Critters – MT WK4 D3” →

Quarry Road 8K Trail Race – MT WK4 D2

On By Harold L. ShawIn Central Maine Striders, marathon training, Quarry Road Trail Race, Running

Today was Quarry Road’s 8K trail race and it is the hardest for me. The big hills on the South and North loops kick my butt and then the two trails along the river finish the butt kicking.

So tonight, I looked at this race as simply a training run and didn’t have any big expectations, other than to finish and have as much fun as I could have running up and down hills on trails in 82*F and bright sunshine. Continue reading “Quarry Road 8K Trail Race – MT WK4 D2” →

Tempo Pacing – MT WK4 D1

On By Harold L. ShawIn marathon training

Since tomorrow night’s Quarry Road trail race will be an 8K, I decided to do my faster pace work this morning. Notice that I said faster pace, that is faster for me, not you or anyone else.

After Mary and I did Bennie’s long walk, I got changed up and looked at the shoe rotation and decided to take the Brooks Green Silence out for a longer run than usual. I had planned on 4-5 miles and was leaning more towards the 5.0. I wanted to see how they would do on a slightly longer run.

I started out quick, but it was more of a comfortably hard than race pace. I was attempting to maintain the effort level for a longer time than simply running fast. Which is one of my weaknesses that I need to work on. That being able to focus on a maintaining a faster pace without slowing down too much.

The first couple of miles I was able to keep the sub 8:00 pace without too many problems and got through the 5K the second fastest time according to Garmin this year in training. However, I did slow down a bit more than I wanted on that little bump coming off Tiffany to the dirt road.

Then going up Stevens Hill I maintained good running form even though I did slow down a LOT more than I wanted to – that is something I am going need to work on – maintaining pace going up hills.

During the last mile I picked the pace back up, but didn’t quite get back under 8:00.

The Green Silence handled the pace easily and did well with the distance. Although the left forefoot started to get a little – not sore but just the start of some discomfort??? Once I got off Stevens Hill and picked the pace back up, it stopped bothering. Right now I wouldn’t hesitate to use the Green Silence for anything up to a 10K and if I loose 10-15 pounds would use them for a Half Marathon. They just feel comfortable for me.

This afternoon, I had my acupuncture appointment and relaxed while I got needled. Couldn’t resist – sorry not sorry.

After I finished I had planned on doing an doing an easy 3.0 on the rail trail, but with a pretty intense thunder storm blowing through at that time, I decided that discretion was the better part of valor. Although I by the time I got over to Leighton Road, the sun was out.

Believe it or not I enjoyed the faster pace this morning, I know that I am bit sick in the head for saying that, but I have always enjoyed running faster. It was also a huge confidence builder as far as how the body felt. The right hip was just a little sore, but not as bad as last week and the left Achilles/ankle felt pretty good.

So I think I am pretty ready for that 8K trail race tomorrow and the hills will kick my butt, but I will run them the best I can. It is going to be a good week.

Three Weeks In – Marathon Training Week In Review 6/24/18

On By Harold L. ShawIn marathon training, Running

Okay, the good news first is that I have successfully made it through three weeks of my marathon training, gotten my mileage up to 40 miles and completed an 11.0 mile long run. Those are all very good things and best of all, I haven’t had to resort to the elliptical to get in my weekly mileage.

I also figured out that while the Topo Ultra Fly’s are a good running shoe, they are also a hybrid shoe that can do many things well, but does nothing great. In other words I have other shoes in my rotation that are better for what I use them for than the Ultra Fly’s. However, for running…well other than going fast, the Ultra Fly’s are a very good multi-purpose running shoe that will be a part of my rotation, but more as a truck running shoe (ready for most anything), than a primary piece of the puzzle.

Moving Forward Towards The Marathon

Please do not think I am being negative when I write about what is going on in my head below, it is necessary for me discuss things openly and to be objective, and even realistic about my marathon training and how my body is responding to it.

Now for the bad news, each of my long runs has gotten worse, not better. By the end of the runs my left Achilles/ankle area and right hip bother more than I want to admit. Then continue to bother even when I am not running. While the hamstring has healed and is no longer a problem, those other two issues have been problems for years, not just something that are a recent development.

The other training runs have been pretty good, it is when I get past the 6-7 mile point that they bothered and got progressively worse as the distance increases. By 8-11 miles while the discomfort is not really enough to make me stop – I have to go into suck-it-up mode to keep going.

However, the discomfort levels I experienced at the end of my last two long runs are not something that I want to deal with every time I have a long run scheduled over the next 12 weeks. Especially, when I know the runs are going to get progressively longer as I get further into the training plan.

That was the bad news.

Keeping it Positive

However, as a part of attempting to keep moving forward with my marathon training, I have broken out the shoes that I had been saving to run in on Marathon Sunday. My Skechers GoRun Ride 7’s – the gray ones I got last month. I ran several long runs in my blue GRR7’s without too many issues and have had a couple of very promising runs last week in them.

Especially, a 6.0 miler after my long run on Thursday that was one of the better and most discomfort-free runs I have had in a while. So I am very hopeful that they are part of the solution for me to be able to run long runs without significant discomfort or injuring myself.

I need to see if it is an equipment solveable issue or if the body just is not able to withstand the rigors of longer distances at this point in my life. If the GRR7’s allow me to run longer distances relatively discomfort-free from my problem areas that will be a great thing.

If they work, I will go out and buy another pair of GRR7’s specifically for Marathon Sunday. The other runs, I can get by with the shoes that are in my current rotation pretty well.

The reality is that

No, I am not giving up yet, but this coming week will be my decision week. I knew that when I started this training plan that I would have a pretty good idea of how my body would be handling the mileage, especially the long runs, that are a part of training for a marathon after the fourth week and would have a decision to make then.

By this coming Thursday afternoon – after I do a planned half marathon distance (13.1 miles) training run in my GRR7’s, I will know a lot better whether I will keep moving forward with my marathon training plans or make the choice to move on to a different goal.

This is not the seeds of doubt coming to fruition or the demons of my mind telling me I cannot do the marathon training. This is me facing reality and attempting to make some changes that will allow me to continue towards finishing my marathon goal or facing the fact that unfortunately, I might be one of those runners who cannot train/run a marathon, without creating too many problems for myself.

I am not going to injure myself or take chances on my long term running, just to run a marathon this Fall.

Decision week is here.

Doing Battle with Winged Critters – MT WK3 D7

On By Harold L. ShawIn Running

Usually the day after a rest day, I have a good run…well today was no exception. Yeah, I had a pretty good run down to Pepin and back up Philbrick Hill. Nope, I didn’t set any course personal bests or cruise to any land speed records, it was simply a good run.

Let’s back up a little.

Mary went over to SD2’s walk the dogs with her, so Bennie and I were left to figure things out for ourselves. So I let him decide on where to go this morning – mmmm big mistake.

He wanted to head down-back, which is usually my preferred place to take him. Unfortunately, last night it rained quite a bit – nope it wasn’t muddy, but those flying critters that want to suck your blood were massed to attack Continue reading “Doing Battle with Winged Critters – MT WK3 D7” →