I missed hockey again

I used to play floor hockey at the local YMCA every Thursday evening, but I had to miss it tonight because of a rollout for work. I missed the last two as well, because I was feeling too tired from a run earlier each day. I'm enjoying running so much though that I'd rather miss hockey than miss a run! It's hard enough having to take a day off each week for rest.

I've been running at 10AM most days now, as that coincides with lunch hour on the east coast (where my clients are). I've been trying to run an hour each day, which is roughly my time for 10km. I love running in the morning in the fall in Edmonton, when the air is still chilly from the overnight lows. I wish the weather could stay like this all year!

My legs seem to be getting more adapted to running. I no longer feel any pain in my shins after each run. My hips feel a little tender immediately after running, but they feel normal by the time I get out of the shower or shortly thereafter.

I ran 10km this morning in about 1hr03 I think, which was about 4 minutes slower than yesterday. I was taking the pace a bit slower as I just didn't seem to have the energy I did yesterday morning. The run brought me up to just under 150km in September. I won't be able to this month, but I'd like to see if I can get up to 200km in October.

Pretty good week

It's been a while since I last posted - over a week - and I've put on quite a few kilometers. I ran about 47 kilometers since I last posted, including two 7km runs in the last 24 hours.

My Nike Plus challenge continues to be a strong motivating factor. A couple of runners in the challenge logged 20km+ days last week to jump way ahead. I'm in third place right now, but there's a gap of over 10km between me and the top two, and there are about 7 runners within 10km of me, so it should be a good run to the finish between now and September 30.

I was talking with my brother and father over the weekend, and they're both running regularly as well. My brother has been interval training, but he's developed shin splints and may slow it down a touch (like I have) to try to recover. My dad runs an hour a day 5 days a week.

My wife also signed up for a gym membership on Friday, and she's got an appointment with a trainer three times a week.

All in all, with Nike Plus and all the people working out around me in my family, I've got a lot of motivating factors to keep me running. I haven't felt this good in a long time (aside from the occasional complaints from my legs). I also can't remember a time that I've kept consistently running for this long, so hopefully I can keep it going.

Pain in my shin

I haven't been running as much as I'd like to recently. I took Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday off, as the inside of my left shin was very, very sore after my run on Thursday night. It wasn't anything like the shin splints I've had before.

I ran on Tuesday and Wednesday this week though (5km on Tuesday, 3km on Wednesday), but I deliberately slowed my pace from what I had been doing the week before. So far, my legs aren't complaining. I'm going to run again tonight, and I'll be keeping it slow again. I'd like to do 5km again, but I'll slow to a walk or stop altogether if I start feeling pain like I was last week.

I'm in a Nike Plus challenge right now - most km in September among a group of about 15 people. I was invited by someone that I met on the Cool Running boards. So far I'm not doing very well due to the four days I took off, but hopefully my legs will behave and I'll be able to narrow the gap.

Overall, I'm still feeling great - I no longer huff and puff throughout my runs, and I feel like I could actually carry on a normal conversation if I was running with someone. I'm not feeling lethargic anymore. Now if only my legs hadn't betrayed me. :-)

Sushiberry: A blog for discussion of baby toys, clothing, accessories, etc

My wife and I have started a new blog where we post and discuss items of interest to us, and hopefully other parents as well. Please visit us at Sushiberry!

We'll also be opening up an online store where we will sell some of our creations - things like handcrafted shopping seat covers to keep baby safe from bacteria, handcrafted bibs to keep baby stylish while keeping clothes clean, and assorted other handcrafted goodies.

Oh, and I have been running - but more on that later. :-)

Back from Virginia

I got back from my business trip yesterday. I was only able to run once while I was on the trip, and put in 5km at a slower than usual pace. I don't remember my time, but it was over 30 minutes.

Actually, I ran twice. On Tuesday night, I had to run from one side of O'Hare airport in Chicago to the other, only to find that I missed my flight by about 2 minutes. Running with two bags is not fun.

I'm going to hit the road tonight again. Not sure if I'll put in 3km or 5km; it'll depend on how my legs feel once I start running again.

Day off

I took the day off from running yesterday to give my body a chance to recharge. Unfortunately, I was travelling by plane most of the day yesterday, and I'm not sure how much a body can recharge while being crammed into coach class airline seats and uncomfortable airport seats for most of the day.

I'll probably do a short run on the treadmill at the hotel tonight, maybe 3km or so, depending on what my body tells me. I forgot my gym shorts and shirt at home, so I'll have to wear the shorts and t-shirt that I wore on the plane yesterday.

Ouch

I was a bit concerned after my run tonight. I planned on doing a 3km run followed by a 1 or 2 km cool down. However, after the 3km, I started walking and found that my shins were hurting. The pain felt different than when I had shin splints early in the week, and didn't go away nearly as quickly. However, as I write this the pain is completely gone. I'll have to read up on running injuries to make sure that this doesn't sound like anything serious, and I'll go see my doctor if it reoccurs.

On the plus side, I set three personal bests today: best 1km time (4:46), best 1 mile time (8:22), and best 3km workout (16:29). I'm actually pretty sure that these are not my all-time bests, but they're the best times I've had since I've started running again. I once did a 6:23 mile according to one of my gym teachers, but it wasn't on a real track. Looking back, I'm pretty sure that the measurement of the area we were running on was less than accurate. :-)

I'm going on a business trip tomorrow through late Tuesday night; as a result, I will likely only be able to run on Monday night. I could always switch my schedule to a morning run, but I don't think that's going to happen. My work day already starts at 7AM, and it's hard enough for me to drag myself out of bed for that. :-) The days off are probably just what I need though - I've definitely overdone it a bit over the last week, and I don't want to end up injuring myself and losing my running groove.

Back on the road

After a two day hiatus from running outside, I hit the road again tonight. I found a trail that goes down into an abandoned campground in a ravine formed by a creek near my home. It was so much nicer running on the trails than running through the concrete jungle of suburbia!

I did my first real hill training - the first hill was down into and back out of the campground, and then I ran down into and out of two smaller parks that center on ponds in my subdivision. I'm sure it doesn't compare to the kinds of hills that are in races, but it as still a good test for me. I'm a long way from racing anyway. :-)

I also tried something called "fartlek" that I learned about on Cool Running. It's essentially throwing sections of much faster pace running throughout the workout. I mostly did this in the last 2 km of the run.

I ran/walked a total of 7.79km today in a time of 47'55" (almost all running; I think I walked a total of about 400 or 500 meters). My 5km time was 28'45; not quite my best 5km time yet. It was my longest run yet, and the second fastest pace I've kept (6'08" per km). The only time I kept a faster pace over the course of the workout was in my third run, which was only 5.92km.

Today I also met another beginning runner that is setting up a Nike+ challenge. It will be to see who can run the most miles in September. It should be another nice motivator to keep logging the miles.

Floor hockey

I took a day off from running yesterday - sort of. I played floor hockey at the YMCA for the first time in many months. I probably put in about 30 minutes of actual time on the floor before I had to leave to do a rollout for work.

I was a little sore when I came last night. I guess all the sudden changes of direction cause me to use different muscles than I use when running. I don't feel too bad at all this morning though.

I'll be playing floor hockey most Thursday nights from now on. It's a nice change of pace from running.

At the gym

It was raining outside today, so I ran at the gym. I ran 3km (16'42"), then walked and ran another 1.5km. The total workout time was a bit under 29 minutes.

I tried to keep my pace down by not looking at my pace or the time at all while running this time, thinking that keeping my eye off the clock would keep me from racing the clock. It didn't work; I took two minutes off my previous 3km time.

Also, I think my Nike + iPod kit is still not quite calibrated right. The gym's track is supposed to be 9 laps per km, but I ran a bit over 10 laps before my iPod told me I had run 1km. Oh well - I'd rather that it be underestimating how far I've run than overestimating.

Much better

My legs are feeling much better this morning. I'm going to try running again this evening. I'll probably do a 3km run, but if my shins start hurting again I'll slow down or walk if necessary.

I'm going to be playing floor hockey for the first time in months tomorrow night, which should be a good test of stamina. Usually only about 10-15 people show up during the summer months; if that holds true tomorrow, I'll get about an hour to an hour and a half of running back and forth on the gym floor. Should be a good test of stamina.

Whoops

I did another 5km run today, followed by just over two kilometers of combined walking and running (about 1km of each). My 5km time was 29'00", and my total workout time was about 42 minutes.

I got shin splints about midway through my run, so I slowed down for about 1.5km until they had mostly gone away, and then sped up for the last kilometer. However, my shins are still sore; I think I overdid it a bit. I'm going to try to slow it down a bit tomorrow, and I'll probably just do a 3km workout. I may take a day off depending on how my legs are feeling tomorrow - I don't want to risk a real injury.

Going bananas

I read an interesting post on Cool Running today:

the perfect fruit - the banana (interesting facts)

However, when I was doing a little searching for more information about the health benefits of bananas, I found this:

or maybe not?

It might not be the wonderfood that the eRumor suggests, but I think I might try what one of the Cool Runners does and eat a half a banana before running and the other half after running. Bananas have got to be healthier than what I usually eat.

Ugh... tar

I decided to run out in the countryside south of the city today. Unfortunately the road was recently oiled, and smelled of tar. I think I'll take a different route tomorrow.

My legs are starting to feel better after each run; my body is obviously getting used to it again. It felt a lot better running today than the first two times. I also felt a lot more energized during the day today than I had at work prior to my vacation - I think it's a combination of the time off and my improving state of fitness.

My run was 5.92km in 35'12", with a 5km time of 28'26". I broke 5 minutes in the first kilometer (4'58"), my first sub five minute time since I started running again.

Thanks Lance!

My legs weren't as bad as I thought they would be today, so I ran another 5km run. My 5km time was 29'44", and I also ran an additional 400m before running the 5km to calibrate my nike + ipod kit. All told I ran/walked something like 6.6km.

When I was finished, Lance Armstrong congratulated me on my longest workout yet. Yesterday Paula Radcliffe did the same. I wonder what other goodies of congratulation the nike+ipod kit has in store for me. Nike and Apple did a great job putting this little gizmo together.

It's a clear day here in Edmonton, but I'm back at work bright and early at 7AM tomorrow, so I don't think I'll look at the skies tonight. By mid-september the sun will be going down early enough that I should be able to squeeze some running and stargazing in on clear nights like tonight.

5k!

I ran 5km tonight. It was my and my 7 month old daughter's first 5km run (and the first time I've actually jogged with our jogging stroller). My total workout was 5.43km in 38'42", with a 5km time of 33'55" (I walked the last 0.43km).

I wonder what additional impact pushing a jogging shoulder has on running? I would assume that it increases the exertion required, but I'm not sure by how much.

It feels great to be running again, although I'm sure my legs are going to be complaining tomorrow morning. As tomorrow is Sunday, I probably will be taking the day off from running, and I'm sure my legs won't mind too much.

Off and running

I've been running off and on throughout my life. I was a pretty decent middle distance runner in junior high and high school, but fell out of practice in university. I'm now 31, married with 4 young girls, and I've allowed myself to become a couch potato.

Over the years I've tried to get back into running, and have gone through many cycles of starting, trying too hard, and giving up in a few weeks. This time I started with taking my baby daughter on walks at least once a day throughout my two week vacation, and today I took my first run (3.02 km in 19'45"). I'm determined to stick with it this time, and whip myself back into shape.