John Kerl’s exercise log

Ran 4.5 miles, same M.O. as last time. :)

Ran 4 miles with the dog, and with the kids biking. We did several stops, of course, but it was a creative way to accomplish several things at once and have a good time doing so. :)

Ran 4.5 miles, at an easy pace with stretch/walk after each mile. The new chi-running form feels quite nice. It had been raining lightly all morning; by afternoon it was just cool, damp, and cloudy. Maybe 50° or so ... beautiful winter weather.

Biked 20 miles total — over to campus, shopping at Palo Verde & Ajo, a spin around the park, groceries, and home. It was a cloudy, somewhat chilly late autumn day — gorgeous. Also I walked the dog a couple miles, with PFs feeling fine. :)

Ran 2 miles — my right PF felt good during, but touchy afterward. I’d gone three days in a row without feeling my PFs at all, including a long walk Saturday. Gah! This is so slow to recover from.

Ran 3 quarter-miles. My right PF was feeling good all day; there was the faintest echo of is-it-there-or-not. So I walked a bit at the track and stretched, then did the three quarters with stretches between each. After the first two I couldn’t feel the right PF at all; after the third I could tell it was there so I stopped. :)

Today was the Tucson Half Marathon and Tucson Marathon ... I didn’t run the HM, of course, but helped out at an aid station which was at HM mile 4 and FM mile 17. I saw Dave, Roxanne, and Tina on the road and was able to give them a quick go-get-em. This was my first time volunteering (as well as my first time skipping a race due to injury) — the former is definitely something to do again, and the latter isn’t all bad. :)

S was kind enough to drop me off; for fun, I biked back home — a familiar route down Oracle, then Skyline and Swan. Mostly downhill but with headwind — a gorgeous ride on a cloudy, about-to-rain day.

Ran 2 miles, then swam 40 minutes. The right PF problem is improving after the last week’s 11-miler but it’s not back to normal. Tonight it felt OK on the run, but not so good after. So, I won’t do the HM on Sunday. (I did the 2 miles tonight as a test-drive before the HM.)

The PF thing — which has happened several times now — is annoying. It goes from good to bad very suddenly over a run, with little warning, and then it’s unpleasant for several weeks. Gah. Well, I don’t want to miss the relay. It’s better to play it safe for now, than to push it this weekend and turn a minor problem into a major one. And, I’ll still go to the race route to cheer on Dave and Tina — it’s his first HM and her first FM. :)

OK, so about the PFs: perhaps I’ve finally learned my lesson. I did almost all 11 miles last week landing forefoot first. That puts tension on the PFs and they get inflamed, due to microtears at one end — in my case (and, as it turns out, for most people), at the heel end. Physically this is not only plausible, but obvious: the PFs connect forefoot to heel; the foot attaches to the rest of the body at the heel; landing forefoot first puts tension on the PFs; they can only take so much tension. (The irony is that when the heel end feels sore, one is tempted to walk on the ball of the foot.)

Recovery: rest (this is not news to me, of course), ice after exertion (not news), walking heel first (news), stretching calves & PFs regularly (not news — I’ve been doing this religiously for several weeks now anyway), and not wearing flip-flops (not news).

Why was I doing forefoot-first last week? (a) Running heel-first is like riding the brake pedal; running with forefoot-first is like riding the gas pedal. The latter feels easier and more right, and it’s quicker. (b) Heel-first uses the shins; forefoot-first uses the calves. The latter are the bigger and stronger muscles. So, I always prefer to run forefoot-first as much as possible ... and my calves are strong enough now that I could do 11 miles of forefoot-first last week.

I need to accept — having strained my PFs so many times now that I’ve lost count — that I cannot run forefoot-first for any extended period. Perhaps for no more than a 5K, if even that. This is the way my body is; this is a limitation I need to live within.

Ran 11 miles, in preparation for the half marathon. Two races in two weeks is too close together — but it’s an adventure. I felt quite good throughout, except for two things: A blister on the second toe of my right foot started up about mile 4 or 5. And, the old spot on my right foot where the plantar fasciae attach to the heel got sore in the last two miles.

This will be my longest run before the HM, which is 12 days away — Sunday evening I’ll do a few miles, and Tuesday a week from today I’ll do another longish run — but shorter and quicker than tonight.

Today was the big day — my first bike race. It was a blast! I did 66 miles in 4:10, which is 16 m.p.h., and a bit faster than I’d planned. But we had a long walk (15 minutes) through the Sabino Creek riparian area, and there were several stops for wrecks and/or traffic lights. So, taking off a mile distance and 20 minutes time, it was more like 65 miles in 3:50 — 17.5 m.p.h. This was a real surprise.

There are two reasons: (1) it was a race and I was pushing it much more than usual; (2) the power of riding in a pack. I’d thought ahead of time that I’d find 2-3 other people, and leapfrog with them the whole way. But as it turned out, the packs were ad-hoc and dynamic. I’d get behind someone and relax a bit there. One must be highly aware, since to get the draft effect one must be very close to the bike in front — within a foot or two. Then after recovering a bit I’d pull out past into the open air and let someone else draft me for a while if they liked. There was one guy in particular around the halfway point — I was on his tail several times, and he was on mine several times. We never said a word to each other, but we sure helped each other out. At stops (most traffic lights were held for us, but there were a few), people would bunch up — when we got going again, there would be a long line of cyclists all riding single file, all furrowing through the air together.

There was one hard but short hill at the beginning, and some up-and-down rollers. But there were many miles of long, gentle downhill — I could put it in high gear, tuck down, and fly.

My legs tired toward the end, of course, but my lower back and neck hurt the most by far. I definitely need to get my bike fitted to me — I’ve been think of this as a nice-to-do for some months, but now I realize it’s a must-do.

I am definitely doing the full 109-mile El Tour next year! :)

The tour is Saturday — I am excited! Dave is not riding; Matt is doing the 37-miler. So, I’m going it solo. Hopefully on race day I’ll find someone to draft with.

My last hard-ish ride (an hour stationary-biking, plus the daily commute) was Monday. Today I ran a quick 2 miles at the track — just to keep my lower legs familiar with the concept of running this week. :)

An hour of stationary biking — my last real bike workout pre-tour. Also half an hour in the pool because it felt so very nice. :) I’d have liked to have worked in another long ride before the tour, but those are awkward to schedule and things have been crazy: I need 4-5 consecutive daylight hours with no other obligations ... .

A quick mid-day workout — 2 miles at the track and half an hour in the pool.

Ran 7 miles at the track. I’d not run over 5 miles in a while, so it’s time to put in a few longer runs in preparation for the Half.

Biked 55 miles — up to Oracle Junction (79/77 junction) and back. It was a beautiful day for it. A wee chilly — I kept my ears and fingers covered. It was pretty easy; it took 4:05 including bio stops and some traffic lights. That’s about 14 m.p.h. For El Tour I should be able to do that, or maybe 15 m.p.h. — so, 67 miles in about 4 1/2 hours.

4 miles at the gym, mixed paces; also 40 minutes in the pool afterward. The long ride Sunday didn’t happen due to a schedule change — I will do it Friday.

Grant, Dave, and I (grad-school classmates and Ragnar-Relay teammates) are doing the Tucson Half Marathon Dec. 7 — a month away. That’s a bit soon, but now that I am in solid cross-training shape, and have finally gotten the stretching thing figured out, I think it will be OK.

3 miles at an easy pace, since I’m taking a long bike ride tomorrow. Thursday, I spent half an hour in the pool, along with the normal bike commute and 11 sim-miles on a stationary bike. I’ll be doing a bit more of that leading up to El Tour — long rides are good and important, but with stop lights it’s hard to get my heart rate up and keep it there.

5 miles, 9:00-ish pace. Beautiful weather for it. :) I got new pair of shoes today — and it’s about time. I’ve had the previous pair since last August; I estimate I put about 600 miles on them. Yikes!

Today at the pool, 24 laps plus drill; Friday, 4 laps breaststroke and 28 crawl with no drill — all form and length-of-stroke, with no concern for the clock on the wall whatsoever. :)

It’s official — I will be doing the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon May 31 of next year. I’m excited already! This will of course be my second marathon, after my first here in Tucson at the end of last year. I can do a 10K at 9-minute pace; with conditioning, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to do four of those in a row. And that would be 3:56 ... say four hours with water & bio stops. Realistically, I may not do a 4-hour marathon this time — but it’s an achievable goal. Last time, I was doing 10-minute miles at first, which is OK — that would have been 4:22. But I also did a minute of walking every few miles, as planned, and my pace fell way off the last quarter as not planned. This was not only muscle ache but also bone and joint issues ... in retrospect, I think it was microfractures in my shins from that fall. Now I’m wiser — I think I can do it without creating those mechanical shortcomings. Specifically:

• Stretch regularly and stay loose, to avoid creating shin problems.
• Cross-train to avoid overuse injuries.
• Take extra non-run time after long runs.
• Ramp up the mileage gradually over the next seven months.
• Do light speedwork.

Ran 3 miles, with a swim after — a short but efficient midday workout. :)

Ran 5 miles at the gym, then swam. D’s advice about stretching — do it regularly, even when not exercising — is spot-on. For the last week I’ve been stretching my calves out a couple times a day. Today at the track, everything was quite loose; the miles ticked by easily. :) In retrospect it’s no surprise I’d had some calf tightness recently: I was only stretching while running, so when I ran only once or twice a week, I was only stretching once or twice a week.

Good time management today — I swam between meetings, and added an extra three miles to my bike commute home. Still made it home in time for the presidential debate! :)

Today was the day!!! :) Swim 825 yards 17:58, bike 12 miles 44:34, run 3 miles 30:43; total 1:33:15. The swim time was better than I expected — I had timed 800 yards in 19 minutes a few weeks ago. The bike time included both transitions, so my average biking speed works out to about 17 m.p.h.; I’m also happy with that. Run time ... nothing to write home about. My calves were perhaps the tightest they’ve ever been, and that’s saying a lot. I spent about 2 minutes total of the run leg stopping and stretching. So, my running pace was about 9:30 ... OK considering it was the last of three legs. :)

It was cold (and before sunup) when we racked our bikes & got numbers marked, but it was splendid by the time I started. This was the 42nd triathlon done on this particular course — everything including transitions went smoothly and pleasantly. And, as usual at races, there were lots of nice people. :)

About 360 days of the year I exercise for fun and health — yet at present I’m having my usual post-race, other-5-days-of-the-year critical self-assessment. Sometimes think I’m a slowpoke ... especially when I look at my gender/age category. Not just today but in various races in the past, where I’m consistently among the slowest. Other times I tell myself that I’m healthy and enjoying myself and that is wonderful. On the other other hand I think I’d enjoy myself fractionally more by competing successfully.

I often wonder how much is genetic ... training improves performance, of course, but improves it relative to what baseline? There are of course those people who don’t train much and show up and do a 20-minute 5K, or 4-hour marathon, etc. Whereas I do work at it, thoughtfully so, and still poke along.

4x200m with misc. breaststroke in the pool; 5x0.3mi on the track.

Another very nice swim/run brick at the gym — 45 minutes of the former and 3 miles of the latter. Nothing hard ... I’ll do some moderate intervals Wednesday.

I squeaked in a trip to the gym between meetings today — 25 minutes swimming and 25 on the track. It was important to fit this in today — the triathlon is 9 days away and it will be a crazy weekend. So I have today’s workout, Monday, and Wednesday; then rest/taper.

The back-to-back workout in the gym was not only time-efficient but quite pleasant; the track is air-conditioned and has a gentle surface. I’d run there in the past, a year or two ago, but hadn’t been back ... recently, though, I find that with the school workload and a busy personal life, it’s harder to fit runs into my evening schedule. Doing this in the day sometimes will be a good idea going forward.

I’ve been injury-free for many months now and plan on keeping it that way. When I first started running, knowing no better I looked around for advice. Many authors suggest a hard/easy routine — a hard workout every other day, with easy ones every second day. It took a long time for me to realize how much I’d internalized this rule, and how poorly it was working for me. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a late-onset athlete, or because I am slight of frame, or because I’m nearly 40, or all of these things, or what — but it takes me longer to recover than that. At present, if I were really keeping track of it I suppose it would be more like hard/off/easy/off. But the point is I don’t force a schedule. When everything feels good, I push it. When something feels overstrained, I take it easy or off until it feels better. Voilà.

Oy ... well, my officemate asked me the other day if I wanted to do a long ride with him this moring. I like the guy & thought, why not. Well ... it was quite windy. It was an adventure, no doubt — up to the northwest Tucson area; very scenic. We did 34 miles, & then I did another half dozen coming home tonight & getting groceries. Man-oh-man, especially after the aquathlon yesterday, I am tie-URD. I’m going to be doing a whole lot of diddly-squat tomorrow. :)

Today was the aquathlon — definitely fun. My 825-yard time was 18:00; I’d been expecting 19:00 for 800 yards so that was better than expected. Run time (about 3 miles) was 28:00 — not my best 5K pace but, considering, quite OK. I felt a bit sluggish and heavy, not unlike during the most recent 5K. This makes sense, though ... with the triathlon coming up, I’m focusing on the new things which are biking and swimming. I already know how to run, and so I spend less time on it. Looking back at my calendar, I see that recently I’m only running once or twice a week. Now would be a good time to balance those back out and increase my running mileage a bit. I don’t think I’m running often enough to be in sufficient running shape to really feel good doing it.

The race itself — the run leg was hot; noon, and probably over 90 degrees. Other that that, fine — a very well-managed event. The swim — pretty easy, and it was over quickly. The only weird thing was that I felt I wasn’t breathing well. Not that I was panting and out of breath — rather, like I wasn’t breathing enough. This was partly due to the choppy race water, but also (I think) due to adrenaline. Transition from swim to run: I had a small towel, dried my feet and shins well. It took more than a few seconds but it was well worth it to be able to run in comfort. :)

Today I did kind of a brick. (This is a triathlon term meaning a workout where one does two of the three activities back to back.) I biked home, the usual 4 miles + 3 more around the park. Then I changed clothes and got the dog and ran 3 miles. It was different ... starting off with leg muscles not fresh. I was a bit calf-tight, although some runs are just that way anyway. During the triathlon I may need to stop for some calf stretches during the running leg. Yesterday in the pool was all arms, so my legs were good to go tonight. It felt good tonight — especially the last mile. Whee! :)

The triathlon is less than three weeks away! There’s an aquathlon (swim and run) on the same course this weekend — I will try (i.e. if the race-day-only registration doesn’t fill up first) to do that. That will be my first competitive swim ever and it will be nice to get the feel of that brand-new situation.

4 miles, so-so. 2nd mile very nice, almost dreamy; the rest sort of meh. Yesterday’s workout in the pool was rather hard, and I didn’t feel fresh tonight.

A hard workout in the pool, followed by a truly mean headwind on the way home. I took an extra loop around the park just to be able to go the other way for a while. :)

Another 5K — I’ve lost count :). About 29:00 — quite a bit off for me. I suppose I’ve been focusing more on swimming than on running, with the triathlon coming up next month ... .

Lots of nice company though — running with a team of co-workers.

5 miles, light intervals — in the sense that I kicked it up a notch much of the time, and walked a minute or less at the end of each mile. A very nice run — all systems feeling well. :)

3 miles, easy pace — still a bit knee-tired from the long ride Monday.

Biked 27 miles with Matt — river path west, up La Cholla to Ina, east along Ina as it turned into Skyline and then Sunrise, then south on Swan. There was a bit of hillwork (by choice) but it was easier than last time. I guess I am getting into better shape. :)

3 miles, in the heat of the day — bleah. But, I wanted to fit in a run before a busy weekend.

4 miles, quite nice. A little hot tonight, but summer is ramping down. :)

4 miles — my first run in a few weeks, and a quite nice one. My exercise routine was of course jumbled during the month of traveling this summer, and I thought I’d get back to normal after that. But with several days of back-stressing yardwork and housework, a pool closure, and another trip this weekend, normalcy has not yet been within grasp. Next week, when classes start, the routine (albeit busy) should return.

P.S. a 5K next month with some fellow math people! :)

Back to normal after a month of traveling and hosting; a reduced workout in the pool today. It felt glorious to be back in the water. :)

3.5 miles, out to the Danube Canal and back. There was a not-too-steep but quite long hill which gave me some nice work coming back. :)

4 miles, around Unterdöbling.

3 miles, same path. It was cool and just a bit rainy — gorgeous. :)

Ran 3 miles in and near Hugo Wolf park, in Wien’s Untersievering area. Perfect running weather. I thought the hills were hard in D.C.! :)

Biked about 12 miles, on the Virginia Creeper Trail outside of Abingdon.

5 miles or so, noodling around a neighborhood while visiting family on the east coast. The nonstop hills were unfamiliar, but a lot of fun.

Biked 28 miles: one of my longest rides yet, although with a long rest at the halfway point :) — I met some family and friends for lunch. On the way over I took the familiar river path; the going was easy, and it was a beautiful, cloudy, cool day. The route I took on the way back was higher and hillier, along the foothills — it was spectacularly gorgeous with the cloud-topped mountains on one side and the city on the other. I got into a few miles of rain, but it wasn’t cold, and it felt glorious to be alive and mingling with the elements. :)

4 miles, easy pace, with two half-miles of walking interleaved. The dog played in some sprinklers halfway — now that is good for the soul. :)

A first at the pool — 32 laps (1600 yards) of crawl, with reduced drill. A full mile is 35 laps, and that (maybe next week?) will be a first to celebrate. :)

Three miles with the dog, at a rather peppy pace. It was warm and humid after a short but hard afternoon thunderstorm, and therefore sweaty. I find this cathartic. :)

I swam today with rainclouds on the horizon — this is no problem with gentle, winter rains, but the summer monsoons are anything but gentle, and they close the pool at the first sign of lightning. I’ll need to swim in the mornings for the rest of the summer, or take my chances ... .

3 miles, dog-jog. It had rained and thundered spectacularly this afternoon, so by late evening it was cool and humid out — a welcome relief from the summer heat.

3 miles, dog-jog. It was later in the evening this time, and cooler; she stayed either beside me or a step ahead of me.

Biked 30 miles — my longest ride so far. (Yet, we’ll be going twice that far at the race in November!) The three of us rode out to Saguaro National Park East — there is a stunningly beautiful desert loop, and it was amazing at sunset — under the nearby Rincon Mountains, under piled-up white cumulus. The loop was a roller coaster of a ride, though! :)

A first at the pool today — 28 laps (1400 yards) of crawl (along with the usual drill).

4 miles: 1st and 4th easy/medium, 2nd and 3rd just shy of tempo pace (8:00). I walked the dog afterward, and just out of curiosity, I timed one of our miles: about 18 minutes. It’s good to know for future reference how much time to allow, if I’m ever trying to squeeze a dog-walk into a tight schedule.

4 miles with the dog, at an easy pace — hers. :)

A nice sundown swim and a bike ride home in the cool night air — just the cure for a cranky-mood kind of day. :)

I went with Matt and Dave west along the river path (23 miles total). Dave had an unpatchable flat and split off early; Matt and I continued west almost to the I-10 (!). The weather was clear and lovely, albeit hot, and I never tire of the sunset on those amazing Catalinas. Matt and Dave are both great guys; I am looking forward to the Tour itself with them, as well as training leading up to it. There are many more good bike routes around Tucson, and the weather will only get nicer as we approach November ... :)

The 5K was nice — it wound twistily and over bridges through downtown Tucson, and I ran into several familiar people. Even though the race started at 6:30, it was still a bit hot out. It was overcrowded, though: there was traffic jam before and after we reached the start line, and when I reached the finish, it was starting to pile up there too. My gun time was about 27:00; I should take 30 seconds off that for the time to reach the start, and probably as much for the slowdown in the first few thousand feet. That makes 26 minutes. My 5K PR is 25:59, so ... bada-bing! Right on target. :)

5 miles, easy pace (9+). This spring I took seven weeks off running, and swam and biked regularly. The latter two are very smooth and frictionless; running can seem like a slow plod-plod-plod in comparison. But running provides the most exhiliration ... there is nothing like it.

I’ve never run very high mileage, and even less so recently — I am now running only twice per week, and may (or may not) bump that up to three times a week. I remind myself that I’m not slacking: now I’m swimming, biking, and running in roughly equal proportions, and am spending as much or more time exercising than ever, even during marathon prep last fall. My heart rate was 52 when I woke up this morning — I am clearly not out of shape. Also I’ve found to my surprise that I’m running at an 8:30 or 9:00 pace now without much effort, even though my running mileage is less than before. Cross-training is a good thing! :)

The 5K is Saturday — my first race since the relay. I exercise mainly for good health, but there is also a timing component — this 5K should be good in both senses. Maybe a PR; if not, then close.

I like having exercise integrated into my daily routine. There are people who view their activity as primary, with their job only being something to pay the bills. I don’t want that. Bike commuting kills two birds with one stone, and occasional longer rides are just plain fun. Stopping at the pool on my way home in the afternoon is also easy to do. Running ... when? When I was single I ran late at night, primarily to avoid the heat. That makes less sense to me now. I didn’t run last night — I ate about 8, then gave myself a couple hours to digest, and by then I was sleepy. I guess the best option moving forward is to run at sunset, before dinner.

One good thing about exercising multiple ways is that I have a few recovery days after a particular activity. Running stresses various things, including my plantar fasciae; biking isn’t stressful but sometimes I can feel the backsides of my kneecaps after a long ride; swimming isn’t very stressful either but sometimes I can feel my shoulders. I’m not sure if this is deltoid muscles, or the ball-and-socket joint — likely the latter, and I am wise to be careful, since I am almost forty.

I write something here (perhaps short) after each run, and after each longer bike ride. But I never write about swimming. This is partly because running and biking are more epic: there is scenery, landscape moving by, hills to be overcome. Physically, swimming laps is just bopping back and forth from one end of the pool to the other. And, I do pretty much the same thing every time I swim. Also, though, swimming is far more meditative. It’s hard to describe the joy of it at all — only the experience itself suffices.

Nonetheless, one of the main purposes of this log is so that I can find long-term patterns, see what I had been doing in the weeks leading up to an injury, find out what works and doesn’t, etc. So, here for future reference is my swim drill (three times per week).

1. A few laps of breaststroke to warm up. When I first started swimming, I did mostly breaststroke — 20+ minutes. Now it’s as little as 2-4 laps, since I am doing more crawl now.
2. 12-16 laps of crawl. This used to be hard, but I’m more accustomed to it, and also I’ve learned some good form. The most important item is to keep my rear up at the same height as my shoulders. This way I glide along the surface rather than plowing through the water. I heard the phrase “swim downhill” which sounds bizarre, but that’s exactly what it feels like. Currently my crawl rate is about a minute per lap.
3. 2-4 laps of flutter kicking on my back. This is is for muscle burn, and to work my fast-twitch muscle fibers: not for swimming but for running.
4. 3 laps or so of elementary backstroke. This is purely for lats and pectorals.
5. Against-the-wall drills (also for running): 70 reps or so of forth-and-back scissoring with knees straight, for hip flexors and extensors; a couple hundred reps of flexing and extending at the ankles; 70 or so of sideways scissoring, for hip abductors and adductors (to avoid runner’s knee); 70 or so of scissoring from the knees down, for hams and quads (also to avoid runner’s knee).
6. 2-4 laps of sidestroke. This feels good; it’s a stretch, and works different muscle groups. I think of this as dessert.
7. 4-8 more laps of crawl. Moving forward toward the triathlon, I’ll put some more laps here some days, and maybe reduce other parts of the workout to compensate.

A 12-mile ride along the river path, after swimming and biking to campus. It is beautiful out, albeit hot. It turns out biking in the summer days is pleasant (running is not!) — there is plenty of ventilation, and one needs only to bring plenty of water. (I drank about half a gallon this afternoon!) :)

4 miles — it was nice and cool after dark. I timed the third mile at 8:35; the second was about the same; the first and fourth were a little slower.

Five and a half miles, at the river — absolutely gorgeous weather. And, with a nice running buddy visiting from out of town! :)

Three and a half miles under a glorious full moon; 8:40-ish pace.

3 miles — lovely weather. :)

I rode up to the river path, then along it and back a few miles, then back home. Bike commuting is a good thing in many ways, but one (in fact, the only) drawback is stopping for traffic lights. Also I ride around Reid Park quite a bit, but it’s pretty crowded. Today I opened it up and biked steadily. Quite nice! I was initially surprised that my upper back, right below the neck, was the first (and only) thing to tire. But in retrospect this was unsurprising — on a road bike I am leaned over farther, with much of my body weight on my arms.

It’s been getting a bit hot recently (Tucson in May!) but today it was windy earlier, then rained just a few minutes in early afternoon. By the time I went out, it was partly cloudy, breezy, and cool; the air smelled delicious, and the late-afternoon sunlight was slanting through the clouds, dappling the mountains. Heaven! :)

3 miles, feeling very good — sproingy rather than heavy. I wasn’t just jogging but wasn’t pushing it either ... the first mile was warm-up but (to my surprise) I timed the 2nd and 3rd miles at 8:20. :)

The July 6 Triathlon was canceled! :( There is another on Oct. 12 though. :)

2.25 miles — I’m still counting the quarter miles as I get my mileage back up! :) After some time off running I still feel kind of heavy and slow, but tonight was progress.

2 miles, around the neighborhood. I am savoring these cool springtime daylight hours while they last. :)

Ran 1.75; biked a couple laps around the park as a detour from my homeward commute. :)

This week I found an affordable used road bike — what a difference! That old mountain bike has served me well for a couple years now, but the road bike is liquid motion, a thing of beauty.

I’ve been bicycle-commuting about eight miles round trip per day for a while now, but had never done any sustained riding. (Nor do I ride much without a bookbag on my back!) So I spent some time on a nearby bike path this morning (14 miles total), at a nice la-la-la pace. The weather is beautiful out there! I timed a couple laps at 18 mph — which gives me an idea of where to position myself for the tri. Also I jogged a bit (1.5 mi) this evening. :)

1 mile — finally! :) Oh man, it feels good to run!

It’s been a long eight weeks off. But I am glad for it. Ramping up for the marathon, lots of things felt creaky, and in the race itself, I got very sore — not just the expected muscle soreness, but bones and joints as well: knee joints, shins, and heels. In particular, a spot in my left shin a few inches above the ankle, and the back of my left heel, were bothering me even in January. In retrospect, perhaps I was underprepared for the marathon, and furthermore it might have been better to take off a solid month or so immediately after it. But some learning is expected: I had never run 26.2 miles before. :)

I’ll be bringing my mileage back up gradually. Fortunately, I’ve been swimming regularly all this time, and my daily commute is now about eight miles round trip by bike. So tonight’s jog felt just fine — I have not fallen out of shape either muscularly or cardiovascularly. Also, swimming and biking are both fabulous forms of exercise so I haven’t been lacking the emotional benefits either.

A few people have asked me over the months why I don’t triathlon — my answer has been “Because those things are crazy, that’s why!” And I do think an Ironman or Half Ironman is beyond the pale. But two or three different people have independently mentioned sprint tris to me: swim 750 meters, bike 12 miles, run 3 miles. All of which are daily, normal things for me, except that the bike part is a bit longer than my norm. So, why not! This reflects the forms of exercise I am already doing, I like the balance in my weekly routine, and the race will be pretty short. So ... I will be doing the Firecracker Triathlon July 6 and am already excited about it. :)

The relay — what a blast! It was unquestionably one of the best things I’ve ever done — I’m definitely doing it again next year.

The 11 of us ran around the clock from 3:00 p.m. Friday to about 4:25 Saturday, leapfrogging in two vans. My first leg was six and a half miles under the stars at night, out by Lake Pleasant — so dark I could see the Milky Way. I saw the desert only inasmuch as I looked around and pointed my headlamp on the cactuses, so the primary context was the starry sky rather than the ground. Second leg — short, only three miles; just before sunrise. My third was just plain hard — 5 miles, with the first two more or less level and the last three all climbing, in the heat of noon. I felt slow and pathetic until, half a mile from the end, I turned around and saw the valley behind me — which I had just climbed out of. Then I knew I’d achieved something.

The others on the team were two old friends and eight new ones (most of them knew Grant or Julia). We had plenty of food and beverages loaded up in the van, and slept in it Friday (well, slept just a few hours). Much of what made the relay so awesome was helping each other out, cheering one another on, and laughing all the while. And looking forward to next time. :)

1 mile jog — resting up for the relay. My left heel isn’t good; it will need time.

4.5 miles: 1 easy, 3 tempo, 1/2 easy. Various things are a bit sore these days — some connective tissue in the ankles tonight, and knees or shins other nights. Also there’s a spot on the back of my left heel which is tender to the touch — it feels similar to the stress reaction last August, but in the other heel & a different part of the heel. I don’t know if this is possible — the marathon was three months ago — but I still don’t feel back to normal. I think I will take a few weeks off after the relay this weekend.

4.5. I was a bit kneesore after Tuesday, and so didn’t push it.

6 miles: 2 easy, 3 tempo, 1 medium. I had just a shade of shin splint on the left — barely detectable but I wanted to make sure it didn’t turn into something. After mile two or so, there was nothing at all. Moreover, everything felt fabulous. I picked it up a couple notches and left it there — then cooled off a bit the last mile. Tonight’s was a very, very good run.

Recently I’ve been doing a mile of warmup before stretching, rather than just a half or a quarter. This feels right.

5, easy-medium except a half-mile in the middle wherein I cut loose. A cool, starry evening and a glorious run. :)

4 miles, easy-medium except medium-hard the last half mile. Good but not great.

5 miles, at just a shade more than easy pace. I stopped a minute or two at the halfway point, but other than that ran non-stop. Everything felt quite good.

I think I’ve finally figured out footstrike. Landing ball-of-foot first, without the heel ever touching the ground, was at first hard until my calf muscles got used to it. Now they can handle it. But, although I’m no physiologist, it feels to me like this causes some bowflex in the shin — the bow being the tibia and the bowstring being the calf muscles — which seems to lead to the shin-splinty feeling. On the other hand, landing heel first requires too much of the little shin muscles, as I described below. What I’ve been doing recently is to land with some weight on the heel — but only just a fraction of a second after the ball of the foot lands. This feels just right.

My life is going well in every way, but yet I occasionally have some morbid thoughts — thinking about my own mortality, and the pointlessness of it all; sometimes thinking that all I’m doing is postponing the hangman’s arrival. Probably this is, in part, aftershock from my mom’s recent death; also ... well, I’m 39 and I can see lines on my face when I look in the mirror. I am so grateful that I exercise ... going out there tonight I was a bit in the doldrums (also low on sleep, with some recent insomnia induced by being very excited about things going on at work). Yet by the end of tonight’s run I was praising the universe for giving me the opportunity to exist.

The part about postponing the hangman’s arrival is true — but it’s not the only thing that’s true. What is also true (and what I remember at times such as tonight, when I am vigorously alive) is that I am gloriously healthy — physically, intellectually, and mentally — a piece of self-aware humanity, living at its finest. :)

3 miles. My left shin was a bit splinty Wednesday and Thursday; I didn’t run. And last night I just fell asleep too early. :) Tonight: OK. Feet and ankles tired first again, as expected.

5 miles: easy, hard, easy, hard, easy. The easies were about 9+ minutes per mile, hard ones about 8. This was the fastest I’ve run since November ... which is not saying much ... :)

Even then it wasn’t all out — with the low mileage recently, & with the fact that my regular swimming works the feet and ankles least, it’s no surprise those were the first parts to tire.

2, easy. I kept it short since I’ll be running tomorrow. Last week I had the flu — achy, fatigued, phlegm, etc. This week I’m mostly back to normal. Certainly some fresh air is just what I needed, after having spent a lot of time in bed.

3, quite nice. And finally some information! :)

Last time my calves were a little tight, and I felt them carefully to see precisely where. It wasn’t on the sides at all — rather, on the very front of the shin, that little strip of muscle that raises the foot. I got online and found the name of it: the tibialis anterior (henceforth “shin muscle”). With the name of the muscle I got better search results and finally found out something obvious:

• The calf muscles (big, in back — gastrocnemius & soleus) push the foot down. They also keep the heel from slapping the ground if the ball of the foot lands first.
• The shin muscles (small, in front) lift the foot up. They also keep the ball of the foot from slapping the ground if the heel lands first.

So, of course, a heel-first footstrike (over)works the shin muscles. Which explains why I often get tight shin muscles during recovery runs: (1) presumably I’m a bit out of shape, which can’t help, and (2) I think of landing ball-of-foot first as a high-energy way to run, and heel first as a more relaxed way to run. So during recovery runs I think I’m doing myself a favor, but end up getting tight shin muscles. So very obvious in retrospect!

So tonight I mostly kept it ball-of-foot first, with the heel landing close behind — not a really high sprinty form, so it was still relaxed. After a mile or two, I also alternated a little heel-first and front-first as the shin or calf muscles felt more or less tired — balancing out the load. And ... everything felt wonderful. Sigh ... :)

In the pool (these days I spend as much time swimming as running) I’ve for a long time done some drills to work my quads & hams, abductors & adductors, and hip flexors & extensors. Now I’m also doing some calf/shin repetitions. The water gives a little resistance, tho not too much — so I’m also doing some one-legged calf lifts and two-legged shin lifts right after swimming. This should help me to run more comfortably.

3, easy. I have a cold, and didn’t run at all Sunday. Today the fresh air and some mild exercise sure felt nice. :)

4 miles, medium-easy except quicker in the last half mile. My calves were splendid (finally!); my left shin was a little splinty about 4 inches up from the ankle. I’ll keep my eyes on that for a few days ...

4, easy pace, around the neighborhood. It’s cool out without being cold — very nice running weather. Calves great! :)

5, easy at first and then quicker (more stride rate than stride length). Calves were OK at first, then loosened up by the halfway point.

4, pretty peppy pace. Calves OK. It’s chilly out there!

4 miles, very nice — the last mile in particular was splendid. Calves much less tight tonight.

3 miles. This was my first run after a two-week hiatus for marathon recovery — mainly my knee joints. Things felt good (knees in particular) except for muscle tightness in the sides of my right calf. I’ve come to associate calf tightness with running after some time off, so this was unsurprising.