Ian, Dennis, Morgan and I hit up Brown Mountain while KB and Megumi did ...something. I felt decent, and kept a steady effort and cadence up to the saddle. From there, the rest of the run does not really take much leg effort, but is simply a matter of not stopping for a while. Then you're done. For a mountain run, my knees and various connective tissues felt surprisingly good.
I was glad to be running shod today, so as not to aggravate whatever the deal was with my foot yesterday. Lifted briefly in the afternoon.
As of tonight, in the past week I've introduced both Kamalah and J.R. to Rosarito's as soon as they mentioned Puebla. Unfortunately, I think the magnificent value of a three-pound burrito simply wasn't as obvious to them as it was to me. Unless Rosarito's is closed, though, I can no longer in good conscious eat there while 50% more food of the same type is available for 20% less cost right around the corner.
Saturday, November 22, 2008 (brown mountain)
Friday, November 21, 2008 (40 minutes)
I had a pain in the bottom of my right foot that wasn't very bad. I decided to keep it that way.
Wed/Thu (DNR)
I could have managed a run, had I been truly motivated. But I was traveling, and it was hard, so I didn't.
Tuesday, November 18, 2007 (50 minutes)
I got up at 6:10 AM and ran with Scott and Goose through the arroyo. I thought I was doing an incredible job of getting up early and going at it, but Ian and a few of the Oxy guys were already down there running tempo at the same time.
Monday, November 17, 2008 (80 minutes)
Nice semi-long run on the North Field. Felt calm and smooth the whole time, and threw in five striders at the end.
Weekly Summary: 11/10/08 - 11/16/08 (about 330 minutes, cruise intervals)
I was getting into the swing of training again this week. The smoke on Sunday was horrendous by the afternoon, so canceling the marathon was probably the right choice.
The cruise intervals with Ian were a good workout. Next week I want to run up the total running a bit and hit at least one more good workout, and a longer run of 80 minutes in there.
Saturday, November 17, 2008 (50 minutes)
I had a bit of pain in my right hip and left knee, so I stopped short of 70 minutes today, although I was feeling good.
Friday, November 14, 2008 (70 minutes)
It was hot enough to be not only uncomfortable, but also mildly disturbing, just that the temperature was so high in November somewhere above the Tropic of WhicheverOneIsToTheNorth. I was, of course, rewarded with a nice little bath of foaming armpit sweat, and was pretty tired despite an easy pace. I was glad I don't have a big race tomorrow.
Thursday, November 13, 2008 (cruise intervals)
6x2 laps at Lacy, with Ian. Averaged about 5:35 per segment, with a minute rest. I was totally happy and satisfied with this. I didn't feel like I was going very fast, but I felt like I was running pretty controlled. It was faster for longer than I've done recently, and certainly indicated that I'm heading in the right direction.
The team was also down there at the same time, giving me an increasingly-rare opportunity to hang out with them for a bit. Afterwards I tutored for a while, then returned to the gym for some lifting and core.
Nov 11 - 12
Tues: 60 minutes in the morning, feeling a bit tired, but I hadn't eaten breakfast
Wed: 45 minutes again in the morning. got started late and had to go to work before i would have liked
Monday, November 10, 2008 (70 minutes)
Some good things happened today. Yesterday evening some muscles along the middle of my back suddenly seized up painfully while I was running, stopping me about half an hour into the run. This morning, those muscles were still stiff and sore enough that I skipped the morning run I had planned with Gustavo and Ian. That's not the good part. The good part is that as I went about my daily activities, they gradually loosened up until I ran 70 minutes without incident this evening.
The next good thing is that I ran 70 minutes, which I hadn't done in several weeks. Also, I felt great doing it.
It was cool, not cold. The ground was damp enough to be soft, but not wet enough to suck the heat from my feet. On one particular north field lap, which I distinctly remember against the backdrop of many others I ran this evening, I leaned gently through the corner where the light from the north entrance to the parking structure briefly illuminates a sandy patch of ground. As the light slipped behind me, the textures under my feet morphed to the soft dirt of the stretch. I ran up close against the fence, watching the solitary patches light from the fields and courts that punctuated the darkness with artificial regularity. The contrast to the dark field isolated me, and welcomed me. The cool hung still and quiet, unprotesting against my thoughtless progress. I was running again.
10/27 or so to now
I've been back running daily now, although I fell off updating. I did some tempo with Gustavo and Ian last Saturday. Goose and I clock 29:09 for the course. It's not fast, but the fact that I got through it was at least an encouraging improvement over two weeks ago. My easy/distance runs have been feeling pretty good as well, and I sometimes find that I'm unconsciously dropping the pace down quite a bit near the end.
The only problem I'm facing right now is a bit of achilles trouble, which is probably because during my training hiatus I also took an eccentric-calf-lowering hiatus.
I got in 50 minutes on Sunday, 60 yesterday, and 65 today. All felt fine. Towards the end of my run Kangway even came out to join me for a couple of miles!