Easing into fall

There's part of me that feels like this was a disappointing week, yet there's another part of me that feels completely satisfied. In the end, I think it's what I realized this week with getting in better overall shape that has me happy.

It's been an interesting week with my mileage. All told I have 32 miles -- 10.6 running, 10.5 biking, 8.6 walking and 2.3 on the elliptical machine. I missed a run this week to get into the teens, but I did do a little more biking -- all this weekend. Adding it all up, it's more than last week and that's really all I was seeking. My desire to run still isn't very strong, but as I've mentioned this week my desire to stay in shape and get in better shape is growing.

I don't have any specific injuries, but I've had a lot of dull, aching pains this week in my feet and my knees. It's nothing major and it's nothing I haven't trained through before. Perhaps its the changing of the seasons and the cooler weather, or perhaps it's because I need the break from pavement. I'm not going to push it right now, but I'm not going to completely stop either. Getting in 10 miles or so a week right now is sufficient for me, as long as I'm doing other stuff.

This coming week, my goal is to increase my overall mileage from this week -- it's nice to be able to take a different approach to fitness with the ability to ease off the running. You may have noticed that I took my 8k counter down. It's not that I don't plan on doing it, but for personal reasons I can't commit to it until that week. I don't need it sitting there if I end up not running it. There's also a 5k next weekend that I'm considering, but I probably won't make that decision until the night before. It sure is nice to be able to do that.

Lastly, I wanted to give a shout out to my friend Vicki, who also ran the Rock 'n' Roll Half in August. Yesterday she completely the Baltimore Marathon in just under 5 hours -- congrats to her and all the other finishers out there!

Getting to the bottom ... of my feet

Last week I started experiencing some discomfort (not pain) in my feet and some pain (not discomfort) in my back. Actually, my back pain probably started two weeks ago. It was never anything that seemed out of the ordinary. I had just come off a few months of increasing my mileage and had just ran a long race -- it wasn't anything unusual ... but it wasn't going away.

Then this week it clicked -- I'm wearing nicer shoes to work that didn't have gel insoles in them. I hadn't really wore those shoes too much over the summer, so my feet really weren't used to them. So last night I bought some new insoles and today ... well, today everything felt much better. Problem solved. I guess my feet have become spoiled with using gel insoles, but man they feel good.

I'm still easing off the mileage with running while putting a little more emphasis on the bike. It's a whole lot of little things adding up to some fun workouts. September will eventually go down as a good recovery month for me. It really has helped my mind a lot with not worrying about racing.

A hodgepodge of post-race thoughts

I could write a lot about a variety of things right now, but instead here's a shorter list of things on my mind right now. Also, I've inserted some of my photos from the weekend to show some of the amazing sights.

Taking a break
I have not had a full, complete two-day break from running in almost three months. Even through my tailbone injury I managed to get in a few tenths at a time. The last time I went more than two days without running at all was June 10-12 when I was in the Outer Banks. You'll have to excuse me this week as I don't even think about having a running motion for a few days. Today I had a great walk with my dog and I MIGHT go for a run after work tomorrow. Otherwise, it's been nice having a break since Sunday morning.

Going Garmin free
On my walk with my dog this evening, I didn't take my Garmin. I've been so obsessed with my miles -- even walking miles -- that I feel like my Garmin is just a growth on my arm. I don't even know what bag it's packed it right now, and I may not bust it out at all this week. I'll estimate my miles based on what I know about my neighborhood or use mapmyrun.com. I need a break from looking down at my watch so much.

Post-race soreness
Despite shutting it down the last half of the Rock 'n' Roll Half on Sunday, I still have sore legs and am tired. It's not nearly as bad as usual, but it's oddly comforting to know that I put enough effort in early on to be sore. Just because things went bad doesn't take away from three months of training, and I'm exhausted both mentally and physically. I think I'm entitled to do whatever the hell I feel like doing this week.

A tale of two races
Despite the fact that I was 17 minutes slower this weekend than the Shamrock Half in March, there is something special about what happened a couple of days ago. A friend of mine called it a character-building race. He's so right too, and right now I probably don't even know how right he is. It was a learning experience in so many ways, and I'm strangely glad that it played out like it did. In March, I was hurt. I was mad as hell and I was determined to get back on my feet this summer. When I did, I turned around and fell on my butt, but I stayed determined to keep training and fight through it. When the humidity hit me like a brick wall on Sunday, it was just part of my story of things trying to prevent me from finishing this race. But I finished dammit. Unhurt and not limping across the finish line.

Rock 'n' Roll 2009
A few hours after finishing on Sunday, I said I highly doubt that I would return for this race. But by that night, when talking with my friend Vicki who ran it last year, I realized that I have to go back to Virginia Beach on Labor Day weekend next year. It's more than a year away and right now that seems like forever and a day away, but that 2:06 is already burning a hole in my feet. It's a course record for me that just can't hang around.

So ... what's next?
Ah, the question runners everywhere are always asking themselves. Well, I'm not 100 percent sure. The Virginia 10 Miler is coming at the end of the month in Lynchburg, and I've been thinking about doing it again for two years now. It's a unique race on an extremely hilly course ... it's the race that got me so hooked on longer distances. I have to get through the next couple of days and recovery runs to see how I feel before I make a decision, but right now it's the only race close by that makes sense. Despite wanting to redeem myself in a half marathon, I don't want to venture too far from home with a baby on the way in November. Plus after two half marathons that didn't go as expected, I want to get that distance out of my head for a while.

I'd like to do some shorter races this fall. I haven't done a 5k since August 2007 and I haven't had a good 10k in a long time, so I'm kind of itching to get back to what got me hooked on running in the first place.

So ... what's next after what's next?
It's kind of weird to think about 2009 already, but looking ahead, the Rock 'n' Roll Half is the only "big" thing on my radar screen (see above for all that). After that, I'm totally open to thinking about doing another marathon next fall. I've already looked at how the calendar plays out and it's ideal to just keep training after Labor Day weekend to perhaps do the Richmond Marathon again. It's just not happening this year with a baby on the way. Plus I haven't forgotten about the nagging injuries despite feeling great right now. There's something itching inside me to have a half marathon that I'm 100 percent happy with before doing another marathon, so mapping out my plans for next year will have to wait ... probably until a year from now.

Lastly, a HUGE thank you
I just wanted to extend my sincerest thanks to my wife, my mom and stepdad, my friends and my fellow bloggers out there for your support in the past few months. I've had so much going on personally and professionally, and I could not have made it without all the support. I could have easily just given up hope on a lot of things, but everybody has played a role in keeping this train from running out of steam. Thank you!! It'll be time to keep it going in a few days.


By the way, I'm in the blue waving my hands in the photo below. It's one of the very few times I've actually done something for a photo during a race. I'm looking forward to seeing the official photos because I actually put my hands up in the air for one.

July (and more) by the numbers

In my mind, this month has been a disaster. But when I look at my numbers, someone should tell me to shut up and be happy with what happened after taking a tumble down my stairs. I think my issue is that I wanted so bad for July to be the best month of the year, but it just didn't quite happen.

I set a reasonable goal of 75 miles for the month, with the thinking that I'd probably be around 80 or so. With today's 5.2 mile run, my total is actually 79.5. That's just 7 miles short of my high for the year set in February. Had I not hurt my tail bone, I likely would've been in the low 90s. It's like I've suddenly set low expectations for myself with running.

July marks the third consecutive month of fairly stead mileage increases. It's almost hard to believe that my mileage was four times that of April, which I basically took a break after my foot issues. Basically since April, my mileage has increased 20 miles a month ... will that trend continue?

What's missing from July is biking. Before the injury, I got in 9.2 miles and was pretty much on pace to have 20 or so. My goal was 25. So despite things going great with running, I feel behind on things because my cross training -- which basically didn't exist until this year -- is way off.

Of note is the fact that I walked 38.9 miles, my highest total for the year by 7 miles ... all thanks to not being able to ride my bike. Walking isn't nearly as important to me as biking, but it's better than nothing I guess.

My official training numbers since June 1 are as follows: 140 running miles, 58.4 walking miles and 51.7 biking miles (thanks to a great week in the Outer Banks). For the year, I have 641 total miles, which are broken down like this: 381.7 running, 162.9 walking and 96.4 biking.

It's no secret that I'd love to hit 1,000 miles in a 12 month span, so if it's to happen between July 2008 and June 2009, I'm off to a good start. To hit 1,000 miles, I have to average slightly more than 83 miles a month. August is going to be good -- my goal is for 90-plus miles. After that, I'll have to figure out if pursuing 1,000 is what I want to do. As for now, my tail bone needs a break from sitting at the computer ...

Slowly, but surely ...

One of the worst things about my tail bone injury is how limited I feel to do certain things. Sitting in a car is difficult; lifting weights is very limited; setups are out of the question; doing the plank is uncomfortable; I can't ride my bike. ... Oddly, running has been going great, although the injury forced me to really slow down.

For the first time in a few weeks, I did some speed work today and each interval felt like I was running into a wall. I've been doing some speed bursts with my dog in the past couple of weeks, but nothing serious enough to call a speed workout. I've intentionally ran more hills lately just because I haven't felt like doing intervals or tempo runs. Today I did two-half mile intervals -- 3:45 and 3:50 -- and two quarter-mile intervals -- 1:53 and 1:56. I'm happy to stay under the 8-minute mile pace considering the way the past two weeks have gone, but it felt miserable today. The weather has a lot to do with it -- it's hot and humid and temperatures are expected to be in the mid- to upper 90s all week with no end in sight. I was also pretty tired too thanks to my dog barking for no reason at all at 6:30 a.m.


Here's a recap of what I've done since my July 12 fall:
July 13: Walk - 2.1
July 14-20: Walk - 14.7; Run - 11.6
July 21-27: Walk - 8.3; Run - 21.3
July 28: Walk - 1.1; Run - 3.2
July 29: Walk - 1.5; Weights
July 30: Walk - 1; Run - 4.5 (with intervals explained above)

The Magic 8

Eight miles today puts me at 21.3 for the week and only 9 miles away from my goal for the month. I don't have the biking miles I had hoped for since I can't sit comfortably, but if you would've told me two weeks ago I'd still get about 75 running miles for the month, I would've told you that you're crazy.

Today's long run went well. I was pretty tired toward the last mile, but I'll attribute that to not having long runs in the past two weeks. Otherwise, everything felt great. The fact that it went so well has me really looking forward to hitting 10 soon -- I'll probably do that next week.

Mid-week tail bone report

To quickly sum up the past couple of days, things have gone well. I've gotten in a couple of good 4-plus mile runs and my tail bone area pain continues to improve a little bit each day. I'd say on a scale of 1 to 10, it's about a 2.5. It's manageable, although it's bothersome when I'm on my couch and in a vehicle. I had a great night's sleep last night, but two nights ago it bothered me quite a bit. I think by the end of this week I can finally stop talking about it so much.

Looking ahead to "normal"

I didn't hit my 5 miles today, but I did hit my original goal from a couple of days ago -- to hit double digits for the week. All told I ran 11.6 miles this week and walked 14.7. I'm actually surprised I ran as much as I did, but all those little runs quickly added up. This morning was crazy hot, I was tired and I think my injury has created a chain reaction of making other things hurt. I had a lot of cramping going on and my legs just didn't seem to want to move today. Tomorrow I will not attempt any running at all. I think I need a running break after doing some sort of running every day this week. I'll resume weight lifting tomorrow - something I haven't done in quite a while. I'll be using my free weights since it will likely hurt to use my home gym.

This week I will attempt to pick up where I left off with running, meaning that my long run goal is 8 miles and my weekly total goal is the low 20s. If I can pull off 5 consistent weeks of increasing my long runs and my overall mileage a little bit each week, I'll be in a good spot come race week with an opportunity to rest up that week. I'll try to squeeze in a 5k along the way as a tune up since I missed my race this weekend.

If I can't get back to normal this week, I'll have to make the decision on whether or not to pursue the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. I know people who are running it who have slower goal times, so I can always hang back, and I could always use it as a long run while I focus on something else in September, but I doubt I'd do that. Since it's Labor Day weekend, it's a lot of money to stay at Virginia Beach for three nights. Also coming into to play is my job situation. I would hate to not run because of that, but it's impossible to make the trip if something doesn't happen soon.

I may be coming across as being negative, but I'm actually feeling good about things this week. I think a non-running day is going to help my pain, and I'm confident about things turning around job-wise.

Bruised and battered, but I'm still going

There are bruises and then there are things that appear when you've fallen on your ass and tumbled down the stairs. What has appeared in the spot where I fell last week is something nobody wants to see.

As far as my actual pain is concerned, it's the same story it's been all week -- it's a little bit better today than yesterday, but it still bothers me. I'm able to run better though. Last night I was feeling pretty good around dark, so I went out and got in 2.3 miles. This morning I got up and did 2.7 miles, so in the past 12 hours I've gotten in 5. Tomorrow I'm shooting for at least 5 -- I'll do more depending on how I feel. I've walked more than 12 miles this week so far -- the highest total in a week this year. With a little bit here and a little bit there, this week hasn't been a total loss, but the timing still sucks. I am waiting until next week to do weight lifting again. My shoulder feels fine, but I don't want to take any chances.

As for now, my time in the computer chair is over. It's time to find a more comfortable spot...

The footprint of a future runner

Unless you've caught a couple of my wife's comments, or unless you know me personally, I've been keeping a secret from you -- my wife and I are expecting our first child in November. Pictured above is one of his feet during the ultrasound the other day -- yes, I said HIS. While this week has been full of gloom in my training and the past few months have been full of nothing but things going wrong in the job department, knowing that we are having a baby toward the end of this year has kept me going.

This week we found out that we're having a boy -- the full name is TBD. For the past few months both sides of our families have done the usual wishing that we were having a boy or a girl, while my wife and I have stayed silent in hopes that the baby is healthy. So far, things are looking good. And yes, we definitely know it's a boy based on the money shot we saw the other day. I thought since this is a running blog it was only appropriate to post the foot shot. (Click here to check out my wife's blog on the experience.)

Injury update
Well, I decided to pull out of the 5-mile race this weekend. While things continue to slowly improve every day, the thought of a 2-hour car ride tomorrow evening didn't "sit" well with me. Every day my ability to sit at the computer is getting better and today I found it much easier to get comfortable on my couch -- enough so to get two 30-minute naps in. I did sleep better last night and I finally feel rested up after a few rough nights.

My plan is to take it easy again tomorrow and then become a weekend warrior to get some miles in. If I can get at least 10 miles for the week in -- so far I've logged a little more than 3 -- I feel like next week I can pick up where I left off. Instead of any kind of taper, I would just be heading into race week at a peak. If I still can't run like I want to this weekend, I may have to chose something else.

Sit on some golf balls for an hour ...

... and you might know how I feel. It's so hard to explain what my rear feels like. I can sit in certain ways and it's fine; I can walk just fine; and generally when I lay down on my sofa it's fine. However, when I run it hurts. Running, though, isn't making it worse -- it's just a dull aching pain when I'm trying to trot along. I'm having trouble staying asleep because it's tough to stay in one position for long even when I'm laying down, so that's my biggest complaint right now.

To put the pain in perspective, it's actually gotten a little bit better every day ... but four days later it's still pretty bad. I have made attempts to run every day this week. On Monday, I could do more than two-tenths of a mile. I did that three times. Yesterday I got in a half-mile without stopping to do a total of 0.7. This morning was the best so far when I was able to do a mile without stopping, for a total of 1.7 miles. I may do a little more this evening when my dog gets walk No. 2 for the day.

When I sit, it sort of feels like I'm sitting on a tennis ball on a very weird part of my butt. Actually, a golf ball may be a better comparison. Maybe even two golf balls. When I run, the pounding creates a similar feeling, but it's not as bad as when sitting. Like I said when I started, running is not making it worse. In fact, by the end of my short run this morning I felt like I could have gone farther. To put it in my day-to-day sporting terms, if the Rock 'n' Roll Half was tomorrow, I'd probably skip it and find another race later on.

This is such a crucial time in my training. I don't mind having to take it easy this week -- but I can't do that two weeks in a row. If the pain keeps slowly going away like it has so far, I think I'll be OK. I'll make a decision by late tomorrow on whether or not I'll do the 5-mile race this weekend. My biggest concern with that is driving 2-plus hours the day before to my mom's house and then driving a half hour the next morning to the race. Sitting in a car has been the hardest thing to do so far.

My shoulder is better, but it's still hurts a little bit. It's enough to lay off lifting weights for at least another day.

I think one of the most frustrating parts of this is that it's a non-running injury. Had I hurt myself while running, I think my response would be different. I think I'm just angry at myself for something I could have controlled.

The big fall: One day later

If you've ever been in a car wreck, you probably know what it's like to have a "delayed" injury. When the wreck first happens, you're OK, but by the end of the night your neck probably hurts. Then the next day isn't quite as bad and then by the third or fourth day it's gone.

Well, after yesterday's fall I experienced a delay injury later in the day -- my left shoulder. Apparently on my quick way to my derriere, my left arm tried to catch me. I have a couple of bruises near my wrist and my shoulder feels like somebody gave me a good punch.

Now on to my aching ass. When I woke up this morning, it felt a lot better, so I thought I'd give it a try to run. I went out walking with my dog and after a half mile I tried to run. Was that a ghost stabbing me with a knife in my lower back? No, it was just my sore coccyx. So I immediately stopped and just walked a couple of miles.

So about 36 hours after my wreck with my stairs, I have a pain in my butt and an odd sensation in my shoulder. I'll remain on a day-to-day status for a little while, but I can honestly say that I'm much better than last night. However, if tomorrow was race day, I'd be sitting on the bench. With a bum bum and a whacked out shoulder, I think tomorrow is still going to be a day of walking. At least I can walk without any problems.

The timing of this is awful in some ways -- it's pretty much right in the middle of my training schedule. The thing that sucks is that I can't do any cross training. I'm sure that bike riding will be out for at least two weeks and now that my shoulder is bothering me, lifting weights and doing the plank is out for at least a couple of days. However, with seven weeks to go to the race, I'm trying to look at this as a "recovery" week in my training, although the sudden stoppage isn't what I was looking to do.

I hope the end result is just a few missed runs -- if I'm lucky it might just be one day missed. I hate missing this week's long run, but it'll just have to be. One missed long run isn't going to break the bank. Tomorrow is a normal off day from running anyway and generally Tuesday has been an "easy" day. My plan for the next couple of days is to add walking miles, with an attempt to run each day to see how it feels.

A pain in the ass ... literally

Well, let me get right to the point. This morning when I started down my steps, my left foot slipped from underneath me and I fell right on my butt and then slid down a few more steps.

So you can only imagine what that actually feels like. If you've never hurt your tail bone, you're missing out on one of the most annoying injuries ever. This is the second time in my life in which I've somehow injured that part of my body. Sitting here typing this is hell, but walking around is fine.

A couple of hours after the incident, I took my dog on a walk and things felt OK. I ran a few feet to see how it felt and it was ... I don't know ... OK. Not terribly painful, but annoying. I managed to mow my yard without any issues. I'm still trying to figure out if I'll do my long run tomorrow or just run a few miles or just take a day off. Needless to say, but in sporting terms, I'm listed as "day to day."

In just the half day since this happened, I already know that bike riding is going to be impossible for at least this coming week, as will be weight lifting on the home gym. Normal set ups will also be nonexistent for a while. Fortunately I have free weights that I can use, and there is no reason I can't do the plank.

For today, though, I just have to deal with it. I have found some interesting Web sites out there devoted to the coccyx. Who knew?

May: Twice as nice as April

In this final week of non-training, I laid off running a bit to give my feet some extra rest before I began official training on June 1 for the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach. It gave me a chance these past couple of days to get a little more comfortable on the bike to know I can easily do 4-6 miles starting off on my cross-training days. It's better than being completely unfamiliar with how my body will do on a bike.

To sum up May, I'll admit that I'm a bit disappointed that my mileage totals aren't higher, but I knew coming into this month that I'd have to take things slow. I knew this was a transition month -- it was about building some kind of base without injuring myself. So, the goal of being injury-free was easily accomplished. When adding up my miles, I ran 40.8 miles and biked 21.6 -- both more than twice my mileage in injury-plagued April. I also got in at least 20.9 miles of walking. I also lifted weights six days out of the month -- less than what I wanted, but I'm noticing improvements each time I lift. The month was also interrupted by being out of town for five days, so all in all I'd have to say I'm pleased with how the month played out.

For the year, my running total is 250.4 miles; I've walked at least 107.5 miles; and I've logged 45.1 miles in biking. Everything would be much higher if not for my injuries.

Looking ahead to June, my plan for my first week of training is to get in about 15 miles, one day of biking and one day of weight lifting. The second week is going to be a challenge since I am traveling to the Outer Banks for a friend's wedding. It'll be nice to get away and run along the beach, but it kind of throws a kink into early training plans. Running-wise for the month, I'd like to hit 60-65 miles. I'd like to get in about 25 biking miles as well. I don't want too big of an increase so I don't burn out too quickly. I have to remember this is just a half marathon and not a full marathon that I'm getting ready for. I want to increase my long runs slowly and hit double digits again by the end of July.

I know that the half is still a little ways off, but my early goals are to set a PR for that distance. I'll be turning 30 in a few weeks, so it would be a great way to start off a new decade. There are some other races this summer that I'll be doing that'll hopefully get me ready for the half. Like I have discussed before, it would be great to set PRs in a 5k and 10k, but right now I'm focused on staying healthy and building my mileage up.

Good runs keep on coming

How hard is it for you to have two good runs in a row? How about three? What about four? It seems that the biggest problem with running is that good runs don't happen often enough. After nearly every run my wife asks me, "Did you have a good run?" It's usually hard to answer that question. If it's a normal day in which I don't care about pace, it's tough to have a bad run, but it's tough to say yes. If I have a tempo run, "good" can turn to awful if I'm a few seconds off the pace I seek. If I'm running more than 10 miles, "good" may be determined by the weather or if I had to take a bathroom break during the run.

But in the past week, with the focus of my runs being to get through them without any pain, I've had excellent runs. I haven't focused on pace, but my trusty Garmin tells me I'm in about a 9-minute mile pace. It's so great to be at that pace for a comfortable run. It makes me eager to do some sort of interval training very soon. With no planned races yet, I have nothing to worry about. Being able to run worry-free is an added bonus I don't think I've ever had.

So back to this consistency with good runs. Today I put in 4.2 miles (as well as a mile walking) and things continued to go well. My upper body was sore from lifting weights yesterday, so things actually felt weird at first. It had been a while since I lifted enough to be this sore, but it's a great feeling to have. It's almost like I can feel things changing even though my scale doesn't want to change.

Also with today's run, my May miles passed my April total. That's almost hard to believe, but it's great to put all that behind me now.

4.1 wonderful miles

A few months ago, when I was getting over my right foot bothering me, I sort of felt like I was forcing myself to run and get ready for the Shamrock Half Marathon. It was the middle of winter and I was lacking some motivation. Now that I'm getting over my other foot, though, my runs are feeling more worthwhile. Each run feels like it means something for a change. I don't know if it's because I need the time to sort of clear my mind or if it's the warm weather, but I'm feeling good right now when it comes to running.

Today was like a lot of other days in which I started with my dog and then didn't know if I'd feel like doing anything after our walk/jog. Well, I went out and did 4.1 miles total (1 with my dog) this morning, and feel so much better because of it. Passing my "long" distance from last week feels like a big accomplishment right now, especially since it's Wednesday. It'll take all these little steps to make this a successful summer.

The big 4.0

Excluding races, it's been almost two months since I ran 4 miles or more. I ran 6 miles on March 8 and participated in the 8k on March 15 the day before the half marathon. Ever since then -- except for the 10k in early April -- I haven't ran much. When I have, it's only been a mile or two at a time. When last week came along, I got in three miles, which was a good confidence builder.

This week I've gotten in runs of 2.1 miles, 1 mile and 2.4 miles. Today, though, I hit 4 miles. I've been overly worried about running coming off back-to-back injuries, but hitting 4 miles tells me that it's OK to run again. I'm not going to all of a sudden bump my mileage back up, but after two weeks of decent short runs, I'm ready to lay out a game plan to slowly build it up. Slow and steady wins the race ... or at least will make me a better runner by the end of August.

On a cross-training note, I must admit that it's very nice to be back into a routing of lifting weights. Even though it's only been a few weeks, I can already see small results in my arms. It's like 2004 all over again. This is about the time of year I started and by July I was feeling great and could really see the results. This year, though, there's no excuse of a wedding and honeymoon to interrupt things.

Slowly, but surely

So within the past few days, I've had two runs of more than two miles with no pain. Right now, though, I feel like my confidence is missing. It's like I'm thinking about it too much with each step. I'm overly worried about hurting myself rather than concentrating on enjoying the run. My plan over the next couple of weeks or is to run every other day and mix in biking and weight lifting. I'll slowly build my mileage up as I see fit, with the goal of getting back to 15 to 20 miles a week toward the end of June. Running on back-to-back days isn't something I really want to get back into for a little while.

My two-plus miles today were in the 9-minute mile range, so I've very happy with that. With the general thinking that training runs are 60 to 90 seconds slower per mile versus races, I'm right where I need to be when I'm ready to do another race.

Right now, I need to get my running confidence back and just continue to stay focused on getting into good, overall shape. And I need to be content that I've managed two decent runs without any pain.

Back to Basics

After being sick last week and having a totally worthless week, this week has been all about getting back on my feet and having small accomplishments. I finally got back to running after more than a week off following the 10k. It hasn't been much, but the key thing right now is making sure my foot is OK. I've ridden my bike once and hope to get a few miles in tomorrow if it's not raining. I've also gotten two solid weight-lifting days in, with a third coming tomorrow if it is raining. On top of all that, I've gotten some good walks in totaling about 10 miles so far for the week.

Coming off an injury and then being sick, my plan this week was to take it slow and see what happens. I was one run away from going to a doctor about my foot, but after more than 2 miles this morning, plus a mile walk and some yard mowing, all feels fine. I expect that I will very slowly build my mileage up over the next few weeks before I even think about another race. There are so many races in Richmond, so there's nothing to rush into right now.

My upper body is a bit sore from weight lifting, but nothing unexpected or too bad to prevent me from actually liking it. On the second day this week, I felt very focused when working out -- it was a feeling I hadn't had in quite a long time. Continuing the consistency into weeks two and three is what is key now. After that, it'll be a habit.

So now that I feel like my health is back, I finally feel appreciative that it's spring. It's a good time to kind of start over and get refocused on life and training.

Progress, one-tenth at a time

How happy should I be that in the past two days I have ran a whole 0.4 miles each day without any problems? I think my mind is starting to play games with me ... it's happened every time something hurts. It's like I'm thinking about it so much that it hurts. But it doesn't, actually.

This weekend I am participating in the annual Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k here in Richmond. From a numbers standpoint, in just nine short years this has become one of the largest road races in the U.S. This year there are 31,000 registered runners and it is host of the USA 10k Championship. So whether I run it all, walk/run it or just walk it, I'll be a part of something huge. Before you lecture me, I will not do anything stupid. If anything, I've never done anything stupid when I've gotten injured. I know several people taking part in this race -- some who would go at a pace like I'd normally shoot for, others faster, others slower and a couple of walkers -- so I hope to have some choices on what to do Saturday morning.

Anyway, back to my injury, or hopefully, the lack thereof. I felt this urge today to go out for a few miles, but something held me back. There's no need to rush it ... if it started hurting, yes, I'd stop, but would it be a setback? With my next "big" race not until the end of August, I'm still very content with riding my bike and not running too much in the next few weeks. Speaking of the bike, it's very interesting to me the differences in how winded I feel during and after riding vs. running. Once I get used to riding more and increase my distances a bit, I'm curious how my body will handle everything. I'm looking forward to mixing biking into my routine this summer. These next couple of months are great for building a good base for the rest of the summer. And like I said a few posts ago, my health is much more important than setting new PRs. They'll be nice, but it's still far from my mind right now.

So two days into the second quarter of 2008, things seem to be looking up. I may have to take it one-tenth of a mile at a time, but I have no problem with that approach right now.