Go Long!

I had another run today with just one stop at the turnaround. It felt good, although I don't think my pace was all that fast. I'm not in very good shape as I felt lactose buildup in my legs from lifting yesterday and running on Wednesday. Nevertheless, it felt good to be able to run almost four miles without having to stop because of an injury. 

I ran in my Asics and can just tell that there is too much cushioning. I'll get some trainers next week and continue to build miles in my Five Fingers. 

I ran the west side of the mosquito trail (Bird Refuge) in my Solomon trail running shoes. Since it's the first time I've run the trail (dirt road) I didn't know how long it would be. It turned out to be a little over three miles each way. I also haven't run in the shoes before. I noticed that the long (second) toe in my right foot hurt after the run but wasn't worried. Two day's later I had a blackened nail that I will lose. It hurts! No problem with the calves, however.

My brother-in-law, Ron, was in town so I took him with me to lift this morning. While he was finishing, I got a mile in on the treadmill. I ran in my Five Fingers. This afternoon I did the middle loop at the Nature Park on Bluff Road (3.5 miles). I ran a little faster than usual but felt a twinge in my right calf a couple of times so I stopped to walk it out to make sure it didn't go any further. I ran in my Asics and still wonder if all that cushioning and support aren't the cause of my cramping problems. I'll run in the dirt in sandals tomorrow. I didn't today because it rained. 

I ran the east leg of the Waterfowl Preserve and then went west and cut through the middle back to the start. The gravel road on the east is pretty rough because it has a lot of rocks, the middle road is mostly dirt so it's easier on the feet, although it's not very even, so my ankles get a good workout. I worked on my tan while I ran on the dirt road.

I ran in sandals again and didn't cramp in my calves although I felt a little tenderness from Monday's run. I didn't wear socks and I have blisters on my toes to show for it. I'm surprised that I have more than when I ran last week. I probably ran a little faster, although I didn't wear my Garmin, so I don't really know.

I don't know if I can run longer in sandals because of the footbed or because I'm running on trails. I haven't worn sandals on pavement, yet. 

I ran the loop at Howard's Slough once again in sandals. This time I tried wearing socks. More blisters, although they were on the top of my toes, not on the bottom like before. It doesn't make sense because these are open toed sandals. The only thing that could have been rubbing the top of my toes was the sock. I don't get it.

Anyway, the calves were great and even though I'm not going to worry about speed until I get to 70 or 80 miles a week, I did run faster and even kicked it quite a bit at the end. It felt good.

I missed yesterday because of time commitments and will probably miss tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to get in a long run on Saturday... although I don't know what shoes to wear. Running shoes on pavement mess up my calves. Sandals on dirt hurt my feet. Maybe I'll try running shoes on dirt and do a mile or two in my Five Fingers on pavement. 

I played basketball this morning at 5:30. There were just six of us, but we played full-court, so it was a good workout. We played for an hour. I'm guessing I ran 3 miles.

I lifted at 7:30. I've modified my lifts so I can do my workout in about 40 minutes. I'm still trying to figure it out, but have used suggestions from the blog to cut back. I'm not really trying to add muscle at this point anyway.

I ran the Waterfowl Conservation middle trail at 11:00 AM. I did the whole thing (7 miles) in my Five Fingers. I didn't expect it to be so hot and even though I wore a wide brim and was only in the sun for 90 minutes, I got burned. I've been out longer than that already, but I guess I've done it later or earlier in the day. I go to the doctor for some spots I suspect are skin cancer tomorrow. He'll see my sunburn and say, "No duh!" It was stupid to get burned. I just didn't think I was out that long.

I had to go 3/4 mile on the rocky road before I hit the middle trail. It was bearable on the way out, but on the way back it nearly killed me. I got blisters (another first) on the bottom of my feet and it was hot, so all in all it was a rough day.

My new strategy will be to wear sandals or running shoes on the rocky roads and switch to Five Fingers on the dirt, at least until the puncture weeds start to seed out. Then I don't know what I'll do.  

My feet were beat all to heck today, but I thought I could get in some running on the pavement which I did: 3 miles each way on the Bluff trail. Not fast, but without stopping except to stretch at the halfway point. Blisters hurt but weren't too bad. Running shoes, pavement, no complications.

4.5 uneventful miles on the Bluff Trail in running shoes.

My son, Jeff, graduated from Lewis and Clark Law School on Saturday, so I ran a quick five miles around Lake Osweego and through the neighborhoods by our hotel before we went to the ceremony. It was raining just slightly for part of the run, but the scenery was spectacular, the roads were not busy and there were a lot of hills which broke up the run and added interest. I can see why there are so many runners in the Portland area. It was a cold day (55F) but perfect for running.

In other news, I ate horribly for the last half of the week because we were traveling and I have no self control. Now I've got to concentrate on eating right.

Got back from Portland late last night. Woke up to serious rain, (Utah rain is serious, Portland rain is just mist) so I postponed my run 'til afternoon. Ran a 6.5 mile loop on the Bluff Trail and through the Eaglewood neighborhood at about 5PM. The run was slow and arduous until about mile 5. I guess I just had to get all the junk from the Portland trip out of my system. Hope to increase mileage considerably this week.

Ran the short loop of the Nature Center at 6PM. I passed some Scouts on bikes. The first one said, "I could walk as fast as you're running!" He could have been right. It felt really slow, although I checked my Garmin at the end and I was running a 7:30 pace. Maybe I just felt slow. I don't know because I didn't start my watch. Oops! Everything seemed really hard today. Maybe I'm just getting readjusted from the long weekend.

Played one hour of full-court, 3-on-3 basketball this morning at 5:30. I worked pretty hard and will count that as 3 miles. I ran just under two miles at noon in my Five Fingers. I'm starting to get a pain in my arch in my right foot-- will have to watch for that. I also ran six and a half miles in the afternoon in the waterfowl management area. I ran on the gravel road in my sandals (about 1 mile) and then on the dikes (dirt) in my Five Fingers. I got blisters, again, and have mosquito and horse fly bites all over my body. Next time I'll wear repellant. 

 They did a big burn in the management area, so all the land west of the dike is burned.

My throat is really sore. I know I'm getting something. I've tried to take extra Vitamin C and have tried to force fluids. I took Ibuprofen before my run this afternoon. A side benefit may be that it seemed a little less painful than usual. Hmmm.