Nations Hold Their Breath

The world -- especially organizers of the September 20 "Denison Dash" triathlon and the October 4 "Tyler Half" half marathon where JS is the headline competitor -- waits in anticipation for the results of JS's MRI of her painful knee, a procedure to be performed at 11:00 a.m. local time today.

According to JS, her doctor revealed following an examination today that she likely (1) has bone spurs, (2) has some "stuff" foating around in her knee (perhaps left-over cartilage not completely "disintegrated" by a prior surgical procedure), or (3) early signs of arthritis, but nothing will be certain until the results of her MRI are reviewed. The MRI technician performing the procedure steadfastly refused to devulge what was being revealed during the MRI, but was overheard to say "lie still," indicating anxiety and restlessness by JS (and perhaps excruciating pain?). Despite the obvious discomfort, only the loud hammer blows of the MRI tube could be heard (perhaps hiding the sobs of this sidelined warrior?).

The MRI results will be sent to another "expert" for analysis before being returned to JS's doctor to be reviewed with JS. When asked how soon the results might be available for the millions of JS fans holding prayer vigils around the globe, JS's doctor said that he and JS would discuss the MRI on Monday August 4, whereupon JS could share the results with the hundreds of reporters and papparazzi expected to gather at JS's doctors office.

Rest assured that this voice of the people will encourage JS to share with an anxious world the diagnosis and prognosis from this latest medical step in the life of our beloved, but injury-plagued celebrity.

Registered

I'm in like flin home scillin's!!

Heat Sap's Oldster's Energy

I did my "long" run of the week today: 6.65 miles @ 10:58/mile, making 13.80 miles for the week. My first 1.4 miles was @ 11:29/mile pace; the next 2-3 miles @ around 10:45/mile pace; and the last 2 miles @ 10:30/mile pace, although I felt much slower. I was supposed to do 7 miles, but the sun wore me out fast enough that that final .35 miles sounded like 5 miles, so I stopped at 6.65.

Again I did not get enough sleep last night, although I woke up 1/2 hour later than planned, and thus I had the displeasure of running the last 1/2 hour in the sun. The heat (80 degrees at 6:00 a.m.) and humidity are bad enough before sunrise, but once the sun hits me, the radiant heat I feel kills my energy quickly. Seems to go from 80 to 90 in seconds, although it only rises about 5 degrees in that 1/2 hour.

On the bright side, I again suffered no injury (yea for 54-year-old body!) and felt no lingering soreness during or after the run. Of course, I was a zombie the rest of the day and had to take a 2 hour nap, but us old guys take naps on the weekend anyway.

Next week is supposed to be 6 tempo miles on Wednesday and 7 easy miles on Saturday, for 15 miles total that week. Pray that my raggedy body makes the distances so that I can enjoy the easier runs the following week (11 total miles of nothing but easy jogs).

MB

No running

Wow we need to get some posting going on here peeps!

Here's my update for the week. Monday night I went back to trying to run. I had no knee pain and did no running for the entire week before. The first .5 miles were fine and then BAM - sudden knee pain - the same pain from the week before in the same place. I only made it a few more minutes (I was trying to see if it would go away) and then decided to stop. I moved over to elliptical for 30 more minutes and felt defeated. So I've decided to see my ortho again and probably ask for an MRI to see if there is a structural injury (tendons or meniscus again, etc.). I want the expert opinion on how much running and when I should consider. I'll probably also get into a rehab clinic. So no more running until things are figured out. The soonest I could get in was next Wednesday morning.

Tuesday I went biking. Love it. Although it was HOT. Did 12.2 miles in 51 minutes. My saddle is killing me. My friend got a new saddle that she loves so we went to the store and picked one up on sale; I can't wait to try that out on Thursday. I also have a new cadence monitor which rules. It's the cateye cadence and it helps so much. I'm a techie and I wish I could afford all the very cool gadgets and disc wheels out there. Luckily, this was very reasonable. The nice RBM lady picked it out for me and didn't make me feel like a total non-cycling idiot like some of the hard-core reps at the Richardson location. Plan to swim tonite and it's a ride on Thursday.

Have a great week everyone-

Get Those Zs

Well, in an effort to get most of my run in before the sun started beating down on me, I set my alarm for and got up at 5:00 a.m. today. Unfortunately, I could not get to sleep early enough last night and enjoyed only 5 hours of sleep. Normally, with my morning routine, I am fully awake and energized before I head out the door. At worse, I may be slightly tired, but 10-15 minutes into the run my (increasing) conditioning and energy carry me just fine through the run, and the recovery afterward. But not today. Apparently, the short shrift I gave sleep all week, especially last night, left me with heavy legs the entire run.

To make matters worse, JS -- who has kept me entertained on Saturday runs with her witty banter, been my pacer to keep my speed down until I get more miles under my belt (when you are older and have been a couch potato for months, you have to build slowly), and forced me to take water, walking, and stretching breaks (as an old codger should) -- was unavailable. With MM at "Muster," I had to run alone. Without someone lying to me about how well I am doing and controlling my desire to run faster than I should, I had a heavy 6-mile run that felt worse than the distance and time (1:07:10) might indicate. The first 2 miles I did in an easy 11:55/mile pace; the next 2 miles in 11:30/mile pace; and the last 2 miles in 10:40/mile pace.

5 hours later I still am moving slowly and I feel much more weary than I should be . So, advice to everyone (especially myself): Get your Zs, or your body will make sure that you pay for the lack.

Wiser Old Man

Hot Pink

I smile and wave at the cars that move over for me, and I say good morning to the folks walking/riding/occasionally running.
This morning, those people really made my happiness swell. I've had a rough week, and I remember how life just cycles, how we are who we make ourselves and, not who we end up being.

I ran past an old viejo on his right. He turned first to see what was coming, then I smiled and said good morning he responded with "Si, bueno". I had the chance to soak up his countenance then "Este es un beuno dia por corriendo" (I hope he understood) He turned the corner using his cane and tilting his hat. My usual wave is responded to casually, I almost didn't wave to the next car.. when I did, an older man of African descent leaned in, looked right into my face and waved all the way to his elbow. I want to remember these moments forever.

The sun makes hot pink!

Update

Saturday was my long run of the week. Met MB at the house to do 6 miles. We did 6 miles around the pond and it wasn't too bad. Time was 1:18 I think. I rather enjoyed it. I was a little slower than I had wanted to do but other wise the run itself was fine. Took 1 gu just for practice, didn't really need the calories. 1 water bottle.

The only issue was around 4.5 miles my right knee started to hurt. I spent the last mile and a half trying to decide how much it hurt. It wasn't really acute pain. It started small and gradually increased. No snapping or popping. But I really wanted to finish what was on my schedule. So I kept running. When I finished and stopped I realized it really hurt and it kept up over the weekend. It only hurts when I walk/put pressure on it though so I'm sure it's some kind of stretched ligament or swelling issue. (If you didn't know, I've had 80% of the cartilege in my knee removed so running causes scar tissue and swelling from lack of cushioning. Think bone on bone.) It doesn't hurt when sitting or not in use so I don't think it's any kind of tear or other injury issue . So I'll be taking some time off. I'm not sure how much. But at least today. I've been doing ice and ibuprofen therapy. Hope your weekends went much better than mine!

Cross training

Crew, are you doing any cross-training? I'm curious. MB, I know you said you are doing some weights every now and again. How bout you MM?

I started back swimming last week and I did 800m yesterday. No biking planned this week, but I have plans to bike twice next week.

Next week I think I need to find a track to run at for the speed work. I wonder how many people will be out there also. I hate running at the track with a lot of people. blech. I'm a loner! ;)

See ya'll at the Group Run - MM is 6:30 an ok start time? I know MB prefers early but I wasn't sure what time your kids would be ok getting dragged out of bed.

Races

Anyone interested in doing a 5k, 10k or 15k event during our training? I thought it would be fun to get a tech t and get some additional race results under our belt.

Here's some ideas we might be able to work in:

Sep 11Thurs
7:00 PM
Freedom Run
5K/1M
American Airline Center, 2500 Victory Ave, Dallas , TX
http://www.thefreedomrun.com/

Sep 13Sat
7:30 AM
Autumn Equinox 15K & 5K
15K/5K
Stone Tables Area, White Rock Lake, Dallas, TX
http://www.thrustonracing.com/calendar.html


Jul 19Sat
7:30 AM
Too Hot To Handle
5K/15K
Winfrey Point, White Rock Lake, Dallas, TX
http://www.runontexas.com/TempPages/TooHot2008/toohotinfo.htm
You get a technical T for this one...

And Don't forget...
Oct 18Sat
8:00 AM
Cowboys and Kids 5K
5K/1M
Mesquite Resitol Rodeo Arena, Mesquite, TX
http://www.cowboysandkidsrun.com/

Geezer Survives "Speed" Workout

Today I did a "speed" workout that involved 2 harder runs of 1.05 miles each, and lots of slower jogging that totaled 4.85 miles on my feet over 55 minutes. Considering that I started slow-jogging less than 1 mile a day abit over 1 month ago, I am glad to see my slow, but steady, progress.

I began with a warmup jog of 1.15 miles in 13:31 (11:45/mile pace), "ran" 1.05 miles in 10:05 (9:36/mile), jogged .50 miles in 5:56 (11:52/mile), ran 1.05 miles in 9:35 (9:08/mile), jogged .50 miles in 5:42 (11:24/mile), and finished with a .60 mile cooldown walk in 10:11 (16:58/mile), for a total of 4.85 miles in 55 minutes (11:21/mile).

I still have to mentally adjust to how short and slow my mileage is compared to 20 years ago when I could do 26.2 miles at 6:30/mile pace and 1 mile speed workouts in 5:30/mile pace, but then I remember that I am 54 and out of shape. My goal is to finish a 1/2 marathon in October and I am on schedule to do so. Other 50-year-olds may run faster, but I will sweat more than all of them.

So, yea for the doughy geezer!

Long Run

Here's my check in with my long run for the week.

Saturday was my long run at 5 miles. MB was kind enough to run with me. An hour is a long time for me to run alone right now. We did laps around the pond near his casa. It was slow and steady. I did have to stop to adjust my laces a few times and finally removed my right sock for the last 2.5 miles. After that it was smooth sailing. Total time was 5.15 miles in 1:06 ~ 12.82 mm (including warmup). Felt good afterwards and no soreness all weekend. Drank 1 ozarka bottle. No nutrition.

Hope my 6 miles this weekend goes as well!

Old Dude Runs 3.5 Miles!

Today I "ran" 3.5 miles without walking for the first time in over 8 months. Slow (11:45 minutes/mile pace) 1.40 miles to warm up. Next 1.05 mile @ 11:15/mile. Last 1.05 mile @ 10:45/mile. 3.5 miles @ 11:05 minutes/mile - - - wow. And I could have "raced" even faster! {;>] Already 6 miles run this week with another 4-5 on Saturday. Now, if I could just avoid collapsing after my runs and not have this irresistable urge to sleep afterwards, I would be ok. Of course, that is what old dudes do -- sleep alot.

Socks...or why I feel dumb today

Went for my 3 mile run and it was average for me. But that's not the story here...the story is that I did a slow warm-up, my run and a cool-down and there was NO NUMB issues. Yep that's right...no tingling, no dead foot. Nada. And I ran in my 'new' shoes I got a month ago. What was different....my socks. Today I wore no socks. I went shopping this morning looking for arch supports. I pulled out the insert in my current shoe and while studying my foot realized how tight my socks are. They cut me at exactly the crook in my foot (on top where my ankle meets foot). It suddenly occurred to me that I had changed shoes, changed lacing styles, but had never changed sock styles. I had pulled out a couple pairs from last season to run in and I guess they shrunk (plus I have a few more pounds now).

So I laced up the shoes like normal and just removed the socks and VOILA!

40 minutes total (wu, run, cd) and NO issues. Except the blister on my inner arch from no socks...but I'll get some new socks.