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
4 comments:
Hey! Great job! I'm glad someone is sticking it out!
Isn't there a rest week built somewhere in there for recovery?
I hope to be back in commission soon. I'm starting to wonder..how many weeks off do you think I could take before I would be unable to make up the miles even with a walk/run combo?
I'm sticking to only biking/swimming/and elliptical in place of running until I see my doc but I've wondered.
Also lost 5 pounds ya'll! Getting faster by the minute here.
This week I am supposed to do a total of 15 miles (including 6 on Wednesday and 7 on Saturday). Next week is supposed to be my "rest" week, when I do easy runs of 4, 4, and 3 miles (for a total of 11 miles), before jumping back up to 17 miles the next week.
Be careful how fast you jump back into long runs. Come back too fast and your risk of injury skyrockets. Although your conditioning from swimming, biking, etc. may allow your heart, lungs, and muscles to pick up the mileage quickly, your body will not have experienced the pounding and stress that are uniquely part of running. And, with your prior knee cartilage damage, you risk a bigger injury.
I suggest that you first do either just walking or a combination of jogging/walking the same amount of miles you might normally jog and see if your knee acts up. With more walking, you will be on your feet longer than if you just jogged, but at a less pounding pace. That should allow you to gage how soon you can pick up the pace and distances in your training.
If you still plan to do the Triathlon on September 20, I would put your focus on being sufficiently prepared to do the 3.5 mile run at the end of that and then add mileage as your body allows to try to do the Half.
As far doing the entire 13.1 miles of the Tyler Half, if you cannot get your total miles of training (including walking/jogging) up to at least 15 - 20 miles the week before the week of the race and your last jog/walk up to at least 8 - 9 miles, I would be cautious about trying to jog the entire 13.1 miles.
Of course, because you have already paid for the Half and 1 or more of the rest of us still plan to do the Half, you can always start the race and, if necessary to protect your knee, drop out along the way. Even if you could not jog or walk the Half, I would expect you to come as a supportive spectator as I do my geezer shuffle to the bitter end.
I've said it before.. I'll SAY it AGAIN!! You guys are totally my inspiration to stay on track..I know I keep talking about my poopy week. well I had an even worse run this morning (which I added to my already sunny disposition). Hearing you guys talk about knee injuries and how well you are improving makes me think "hey yea, me too. I can do it too"
MM,
With JS recovering from her knee episodes and your DH's new schedule, do you want to run together Saturday a.m.? I am slated to do 7 "easy" miles. If you are interested, we can run at the Pond, where we can strategically place cold water and gatorade. There is also a working water foiuntain. Of course, my pace may seem too slow for you; I probably will do no faster than 11 minute miles
With the heat, I will want to get out the door no later than 5:45 a.m.
Interested?
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