Sunday, May 10, 2015

Goodbye pain, hello speed


Illustration by Mr. Emerging Runner Jr. 
Today's run (street): 3.9 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.6 miles

Happy Mother's Day. We did most of our celebrating yesterday because we had a lot of stuff to do today. That meant family time during the day, followed by an early dinner at our favorite place. This weekend also included a couple of sunny outdoor runs for me that felt close to normal. The gating (or gaiting : ) factor is my stride that feels constrained on my left side. It's causing my left foot to land differently, so that it jams up against the front of my shoe.

Both of my weekend runs were pretty much the same, although they were tougher than they should have been. The issue wasn't my disc problem. Part of it came from an extremely heavy pollen count and high humidity, especially today. I'll also blame the minimal road work I've done over the past couple of months. My street runs are generally longer than the treadmill and elliptical workouts that I've been doing. Plus, these outside runs produce a lot more impact than fitness machines.

The bright spot in today's run happened near the end when I came down a long stretch and saw a couple walking in the distance. I picked up the pace to pass them and held it long enough to determine that I wouldn't cause a relapse of my upper thigh pain. My overall pace for the run was still very slow, but that last quarter mile was in the mid-8:00 range. No pain during or after.

Tomorrow I'll finish up the formal testing of alternative running machines. I want to keep the momentum of weekday workouts after this program finishes. I don't like using the locker room at my company's fitness center, but if I schedule my workouts for the end of the day, I can towel off with gym wipes and then head straight home. That's what I've been doing during this testing period.

Over the weekend, my son created a running graphic for me (above) that looks like some of the artwork I've created for this site. I like his running man (or woman!) and I think he nailed both the concept of running and a forward leaning stance in karate. I haven't had to combine those two things to date, but if I do, I'll have an icon to represent it!

8 comments:

  1. Your son is very creative. Mother's genes, I'm sure.

    Gym wipes? Made by Huggies.

    Nice pace at the end of your run! I will call it a comeback, even though you've been here for years, rockin' your peers and puttin' suckas in fear.

    What is your favorite place? You guys eat out a lot. I want to eat out a lot. Trade?

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  2. Now that you mention it, I am sort of the LL Cool J of running.

    Yes, his mother is very creative. He has designed some really cool running art over the years. I should show more of it.

    The wipes are from a company called Clorox. They smell fresh, but for some reason they really burn my skin and eyes when I use them.

    Our favorite casual place is Noodles & Co. Our favorite not casual place is probably Butera's. I actually think you guys eat out more than we do.

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    Replies
    1. I don't think those wipes are meant for people.

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    2. I try to eat out as much as possible. Pete tries to eat in as much as possible.

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    3. Yeah, gym wipes are meant for gym equipment. It is not meant for people who refuse to use the showers. Are the showers open are private? Open, I get. I certainly don't want to see my coworkers naked and vice versa. If the showers are private, I'm curious about your reasoning.

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    4. "or" not "are". You know what I meant.

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    5. If I tour the facility, would it be weird if I showered there? And then toweled off with Clorox wipes?

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    6. Yes that would be weird. But not surprising. In the least.

      The showers at my company are uncomfortably close and the one time I went there to work out I was put off by the "open towel" culture.

      In terms of dinner out, once a weekend works fine for me. Unless it's Thai or Indian. Then all bets are off.

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