10/31/10 - Weight Work and Core

Most of my working out is non-weights (pushups, crunches, pullups, lunges, squats, one-legged running man squats). I only used weights for my calves/Achilles work. Felt good...3-sets of 15. Stretched after and called it a day.

Back on the road in the AM. That 3.7 mile out and back is going to be my best friend this week.

10/30/10 Return to the Road - 3.7 Miles

3.7 miles
30:00
8:06 avg

Just an easy run down Blossom to Crestwood and back. I was really nervous as I wanted the run to feel good, but knew that it may not just from the amount of time off. Felt decent, but boy am I outta shape. The run back was actually just a little slower than the run there. So, for the first run back, I positive split by about 10 seconds. I'll take that for now, though, just to be back on the road.

The Running Vacation May Be Over

I was going to hold out till November 1, but it may be done sooner than that...Hmmm....

Temporary Blogging Hiatus

The time is right at this time to go on a little "vacation", so to speak, from blogging.

The Achilles injury persists, but I've made some decisions on actions to take and habits to adopt, all the while, I also feel like during this time, I'm going to keep things a little low-profile.

The goal, however, remains the same. I hit a low point last week where I contemplated hanging up the running shoes altogether. It's been a rough time, in the area of running, lately. However, despite the pit I seemed to fall into a week ago, light has shown itself at the end of the tunnel.

Have chatted with a few people on different topics and taken that input and have decided the next course of action. The next 4-weeks will be pretty important.

I may blog a little during the next month, but it won't be necessarily about what I'm doing in any detail, but perhaps will cover running and racing plans going forward, as that is an ever-changing organism right now.

I appreciate my few readers, that yall continue to check-in to see what's happening, and have-no-fear...I will return to blogging. Even more so, I will return to the roads, if all goes well. I try not to say "God-willing", because I once heard a guy say "I don't like it when people say 'God-willing', cause I just tell them 'Yes, God is willing....are you?'" I always liked that mentality. Yep, God is willing. Am I? Guess we'll see.

See yall soon!

9/24/10 PM 7.1 Miles

7.1 Miles
52:45

Ran with Geoff down Blossom to the park for a loop and back. Felt mostly good, but the Achilles was aching for the last mile or so of the run. Leaves me a little less than confident, yet still anxious to run, about my attempt at 17 miles tomorrow.

9/23/10 No Run

Had every intention of running, but not getting up in the morning, and attending a wake for a close friends mom left no running time by the end of the night. I'm ok with that, though.

9/22/10 6.6 Miles & A.R.T. Therapy

6.6 Miles

Easy run that felt crummy for 4 miles, but great for the last 2.

Had a late appt for A.R.T. Was good, and is a very positive thing that Dr. Hernandez is telling me she sees improvement with each visit. Very promising stuff.

9/21/10 No Run

I was way sore from my A.R.T. therapy the day before, so I opted out of my Tuesday run. I got up, headed to the little wranglers room, and coming out, my Achilles were just too sore and beat up. I figured it would be a huge exercise in painful frustration.

9/20/10 AM Easy Run, 7.35 Miles

7.35 miles
55:24
7:32 avg pace

I took my run this morning out along my favorite route... my "old" morning route down Memorial, loop the park and back. It felt good to run that route again, as I decided not to do my usual route again till I could do it fully and not worry about stopping before making it home due to pain. Today was that day, and it felt great. After running late in the evening yesterday, it had been only 12 hours since my prior run, and there as a huge difference between how the Achilles' felt from the start. My first 2 miles were both 8-minute miles, in about 16:10-16:20. All moved well after that.

9/19/10 PM Easy Run, 6.1 Miles

6.1 Miles
42:53
22:10 out
20:43 back

Good run, and probably just what I need the day before another therapy session. Plan is to run tomorrow morning, since I know I won't be running after.

9/18/10 Kenyan Way Long Run, 14.7 Miles

14.7 Miles
1:44:55
45 Miles for the Week

I had to come up with the mileage and time, both by kind of a guess. I had to MapMyRun.com it to get the mileage, then deal with not starting my watch from base to the first water stop, so missing approximately 15 minutes...if I had to guess. But, great run. The Achilles were bothering me some over the first half, but calmed down for the 2nd half.

Did 2.1 miles early, then ran into the Heights, down the hike & bike path into Downtown, around the Juice Box, then back to base. Headed out for a couple of extra miles to the Rose Garden and back. Good stuff...

9/17/10 AM Easy Run, 5.6 Miles

5.6 Miles
41:08
31 Miles for the Week

Easy run...felt good for the most part, but definitely some soreness after in the Achilles. Did some stretching, and now just biding my time till the Saturday morning long run. Just hoping for a good day out... going for 13-15 miles.

9/16/10 PM Easy Run - 5.25 Miles

5.25 Miles
40:16
25 Miles for the Week

Nothing too major. Just a loop of the bayou. Good run, and felt great in the "late" night air (ran @ 8:30pm).

9/15/10 AM Easy Run, 7 Miles

7.1 Miles
53:17
7:30 avg
20 miles for the week

I can't even describe how good it felt to run the way I ran today. The start of the run was not nearly as uncomfortable as yesterday's run. I made my way up Blossom, down Crestwood to Memorial then into the park for a loop and back the same way. I chatted briefly with a couple of friends, then ran into Bill and Sean at the end of my park loop. Was good to see those guys, but man it was tough to just tell myself to head back home while they were starting their loop. If I'd run with them, that would have put me @ 10 miles for the day. Judging by the fact that the only discomfort I really felt was in the last half mile, it was a VERY good thing that I listened to my good sense and just headed home.