Hot Shot Running

Scott, the fastest guy I know

2010-07-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

Met this fellow Scott who runs 6min50sec miles, which is very, very fast. He doesn't even look like some super fast running guy. He's kind of stocky with thick legs, and he doesn't look like he has really low body fat, with all his muscles standing out like they do sometimes. He runs in these slip on canvas shoes, even 50 miles races. Really something else.

first race

2010-07-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I'm not going to write about every run I take. It just seems like a little much. I've been running regularly, as much as five or six times/week, and I've been feeling more willing to run longer distances. Today and yesterday, though, I'm feeling pretty worn out, so I'll run tomorrow.

The sciatica thing is calming down a bit. Rupesh, the accupuncturist, says I have a "structural issue," what with my left hip being a little higher than my right, and, therefore my left leg a little shorter than my right. His treatment seemed to help, and I'm being better about switching up my legs in meditation.

I did my first race on June 26, the Keep Austin Weird 5K. I was running, and about halfway through, I was wondering why I was having such trouble, why it seemed like I was putting forth so much more work and not going much faster than I usually do. I realized that it was b/c of the heat. Normally, I run on narrow trails, but this race was on Cesar Chavez, a blacktop road open to the sun all day. The heat radiating off the pavement was fantastic, and the announcer read the thermometer at 101degrees. In the end, though, I made in 28 minutes, which is about what I expected. The winner, however, did it in 16!

dark

2010-06-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 4.5 miles with a friend who wanted to keep walking. Friday, I ran to Town Lake, but on the way back it was so dark that I didn't want to run on the dirt, for fear of tripping over a rock, so I had to walk a bunch. Feeling fast and light lately.

two more runs

2010-06-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sunday, 4.5 miles N on Shoal Creek Trail/Blvd, Hancock, Bull Creek, 38th, back down Shoal Creek Trail. 43 minutes. Went out 8pm, and it was a lot cooler. I should do that more often. Like running on
Bull Creek Rd. a lot. Long and straight and clear sidewalks.

Friday, went to Pease Park and back. Brutal. Felt awful. Slow. Very slow.

Today I was not able to do the group run, and I'm just too beat to go out now.

yesterday

2010-06-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

4.7 miles, 43 minutes. A little over a nine minute miles. I want to run today, but I am just so tired that I want to go to bed early.

another group run

2010-06-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

Second group run day before yesterday. Went off with the 8m45s mile group for a five mile run, led by Andy. Kept up just just fine until the last mile and a half or so, then I got smoked. Didn't come in too far behind the other guys, though. Next week, I think I'll be able to keep up with them.

This young fellow Paul and I were running, and he says to me, "Are you a Chi runner?" I told him yes, and asked him how he could tell. "From how you're running," he said. I found that encouraging, that someone who knows a bit about it can look at me and see what's going on. I must be doing something right.

When I try to run without the lean and mid-foot strike, it's really hard.

It's raining today, but I think I'll go out anyway. Why not?

Keep Austin Weird 5K will be my first race. 6/26. Nervous.

starting again

2010-06-06T18:49:00.000-07:00

Ibuprofren seems to have calmed my sciatic nerve. The girlfriend suggests that I try acupuncture at Aoma, which I think I will do. Ran down to Pease Park and back this morning. It was easier than I expected, which makes me think that perhaps I am getting faster and stronger than I know. Group run tomorrow.

the sciatic nerve

2010-06-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a consensus that the pain that originates in my lower back and shoots down my left leg has to do with the sciatic nerve. I was advised to take an anti-inflamatory (ibuprofren) and take it easy for a week. I last went for a run on Friday, and this is the longest I've not run since I started in February.

I'm nervous about this. I know that pain and sickness and old age are unavoidable parts of life (the first Noble Truth), but it's still quite upsetting for me. Talking to some folks about it yesterday, I found myself getting choked up. My body is going to break down eventually, and this is a small taste of that. Hopefully, I can get this under control.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sciatica

pain

2010-05-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and today, my lower back and upper thigh hurts. It's hard to pinpoint where it is exactly. Seems like a nerve thing. Ugh. I don't know what to do.

I run slower alone.

2010-05-29T05:49:00.000-07:00

4.91 miles, 38 minutes, the same route I followed on Monday night's group run. I'm pretty sure that's seven or eight minutes slower than I ran it on Monday with that fellow Jeremy.

two runs

2010-05-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday 5/27: Down to Pease Park and back, 30 min. 3.71 miles according to MapMyRun.com (username: RevTrevor).

5/26: Down 31st, around campus, up Guadalupe. 3.88 miles according to MapMyRun.com

I only took Tuesday off this week. Pretty good!

I want to bring my mileage up, but the increasing heat is creating a major psychological block for me. I'm literally scared to run in this heat. You step outside into the sun, and it's like getting beaten with a club. I do it anyway, though, but I can tell that it is much harder than it would be if it were cooler. Oy. I guess this will just take some getting used to.

I think it's time to take my regular run up to the longer one I've been doing. 6.23 miles, to Lady Bird Lake Trail, via Shoal Creek. Make that my normal run, and shorter runs exceptions to the rule.

An upside to the heat, though, is that they turned on the water feature at Pease Park, so now I can run through a fountain to cool off.

I notice that when I wonder about my breathing, I have trouble breathing.

my first group run

2010-05-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

Tonight I did my first group run. We met at 7pm at "the rock," a memorial on the trail beneath the Mopac. Two guys took off a little early for a 7 mile loop. Me and two other guys went next for 5 miles, and then everyone else did like 3.5 or 4. Jeremy led the way, then me, and this fellow Brad. Brad kept falling behind, so I was mostly with Jeremy the whole time. We talked a bunch, about running and ChiRunning and girlfriends and jobs and where we've lived. He's an Americorps teacher.

On the last 1.75 or 2 miles, Jeremy really pushed us, and I kept right with him, even though it was brutal. I think it was my fault, really. We were going at a pretty good clip, and I said, "This feels good," and he said, "Yeah it does," and then we were flying. If I had been running by myself and was puffing that hard, I would have totally stopped, but running that fast with another guy just made that feel like not really an option. Talking to him afterwards, he said it was the same for him, even though he was leading the way. Like he had to keep it up for the benefit of the both of us. I'm sure that last 2 miles or so was the fastest I've ever run, and the longest distance I've ever run that fast. It was awesome.

At that level of exertion, I could really notice things. I could feel my posture slipping, noting how I wasn't running from my core, and I had to try harder to make it happen. Also, my thing about how my right leg doesn't open out back behind me as much as it should was apparent.

Jeremy and I got dinner at Whole Foods afterwards, and I gave him my card. We'll run together again, I am sure.

There were so many people on the trail! I seriously couldn't believe how many runners there were. It was really inspiring to see so many people out doing such a wholesome thing. I felt like high-fiving everybody. The wiry old guys, the svelte young folks, the middle aged chubby ladies. (Funny thing - you see a lot more middle aged chubby ladies running/walking than middle aged chubby gentlemen. I guess if a guy is out of shape at that age, he considers it a lost cause.) Everybody was just awesome.

Bought a new technical shirt; a "singlet," the clerk at Hill Country Running called it. I wore it today and liked it a lot. Perfect fit, perfect weight. :)

I guess this run isn't happening next Monday, due to Memorial Day, but it will start up again after that.

5/22

2010-05-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

5/22/10, 4.7 miles. About forty minutes, though I didn't note the exact time that I started. Same route as yesterday, but instead of turning on 45th, I kept going on Shoal Creek Blvd., left onto Hancock, and left onto Bull Creek to 38th. Took the metronome down to 54, using the "waltz time." 81 X .66 = 53.46, so I'm not sure why I had it at 55. Stupid. I guess I'm going at about 82 spm, since 82 X .66 = 54.12.

My god, it was hot today. Didn't help that I started the run around 1:30, when the sun is the most powerful. I think I will find running much, much easier when the weather gets cooler.

feeling good

2010-05-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

3.8 miles in about 35 minutes. Kind of slow, but that's ok. I actually enjoyed the run. Ran up Shoal Creek Trail to Shoal Creek Blvd. and 45th, to Bull Creek Rd, to 38th, and back to 31st and N. Lamar via the Shoal Creek Trail. Very much enjoyed the run on Bull Creek, with a nice cool breeze keeping me comfortable. Kept the cadence pretty well. I think I'll give it another week at 81 strides/minute, then take it up to 82. Gradual progress, we call it. If I had known this run was only 3.8 miles, I would have made it longer. Next time, I suppose.

I'd like to do the 5K race here in Austin on June 5th, but I have to work. We're having some kind of event. I really wish I could do it.

Signed up for a run on Monday at 7pm. I hope I can make it there in time after zazen. It's like 5 miles, and kind of slow-ish. "Recovery run," they call it.

not today

2010-05-20T06:32:00.000-07:00

I didn't run yesterday, and I'm not going to run today. Why? Well, the last run was so difficult that I wonder if I had been pushing too hard, and I think a break might be in order. I've noticed, though, that if I don't run for three days, I really, REALLY want to take a run.

Tomorrow, I will run.

6.4 miles, very hard.

2010-05-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (5/18/10) I did a run that I'm fairly used to. 31st and Lamar to Lady Bird Lake, via the Shoal Creek Trail, and then back, 6.4 miles.

For some reason, I found it incredibly difficult. My legs were so stiff that I had to stop to stretch several times, though I'm not sure that actually helped. I stopped so much that I didn't even bother with keeping my time. I was getting winded. I couldn't keep up with my metronome, set at 81 strides/minute, even though I usually have no problem keeping that regular pace. I found this run so upsetting that I found myself wondering i I should just quit. After all, I've been at this rather regularly since February, and I still can't even do it? That put me on the verge of tears, which points to how much I am beginning to love this sport, perhaps.

I got home, showered, and stretched a bit in my room while listening to the radio. KUT was playing an old motown song about how you should never give up, how Rome wasn't built in a day, how you should try and try and try. I was still upset, so I walked to a restaurant and called my girlfriend on the way. She's a good listener.

I want to do the Austin Pride Run 5K, my first race. I think I do, anyway. Hopefully I'll run it better than I ran yesterday.