Still alive in San Diego

Picture of La Jolla Cove from http://www.sandiego.gov/lifeguards/beaches/cove.shtml

Hi folks - working hard in San Diego - so the podcast is going to have to wait another week I am afraid...sorry. Perhaps I can work on it while on the flight back!

I am collecting excellent audio so that I will have enough for a special San Diego episode along with the one I am already working on.

My 16 miler here in San Diego was AWESOME!!! I will post pictures and details when I get home this coming weekend. I ran from La Jolla Cove south through Pacific Beach to the Mission Beach Jetty and back. I couldn't have asked for a better run.

I hope I can crawl out of bed for a workout tomorrow morning. I must learn that I cannot get up east coast time and go to bed west coast time!

Watch What You Ask For

I have been languishing a bit at work, waiting for the start of a new project that is now nearly 4 months late in award. Although we are working to prepare for the project start, I have still been feeling like I don't have a real mission.

So I did what any good employee would do - I talked to my boss and volunteered to help out with any other initiatives that could use a hand.

Within a day, I was volunteered to travel to San Diego to help a team with a proposal. I needed to leave within the next day or so and stay through the end of next week.

And I was just getting back into the groove of my training too.

Actually, I can really help this team out, and I haven't been out to San Diego in a while, so in that respect, I think it is a good trip. I guess the quick decision to go (they really wanted me to travel today - and I got the email at 9 pm last night) caught me a little off guard. I was able to delay the travel until Sat morning - giving me some time to prepare and do a bit of the stuff I had planned to do around the house this weekend.

Given that, I am going to pack up my podcast files and try to publish the next Running Adventures while on the road. This should be interesting :-) I have been wondering how I am going to do that 16 miler on Sunday. I can't imagine spending over 3 hours on a treadmill. Perhaps I can find a place by the Harbor to run safely.

So, I am taking this road on the show for a bit...

The 16 Miler That Wasn't

Photo found at http://completerunning.com/archives/2007/02/27/photo-of-the-week-after-the-race/



My spirit was willing, at least until around mile 6, but my body was weak.

I rolled out of bed at 5:40 am to hit the road at 6. I was a little late getting started but not too bad. I felt good at the start and not so tired like I had felt getting up the previous 2 mornings. Still, by mile 2 my heart rate was already 158. I knew it was going to be tough going. At mile 3 I took my Clif Shot - knowing that I was going to need them more often today than my usual every 4 miles. At mile 4, I noticed my mile splits were coming in kind of high - over 12 min/mile. Still, I was geared up for a long run.

Around mile 5 I was getting the feeling that the run may be cut short, and by mile 6 I knew that it was likely to be only 8 miles. At mile 7 I was having a hard time just finishing up the run and ran it in for 8 miles.

8 miles out of a planned 16 mile run. Only half.

I unloaded the Camelbak and found some relief. I had cinched it pretty tight around my waist to keep it from shifting. I wondered if this had constricted me and thought briefly about heading back out for a bit more - but that did not change the fact that my stomach did not feel well, my legs felt like lead, and I felt just plain tired.

Was it the lack of sleep (got to bed a little late - around 11:30 pm)? Readjusting to a normal schedule after vacation (I was not back into a rhythm)? Trying a new gel (I tried a new one - Hammer Gel before I started - then switched to Clif Shots. I hated the taste of the Hammer Gel)?

Or was I just weak today?

My splits:

Mile 1: 10:48 (typical since I don't walk in the 1st mile)
Mile 2: 11:38 (my target pace)
Mile 3: 12:08 (a little slow but ok)
Mile 4: 12:34 (a bit too slow)
Mile 5: 12:01 (better)
Mile 6: 12:37 (getting tired)
Mile 7: 12:54 (taking a Clif shot)
Mile 8: 12:25 (done)

Today I was the bug (verses the windshield). There is always tomorrow.

We will give it another go next week.

Back, Up and Running

Well, it was a whirl wind week in the Poconos this past week. My daughters and I had a wonderful visit with my mom and also with a couple of my sisters as well. No relief from the Florida heat was found, as the temperatures early last week topped 95 degrees. A day at Camelbeach helped to cool us a bit on Monday.

Wednesday is the only day I was able to get in a run. The winding, narrow country roads near my mom's house are not really safe for running, so I elected to run through her trailer park. I took my first "lap" on the gravel road and when I got back to my starting point, I had traveled 0.31 miles. I am sure the neighbors thought I was nuts as I ran back and forth about 8 times or so. Since the road was at a bit of an incline, I got a quasi hill workout. To finish I ran up a steep hill to the mailboxes just before you exit the park. I did 3.01 miles in 33:40.

Overall, it was a very good trip. I had a great visit with my mom. I have to admit, it is tough to watch her sometimes. She ends up gasping for air just from walking across the room. I can't imagine what it is like to fight for every breath.

16 long miles ahead tomorrow. Hopefully I can get an early start so I can finish before the heat really kicks in. The forecast calls 75 deg F and 90% humidity at 6 am - 81 deg F with 77% humidity at 9 am.

Off to the Poconos for a Few Days.....

After hearing that my mom was in the hospital for the second time in the past 2 months, I was really feeling the need to pay her a visit. She lives in eastern PA and suffers from heart disease and emphysema. It is a difficult feeling knowing that my mom may not be around for much longer. I talk to her on the phone often and send her letters each month. It has been a year since my last in person visit for her 70th birthday party.

So last week I decided to make the trip to PA with my kids. In one way for her to visit with her grandkids, but probably more for me. We were able to get a great deal on plane tickets. Allegiant Air flies from Sanford-Orlando to Allentown, PA for $59 one way. Beats driving (and happens to be cheaper). We leave tomorrow and will return on Thursday morning.

She is home from the hospital now and is thrilled that we are coming to visit. I am looking forward to some time to visit with her.

So I will be off line for a bit! I am going to try to keep up some running while gone. I am doing my long run tomorrow so I don't miss that - and will try to get a couple of 4-5 milers in during the week. I am taking the iRiver...you never know what kind of adventures you may run into :-)

Have a great running week everybody!!!

Episode 8 - Running Tour and Bear Facts

Naples Beach - March 2005

Sorry this episode is late in coming. What can I say, it's summer time!!

Episode 8 of Running Adventures takes you on a tour of where I do my long runs in and around the University of Central Florida. We also stop in on karate class and spend a little time at the beach.

Special thanks to Michael Mucklow for his music, but also his email and prayers for Elijah.

Featured music this week from the Podshow Podsafe Music Network includes:

"Cloud Shadows" by Michael Mucklow
"Remember When" by Carlos Tabora

The opening music is "Adventures of a Deaf Dreamer" by Josh Woodward.

For more information on Girls on the Run, you can click on this link.

Have a great adventure in the coming week!

Busy, Busy, Busy....

I have been quite busy lately so I am late with Episode 8. It will probably be a day or so before I get it out.

I have been spending time catching up with the family and around the house including a date with the hubby, a day at the beach, and acquiring new furniture (resulting in a reorganization of half the house).

Today visited a new running store in town and as a result of a gait analysis on the treadmill traded in my Brooks Addictions for Asics Gel Kayano 13's. It has less support than the Brooks in a much lighter shoe - but just the right support so I pronate correctly. With the orthotics, I don't need as much support as before. Tomorrow morning I take them for their first run!

I had also been toying with other hydrations options and had given Shirley's Camelbak a try - but didn't like the backpack (a bit warm). I picked up the Camelbak Flashflo, a waist pack that holds 45 oz of fluid. That should get me through most of my long runs.

More tomorrow! Run strong my friends!