Category: Running

Rough Run & New Bike

lpaulriddle

I had a really bad run yesterday. I went just under 6 miles, but both my pace and cadence were plodding, and I struggled almost the entire way. My right leg and calf were tightening up as I finished. Overall, it was not an enjoyable run. I think the main reasons were a lack of sleep the previous night, and possibly lack of hydration. I had run 10+ miles 48 hours earlier, but I don’t think that was an issue. I’m drinking more water today, and I slept better last night, but still am operating on a deficit over the past two nights. The elephant in the room is that I also have this weird dry cough today, which I’m hoping doesn’t mean I’m getting another cold. If I am, though, that might be another explanation for dragging yesterday. I felt fine climbing last night, though, and also on my bike ride this morning. I feel a little tired this afternoon, but OK otherwise. Maybe I just need a nap…

Over the weekend, we traded in my son’s 3-year-old mountain bike, a 27″ Norco Storm. He rode it a lot during COVID, particularly over at the Rockburn Skills Park, but he had outgrown it, and it had sat unused for the past year or so. The new bike is a Devinci Kobain 12S, which is a 29er hardtail. It has a size large frame, and should accommodate all 3 male members of our household. This morning, I took it out for a spin at PVSP, hitting a whole bunch of trails on the Howard County side of the Avalon/Orange Grove Area. Compared to my full-suspension Devinci Troy, the ride and handling felt similar, which wasn’t all that surprising, given that the frame geometries are similar. Also as expected, it felt more efficient on steep/technical climbs, at the cost of a rougher ride over rocks, roots, logs, drops, etc. I’m not sure how often my kids will ride it, but I plan on putting some miles on it myself for sure. For commuting, I’m thinking that a large custom-made frame bag, coupled with my lumbar pack, might be enough to haul all of my gear. I’m happy to see the Norco potentially go to someone who will ride it again, and I’m even happier to have another bike that multiple members of our household can ride.

Saturday Run

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I set another distance PR this morning, running 10.77 miles at a pace of 10:34/mile. This is the same distance as a lap around the BWI Trail, so I’m hoping to head over there soon to cross that off my bucket list. First, though, I want to get one more run of at least 10.5 miles under my belt. This was a really good run overall — I started and finished strong, and it seemed like I maintained pretty good form throughout. My watch reported my average cadence at 185 steps/minute. The temperature started out in the low 40s, and ended up in the low 50s. I drank about 16oz of water over the entire run, and ate a fruit and nut granola bar at mile 6. Troy Park, which I run through frequently, and is usually busy with youth sports on weekends, was empty this morning. I am guessing that the fall soccer season must have ended. I wonder if any other sports will come in to pick up the slack in November and December.

I guess I need to come up with a new running goal. 13.1 miles is starting to look like it might eventually be doable. Practically speaking, that’s about as far as I can see myself running on a regular (e.g. weekly) basis.

UMBC 10K

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I ran at UMBC this afternoon, which I had not done in a while. I rode to work this morning, and I don’t keep running clothes at the office, so I had to plan ahead and bring everything I needed with me on the bike. I wanted to run 10K without running multiple laps around the campus loop, so I planned a route that took me through parts of Arbutus. It was a nice route, although the last couple of miles were uphill. Given that my office is near the highest point of campus, I don’t see a way around that. In spite of it, I ran well, and finished strong. If I can sort out the clothing logistics, I could see myself doing this every now and then during the cooler months, as it would give me some additional flexibility in planning my activities for the week. I don’t see it as a regular option during the summer, as the afternoons are usually too hot for running, at least for me.

Saturday’s Run, etc.

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I got back into the swing of things today with my first 10-mile run in just over 3 weeks. Actual total distance was 10.26 miles, which beats my prior distance record by a whopping 0.04 mile. I still hope to achieve my short-term goal of running the entire BWI trail loop (10.7 miles) by the end of the year. I could probably do it now, but would like to hit 10.5 miles once or twice before I commit to going over there and trying it. Barring illness and/or injury, I’m thinking second half of November might be a reasonable target.

On the coffee front, I disassembled and cleaned my hand grinder for the first time today. I bought it at the beginning of May, so I’ve had it around 6 months. I brush it off after each use, but it’s recommended to take it apart for a more thorough cleaning every few months. It’s fairly straightforward to disassemble and reassemble, and does not require any tools. The entire process took me about 20 minutes, and going forward, I suspect it’ll take 10 minutes or less, now that I know what I’m doing. I used the grinder about once a day when it was new, and twice a day more recently. The insides had a little bit of coffee residue on them, but it really was not all that dirty. I’m thinking I shouldn’t need to do this more often than every 4-6 months.

Today’s Run

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I took a “long and slow” run today, covering 8.7 miles over an hour and 34 minutes. It was my first 8-miler in about 3 weeks. It’s nice to be completely over the cold that hobbled me for the better part of October, but my right hamstring is still stiff, and I’ve kind of resigned myself that it’s going to take a long time before it gets back to 100%. One thing I have learned is that it seems to help my hamstrings if I flex/engage my glutes while running, particularly uphill. Also, stepping up (e.g. onto a curb or sidewalk) is more comfortable if I use the glutes to kind of assist the hamstrings, so the latter aren’t doing everything. All of this seems to tell me that I need to be using more of my core muscles when running, to help prevent these overextension injuries. Granted, this specific hamstring injury resulted from tripping, and a strong core probably wouldn’t have prevented injury, although it’s possible that it might have helped prevent me from tripping in the first place. Of course, it also would have helped if I had been watching where I was going, instead of staring at my watch. Several lessons to be learned here for sure!!

Recovery

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Last week’s cold/URI is not 100% gone, but it has degenerated to the point where it’s no longer affecting my daily activities. The main thing I’m noticing now is that when I wake up in the morning, my head feels like it is in a vise. I’m assuming it’s some kind of sinus headache or whatever, but I’ve been knocking it down with ibuprofen, which works well enough. Yesterday, I commuted to work on my mountain bike, which (as I’ve probably written before) I love doing on school days. Other than a couple of new fallen logs along Garrett’s Pass and Soapstone Trail, it was a pretty smooth and enjoyable ride.

I ran on Tuesday and Thursday (today) this week, which puts me back on my regular running schedule. Both runs were about 7.75 miles, so I’m also getting back to my normal distances for weekday runs. My right hamstring felt stiff on Tuesday, but seemed improved today. My speed and cadence were also normal, so now I just need to get rid of this headache thing to fully put the cold behind me.

Running Improvement

lpaulriddle

I did not have high expectations for this morning’s run. I woke up feeling fine, but still feeling some lingering effects from the past week’s cold. I felt about the same two days ago, and did not have a good run at all. I figured today would be more of the same, but it was much better. I went 10K for the first time in a week, at a fairly respectable pace and cadence, and didn’t poop out at the end. So, I think it’s safe to say I am improving, although I suspect I was a little better hydrated today as well.

My right hamstring is not improving as quickly as I would like. I spent a little while foam rolling and stretching it before running today, and that helped. However, it’s still stiff during my runs, particularly when running uphill and/or stepping up with the right leg. I wonder if KT tape would help — I am pretty sure I still have a roll lying around here somewhere.

Run Notes

lpaulriddle

Really tough run today. I feel like I’m “over the hump” with this week’s cold, which is to say, I felt OK when I woke up this morning. I still have a slight (productive) cough, and some minor clamminess occasionally, but for the most part, I feel fine. For the second Friday in a row, I skipped climbing and went running instead. I actually felt better when I ran Tuesday than today. I ran the same route as Tuesday, but stopped when I hit 5 miles. I was dragging for almost the entire run. My average pace was around 11:10/mile, and cadence was also low, at 179 steps/minutes. On top of that, my right hamstring seemed more stiff than it did during my recent runs. It’s possible that I was mildly dehydrated, and I did not do anything in the way of warming up, foam rolling, or stretching before heading out; but, I think this cold was the main thing slowing me down today, and I just have to let it finish running its course.

Today’s Run

lpaulriddle

I definitely have a cold or something. Right now, it’s mild enough that it’s not keeping me from my normal activities, but it’s slowing me down. I waited until all the schools were in session this morning, headed out at 10:00am, and ran a little over 5 miles. My speed and cadence were definitely below average for a 5-mile run, but most of the run felt fine (at one point, I briefly considered going 6.5 miles, which I probably would have regretted). When I finished, I felt wiped out, which is definitely not usually the case. The good news is, my right hamstring is continuing to improve. There’s still a little bit of minor discomfort, but slow jogging didn’t bother it at all, and faster running bothered it less than it did two days ago.

Three in a row

lpaulriddle

I ran this morning for the third day in a row. Today’s run was 7.2 miles, yesterday’s was 4.9, and Friday’s was 8.5, so I ran about 20.5 miles in just over 48 hours. If I add in Tuesday’s 10.2-miler, That’s almost 31 miles over the past week, which is most definitely a record. I did not plan to do this much running in a short period of time. My COVID shot bumped my running schedule back a day last week, so I ran Friday instead of Thursday. I ran again Saturday, partly to get back on my regular schedule, and also to see if I could run on consecutive days with no ill effects, something I had not done in a very long time. Today’s run was unplanned. I had intended to take the kayak out, but it was a little too windy, and I wasn’t able to get out as early as I had wanted. In need of something to do for exercise prior to watching sports all afternoon, and feeling fine physically, I opted to run again. I’ll see how I feel in several hours, but I suspect I’ll be good. I don’t intend to run 30+ miles every week, but if I’m able to run regularly on consecutive days, it will give me a lot more flexibility in my weekly schedule. It’s also a sign that some of the hard work I’ve put into learning how to run properly, without stressing my feet and joints, may be starting to pay off, which is good to see.