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.
Category: Running
Saturday’s Run, etc.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Park run
Humidity is back in central Maryland for the time being. No one was available to climb this morning, so I decided to take a rare Friday run instead. Once again, I took a pass on school-day traffic and ran in the park. I extended the run to around 8.5 miles by running all the way out to the Ilchester bridge and back on the Grist Mill Trail. I could extend this route to 10 miles rather easily, by crossing under the railroad tracks near Lost Lake, and running out past the Soapstone trailhead to where the road ends and back. My right hamstring is still stiff. I stretched it out a bit by doing some sprints towards the end of the run, which was uncomfortable, but I think will be good for it in the long term. Depending on the weather, I may take a shorter run tomorrow as well.
Random kayaking note: a post on Facebook clued me in to another place to paddle in A.A. County: Stoney Creek from Green Haven Wharf in Pasadena. At 25 minutes’ drive, it’s a bit farther than Solley’s Cove, but might be a nice place to check out, either in the coming weeks, or next year. Looks like it would be a 4-mile round trip paddle to the Fort Smallwood Rd bridge and back, with several side creeks to optionally extend the voyage.
Grab Bag
A bunch of random topics tonight.
As I had hoped, I managed to get out of the house before 7 this morning for a 10-mile run before work. My schedule precluded a longer run this past weekend, and with a COVID (and flu) shot scheduled for this afternoon, I wasn’t sure I’d be up for it later in the week. The run went pretty well. My right hamstring has improved since last time, but still is not 100%, which would have been an issue on a faster run (extending the hamstring was a tad uncomfortable), but didn’t bother me much at today’s pace. Now, I have to decide if I want to run another 10 miles this coming Saturday. As for the COVID shot, it’s now been 7 hours, and I’m still feeling fine, other than some mild aches. I guess I’ll see how I feel in the morning.
I’ve now climbed twice since I got home from Minneapolis. After the first session, I noticed that the nerve in my right foot felt a little weird. For my second climb (last night), I wore a metatarsal pad on that side, which I had done one time before, and it seemed to help quite a bit. I think I’ll continue to do that for a while, and see how it goes as I start to work back towards climbing slabbier routes that put more weight on my feet.
I tried brewing the coffee beans I bought in Minneapolis in the French press this afternoon, and my first attempt was not all that great. I used 21 grams of coffee to 300 grams of water (around 1:14) with the following recipe:
Preheat French press- Heat brew water to 95°C
- JX grind setting: 30 (3 rotations)
- Start timer and pour at the same time
- 60 second bloom (including pour time)
- Stir a few seconds until grounds settle
- Steep 6 minutes, press slowly, and pour
The first problem is that I forgot to preheat the French press, and since it is ceramic, the brew water likely lost a good bit of heat pretty quickly. I didn’t heat the mug, either, so the cup was not very hot at all. The flavor was watery and under-extracted. I think I just need to try to keep the water hotter for longer. Next time, I’ll remember to heat the press, and I might bump the starting water temperature up closer to boiling, as the brew time is a lot longer than (e.g.) a pourover, so the overall average brewing temperature likely will be a few degrees lower than the starting water temperature.