Category: Running

Recovery

lpaulriddle

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

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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.

Park run

lpaulriddle

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

lpaulriddle

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:

  1. Preheat French press
  2. Heat brew water to 95°C
  3. JX grind setting: 30 (3 rotations)
  4. Start timer and pour at the same time
  5. 60 second bloom (including pour time)
  6. Stir a few seconds until grounds settle
  7. 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.

Run notes (hamstring)

lpaulriddle

I was not able to get out for my usual Saturday 9 or 10-mile run today due to time constraints, but I did manage to squeeze in a 10K. It turns out that I tweaked my right hamstring when I tripped during Thursday’s run. I could tell at the time that it was a little bit unhappy, but it did not bother me much for the rest of that run, although I did stumble over my right foot several more times, which makes me wonder if I was unconsciously favoring it and not lifting it high enough. This morning, the hamstring was pretty stiff when I started the run, but eventually loosened up, although it never got to a point where it wasn’t bothering me at all. I suspect it will take a week or two before it’s feeling normal again. The good news is, I didn’t trip at all today, and I didn’t seem to be scuffing/dragging my feet as much as I did on my past few runs. My pace was a little bit slower than usual for this time of year at 10:50/mile, but my cadence was 184 steps/minute, which is about normal by recent standards. Other than the mild hamstring discomfort, it wasn’t a bad run. I’ll use the foam roller and heating pad a few times before my next run, likely on Tuesday. I have a COVID/flu booster scheduled Tuesday afternoon, so I’m hoping to get a longer run in the morning in case the shot takes me out of commission for Wednesday/Thursday.

Today’s Run

lpaulriddle

With autumn upon us and the daytime temperatures getting a little bit cooler, I now have the advantage that I can wait until after all of the local schools are in session before I head out to run. That’s what I did today, leaving the house a little past 8:30, and the streets were mostly quiet. I had a pretty good run of about 7.7 miles. The only annoying thing about this run is that for some reason, I tripped 4(!) times. The first time was my own fault, as I was reading a work text on my watch and not looking where I was going. My left foot got tripped up, and I narrowly escaped falling down. The subsequent times were all with the right foot, and just small stumbles. Up until today, I had not had a tripping issue in several months. Over my past 2 or 3 runs, I’ve been noticing my feet (particularly the right foot) “scuffing” or “dragging” more often. It may be that I’m getting into a pattern of not lifting my feet high enough. My running cadence over the past several weeks has been really high (often 185+ steps/minute), so maybe it’s time to sacrifice a few steps per minute in the interest of getting my feet higher off the ground. This will be really important if I ever get more into trail running, as irregular trail surfaces would greatly exacerbate the tripping issue. I’ll monitor this over the next few runs, and see if I can get it corrected.

Drippy Park Run

lpaulriddle

We seem to be stuck in a humid, overcast, drippy, chilly weather pattern after Ophelia passed through on Saturday. With schools back in session today, I decided to shake my Tuesday morning running routine up a little bit. I drove and parked the van on Levering Ave. near the viaduct, and ran into Patapsco Valley State Park, following River Rd. out past the swinging bridge to near the former Bloede Dam site, and back on the Grist Mill Trail. It ended up being about 7 miles, but if I wanted to, I could extend it to 8 or 9 pretty easily. I may start doing this more often on school days, as it seems to be a good way to avoid school-related running inconveniences (mainly traffic). As for the run itself, it was okay, but not great. I’ve been dealing with an extremely mild G.I. thing the past couple of days, which slowed me down a little bit, but I think the main thing was just the dreary weather and the wet feet.

This weather also brought an abrupt, early end to our 2023 pool season. I had hoped to get a couple of swims in after I returned home from Minneapolis, but it wasn’t to be. My final swim of the season was September 15. Hopefully, next year will be better, but as this year illustrates, September weather can be fickle.