Plodding

18 Sunday May 2014

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I ran with my team for the first time since having surgery. Not that I ran much further or faster than I’ve been running on my own, but there’s a confirmation of sorts when you discover you can maintain pace with others. It felt good. Ironically, both Steve and Jen are coming back from injuries too and like me had to keep their distance under four miles. We ran 3.75 miles on the Eagle Trail. Keith, the 52 year old birthday boy, kept running after we finished.

I can feel that I haven’t lost much fitness from my surgery. I was concerned a bit because the affects of the anaesthesia impacted my lungs for a few weeks. I need to give my body a couple more weeks of light duty before returning to my standard regimen. Waiting is a bit tedious but I don’t feel any pressure to rush things. I’ve accepted that I have to remain patient. I cancelled the Boulder Half and committed to simply walk the Bolder Boulder. I opted instead to volunteer as a road marshal for the Boulder Half. And the Bolder Boulder is more of a festival really, a celebration of running. Walking it with my wife and daughter will be satisfying enough. Changing my goals by continuing to participate, although not racing, helps overcome the plodding pace of my recovery.

In fact, I don’t have another race scheduled until this fall. The Boulder Marathon. I’m comfortable that I’m starting from a strong enough base to be ready for that. I don’t generally challenge myself with very aggressive goals for a marathon. Finishing seems like a reasonable accomplishment for that distance. Given my circumstances though, the shortened racing season, I might push myself. Targeting a fast time might not be as smart for this course. I could for the Denver Marathon – that’s a fast course. I don’t know that I should consider two marathons this fall though. My thoughts right now are to try maintaining pace with my buddy Chris. He’s a sub 3:30 marathoner. I want to see how far I can run at that pace. That’s the goal.

Fat Face

20 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

23andme, Austin, Eagle Trail, Mr. Gumby, running form

My fat face might not really show here unless you click on the picture to enlarge the view. Honestly, I feel as trim as I’ve been in twenty years. I can’t explain that fat face. I was in a conversation with Susan at our Christmas party the other night and she made the statement that I don’t have a runner’s body. I forget where she was going with that. I probably didn’t let her finish. I remember my response. I know my leg length is less than optimal. Oh, and I have a bit of a paunch. But I have 40 years of experience that gives me good running form. My college track coach used to film me running quarter mile intervals for his Kinesiology class because he believed I had perfect running form. My calves are oddly large – a product of running on my fore foot. And my cardio system might have a predisposition for aerobic sports. Not only is my resting heart rate under 50 beats per minute, but my 23andme DNA results suggest I’m a natural aerobic athlete.

I guess the fat face and double chin just come with age. That’s fine. So is the paunch. The last thing I care to look like is a malnourished Mr. Gumby. I know I don’t have the perfect runner’s body, but I feel like a runner. I am a runner. I read lots of running blogs and some writers suggest what a runner is and who isn’t a runner. I’m no different, I too have a definition of a runner. If you run, and it’s more than just a workout but something you rather enjoy – then you’re a runner. I’m still ecstatic that I got back into running 5 or 6 years ago.

Ran today on the Eagle Trail in 27° and zero wind. I totally over dressed. It was well below 20° earlier in the day but warmed up once I hit the trail. That kept me from running faster and farther but it still felt so nice to get out of my basement and off the elliptical. There’s so much more gravity in the real world, my legs felt the difference in impact. Two day drive to Austin tomorrow so today will be it for awhile. Looking forward to running some of my favorite trails in Austin.

Fall Plan

26 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Denver Marathon, Eagle Trail, speed training

I think this photo is in City Park. It meets my primary criteria of showing both feet airborne. Not sure why I find these pictures so cool when both feet are completely off the ground during about 50% of any running stride, but I do. I’m less happy with the poor form this photo illustrates. Note how my forward foot is heel-down. That’s not unusual for distance running, but it’s poor form nonetheless. I’ve been working hard to run toe-down and I do much of the time. At only 5 miles into the Denver Marathon, I am clearly over-striding here. Something for me to continue to work on this fall. Might need to work on my double chin too, another thing this pic illustrates. Why do race photographers think kneeling down is a good angle for pictures? You’ll see what I’m talking about if you click on the pic to enlarge it.

The best method I know to practice running with downward pointing toes is to run fast. Wearing minimalist shoes also helps. I decided on a 9 mile run today on Eagle Trail with Keith. Nine miles is too far for me to wear minimalist shoes so I wore my training flats. I’ll work those more into my routine though on shorter runs. After DST ends and I start running more 3 and 4 milers.

Keith and I worked speed into our trail run today by leveraging a downhill mile on the Eagle Trail loop. The loop is around 2.7 miles. We circled it 3 times. On miles 3, 6 and 9, we picked up our pace. Our regular pace was about 8.5 minutes per mile. For our fast miles, we dropped our pace under 7 minutes per mile. Actually about 6.5 minutes per mile. At some points I ran under a 6 minute pace. The weather was 54° and sunny. There are no additional health benefits to running fast, but it feels good.

My late fall to early winter running plan looks to include some shorter events – like 5Ks. History suggests I don’t necessarily run a 5K any faster than a 10K. In fact, my recent PRs have me with a 7:09 pace for a 10K but only 7:12 for a 5K. I know I can break a 7 minute pace for a 5K. Some speed training will teach my legs to run that fast. This final pic is before the Denver Marathon. Before the dawn.