A Hard Run

I ran for 2 and 1/2 hours this morning.  I only managed 11.75 miles.  I tried to take it slow, particularly because I didn't have a working heart rate monitor.  I ran the long loop on the Ridgeland mountain bike trails.  According to my Garmin, I climbed a total of 5342 ft running that distance.  That's a fair amount of climbing.  I was wasted when I finished.  I thought run was good, but maybe I wasn't ready to run that long yet.  I haven't run that long in several weeks.

Beginning of a New Week

Tuesday, I felt really good.  I managed a bit over 6 miles on the levee.  I'm going to start making mileage secondary and focus on the number of hours I spend running.  For Tuesday, I ran for 1 hour and 3 minutes (if I recall correctly).  I'm still trying to keep my heart rate below my MAF number which is between 131 and 136.  I'm trying to stay on the low end of that number and not exceed the high number.  This run felt great overall.

A Pretty Good Weekend

Friday, I was feeling better and I just couldn't stand it.  I had to get out and run.  I left work at 5:00 pm, straight up, changed and decided to try out the mountain bike trails in Ridgeland about which I have heard so much.  I wasn't disappointed.  The weather was warm enough to run without a shirt, but no stifling humidity.  The trails zigged and zagged through the woods.  There were some good elevation changes also.  Since it was late, I ran what was advertised as the 5.5 mile loop.  However, my Garmin showed as 4.78 miles.  I may have missed a loop along the trail.  I ran it really slow, averaging about a 12:30 pace, trying to keep my heart rate around my MAF number.  The only down side was that I ran in my new MT10s without socks.  My second toe got an ugly blood blister and my fourth toe was bruised badly.  The problem seemed to be that the MT10s were too small.  The only other answer is that I didn't tie them tightly enough at the top, which allowed my foot slide forward going downhill.  I don't experience this in my MT101s, which are size 12.  I'll give the MT10s another try, maybe with some socks this time.

Because of the toe problems I decided not to run Saturday.  Got up Sunday morning and put in about 7 miles in about an hour and twenty minutes on the levee. 

I'm planning to come back here often and I'll definitely become a member.

Frustrated

I'm really frustrated at this point.  I have pneumonia right now.  Probably as a result of working in the yard one weekend, then cleaning out the back room of the house the next weekend.  I did run some before being diagnosed with pneumonia this week.  I told the doctor Tuesday, that I ran 7 miles on Saturday.  His comment was that if I wasn't in such great shape and didn't have such great lung capacity (that I'm not sure about), I would be "down for the count."  Which I took to mean, in bed or at least not moving around doing anything productive.

But after doing some running before I was diagnosed with pneumonia, I'm afraid to run because I'm afraid that the stress of running may hinder my recovery.  However, I'm increasingly convinced that the thought of not running is also impeding my recovery.  I'll have to think about it more tomorrow.

First Post

I'm going to try to post some interest stuff.  I'm also going to use this to keep a training log, which I haven't done very well during the first two years since I took up running seriously.

First some background.  Since a seriously took running in August of 2010 when I began training for my first marathon, I've concluded that I like to run long.  I read Born to Run shortly after I started training and was inspired and amazed by the stories in the book.  Since I started I have run two marathons and a 50 miler.  That's not a lot of racing, but I've had steady improvement.  My first marathon was 4:43; my second, on a hilly course with warm temperatures was a 4:03.  My first 50 miler was 10:43, which was within my goal range of between 10 and 11 hours.  The next race I plan to run is a 100k at the end of July.

Now for my training.  Right before running my 50 miler I discover Mafetone.  After sort of figuring what my MAF heart rate should be (approx. 131, maybe a bit more for training time without injury), I tried training within that heart rate range and concluded that my aerobic efficiency isn't very good.  I have spent the past year training in a higher heart rate range.  I'm now going to try staying in my MAF range for a new base building phase following my 50 miler.  My pace in this range is a really slow pace between 10:15 and 10:30 on a level run.  If I'm trail running with some hills, it's a minute slower.

Since my 50 miler, my longest run has been 12 miles on April 6.  I really ran out of steam at the end of that run because of respiratory congestion. For the week ending April 7, I only got in 20 miles.  I've been fighting chest congestion for three weeks.  This past week, I think I only had about 11 miles.  Finally, I went to the doctor on Tuesday, April 17.  Diagnosis:  Pneumonia.  The doctor said that if I hadn't been in such good shape and had such good lung capacity, I would have been down for the count.

Yesterday, I ran across Chris McDougall's story about searching for Micah True on Outside.com.  It's a heartbreaking story, but also a wondrous tribute to a friend that obviously change the course of McDougall's life.  I highly recommend it because it captures the spirit that infuses running communities of all sorts, but especially the ultrarunning community.