Category Archives: water

Third week of getting on it

Posted on by
Reply

After nearly running 30 miles a couple of weeks ago I had a week of less frequent running and only covered 17 miles. Still it felt pretty good and I am feeling pretty strong right now. So this week started and I decided I would try to get a good solid start. My base run that I set out to do this morning turned into an 8+ miler and at a decent pace as well 10:15 miles. It was pretty hot this morning but I weaved back and forth to maximise my shade and I brought water with me.

I have been adding on more of a cool down workout after finishing during these last three weeks. In addition to the stretches and pushups I normally do I have consistently added the hip stretching exercises as well as a pull ups (which are more of hang downs. I have been holding five sets of palm facing out for five seconds and five with my palms facing the other direction.) I seem to be seeing some improvements in my hips and haven’t had nearly the soreness that I was experiencing and the hang downs are coming ever so closer to actually being pull ups (one day!)

One day last week I pushed my pace and averaged a 9:30 over five miles. The pace felt good and I finished the run and my post run workout without issue. But despite having water with me, I seemed to get really dehydrated. I kept peeing so I was pretty sure I was solidly hydrated, but soon I felt dizzy and sick to my stomach. I focussed on getting fluids into me and flet quite a bit better, however the cocktail I had was not a good choice! Still I managed to recover after awhile and soon felt normal.

So far my return to my normal shoes (over the zero-drops) has seemed to be a success. I miss the larger toe box but my hips feel a lot better (of course much of that could be the hip exercises I have been doing). I haven’t been covering a ton of miles so that may have something to do with how good my feet feel as of late, but I think the normal shoes and the way my lift works in my right leg is the main reason for the improvements.

Hot run

Posted on by
Reply

In my recent return to running I have found myself stalled by the heat and the bad habit I have developed as a musician of staying up late and sleeping in. This has caused me to miss the cool temps of the early hours. Today I got up at 6 or so and thought about running, then thought about needing to take my rebif, then immediately went back to bed. Dang it another day of sleeping into the warm hours! Oh but not this time! While I did sleep for a couple hours I decided to go anyway. Fortified with a cup of coffee and half a clif bar I filled up my water bottle and headed out.

As I snaked through the neighborhood heading for shaded areas I realized it wasn’t too hot out after all. That realization lasted about a mile. then I started feeling hot. But I kept sipping water (and even eventually refilled at a water fountain) and kept going. I felt really good (other than feeling hot) and the problem areas that I have been experiencing (hips and hamstrings) all felt really good. I didn’t have any pain in my hips which I was bummed to see return after my month away from running. But today I felt great and even decided to push my miles a bit back to the 10k base distance I had been doing. My back has been bothering me for the past couple of days for some reason but it actually seemed to improve on the run. Not sure if the run managed to loosen up the tightness or what.

So my plan for the next couple of days is to try to repeat this run, though maybe not the full distance as I have music all week to perform (three shows! and two rehearsals!) My hope is to run tomorrow and the following day, I think I can do it (as long as I get up a reasonable hour.)

Even my feet felt pretty good on this run. I have been running in standard running shoes since getting back into it. I am thinking about trying to make a full foot lift (rather than just the heal) to use with my zero drops in hopes of evening out how my hips are situated. We’ll see.

Long hill run to the volcano

Posted on by
Reply

Once again I find myself struggling to break out of a string of rest days, but once again I did it. Another week off but two runs in the last two days with today’s being a quality LSD/hill run up Mt. Tabor. Couple of things were weird on today’s run. As I silently cursed my neighbor for parking on the right of way (we have no sidewalks in my neighborhood) and causing me to run into the street (no traffic, but their could have been, jerks!) my water bottle fell out of my recently loosened running belt. The stupid spout broke and a piece popped out, so when I stuck in back in I kept squirting water onto my back (not totally objectionable…) so I emptied out my worthless bottle and stuck it back in. I would like to blame my inconsiderate law breaking neighbors for making me vere into the street causing the bottle to break, but reality says it was probably that I loosened it (much more comfortable). I thought at the time either that or its karma for my general irritation with my neighbors.

The second thing that happened occurred after I asked a dog whose owner had him off leash if the dog had in fact “lost his leash.” Not 10 seconds later a woman with another dog off leash appeared. I moved to the side of the trail to avoid her my irritation at “off leash dogs beginning to boil. Suddenly I was air borne having tripped over this large rock and landing solidly on my hip and elbow. Again, karma? She did ask if I was ok (and I was). We chatted a bit and I headed off dusty and bloodied. I really do think I was being told to relax and get in a better mood. It was a beautiful day, I had new good music on my iPhone (Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears), hot but shady, what more should I ask for? So I decided to change my tude.

Other than the karma altert the run today was pretty hard. I took a few walks, but ended pretty strongly. I think more water would have helped quite a bit, the water fountains I found while numerous were still inadequate. I did ok with what I had (probably 5-6 water breaks) but still not enough. Can’t say it more, must drink water.

Tomorrow is supposed to get into the 90s, but I still really want to get a short recovery run in. I am pretty sure I will be going to bed early. Ruthann and I had a great meal at Dove Vivi and I think I have replenished ALL my calories. Good sleep is on the way.

Third 6 miler in three days

Posted on by
Reply

Today I cranked out another 10k run. Still felt really slow and I was still a tad sore, but not nearly as sore as yesterday. It feels pretty good knowing that I have been running for three days now and avoiding the lazies. It doesn’t hurt that I haven’t been nearly as busy these last couple of days other than work stuff which I can do just fine while running, no foggy brain like what happens with music. The other good news is that I haven’t had any relapse of the symptoms I was feeling on my first run three days ago. So that must have just been a fluke thing (I hope.) I decided to bring water with me even though it seemed deceptively cool with the cloud cover, the humidity however was still pretty thick and I think the sips of water helped out immensely. I guess I have to face the fact that it is water bottle season again! Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I didn’t stop at all on this run. Yesterday I was exhausted and really feeling like I needed some short walks to recover. But today it was back to normalcy with no stopping.

Tempoed

Posted on by
Reply

Today’s run started out to be sort of a recovery run after the LSD run I did previously. But since I had taken a day off in between then and today I wasn’t firm about my choice. Unfortunately, as I was thinking I would do the recovery run, I didn’t bring any water with me (jeez this is starting to sound like a familiar refrain, isn’t it.) But despite the lack of water I found myself running pretty fast, my first mile came in at just over 9 minutes. So I thought to myself “that’s the fastest first mile I have done in awhile, why not make this a tempo run.” So I did.

My second and third miles both came in under 8 minutes. The second mile felt really good and I felt strong throughout. The third mile was a different story. I really struggled but about halfway through I rededicated myself to keeping a fast pace. I had to do that again at 3/4s, but it worked and my third mile was actually a few seconds faster than the second. But that is where the party ended and I slowed down considerably for the fourth mile. I was really tired and missing that water. But I kept on and actually got a bit reinvigorated once I was in the canyon.

My runs in the canyon are usually a bit slower. The terrain is variable and it usually is much more humid there. I find myself struggling quite a bit. And to top it off I like to go slower cause it is so beautiful there. But not today. I flew over the dirt trails, leaped over obstacles and avoided walkers. My pace was quite a bit slower than the tempo speeds, but was still not slow. As I came out of the canyon I kept up the pace and pushed it out of the campus as well. The last two miles ended up being tempo runs of their own right, albeit slower.

Overall I came in with an average speed of 9 minute miles, which doesn’t sound too fast (and well lets be honest, it isn’t!) but it was for me today and I feel like I worked extra hard. In addition I have been adding a new exercise to my post run workouts. Facing a life long shame of not being able to do pull-ups I have decided to try to do something about that. For the last couple of days I have gone to the park on my runs to try to do some with no success and further embarrassment. But I am not going to let that get in the way (too much anyway) and I have discovered that I can do them on the cross beam above my porch. I am enjoying the added privacy! Still can’t do them. I have decided to rename my pull-up exercises as a hang-down as this more accurately reflects what is going on! But I am feeling it in my arms and shoulders, so I’ll keep it up.

Dehydrated

Posted on by
2

My last two runs I have made the mistake of getting really dehydrated. The first run was done in the heat. I had brought water and tried to keep up with my body’s need for hydration. I didn’t do a really good job of this and only managed to drink roughly half of my water. By the time I had gotten home I was soaked. I made a further mistake by not immediately starting in on a regimen of fluid replacement. It wasn’t until about 4 hours past the point when I stopped running that I actually began to take in needed water. I was a wreck.

So then yesterday in a failed attempt to learn my lesson I went on another run. My original plan was to do a short run. I should have still brought water with me but I didn’t. It was pretty cool out so I wasn’t too concerned. The cool air inspired me to keep running and before I knew it I had decided on a 10 miler. I knew I had some watering opportunities and I definitely took advantage of them but it was not nearly enough. The first part of the run was pretty fast and I even did a mile at tempo pace to catch up with a runner who was a block ahead of myself. The last two miles I found myself really slowing down and I eventually pooped out. The last mile I could have broken an overall sub 10 min pace for the run if I had been able to shave off 45 seconds from my goal pace. I ended up finishing with a 10:25 pace so no sub 10 avg pace.

As soon as I made it back home I started in with the fluids. I decided to further complicate my hydration error by mowing the lawn (though I did have water with me) with my push mower. By the time I had finished that I was tapped. And after a night of little sleep (is there a connection between the dehydration and insomnia?) I awoke sore and exhausted. Overall, I think the lesson I have been telling myself for years really got hammered home again. Drink enough water when you run and mow. Small frequent sips are the answer.

Hot weather running

Posted on by
2

Our hot weather has been late in coming and I was a little worried about it. So far so good and I don’t seem to be overly fatigued if at all, The regular warm runs are starting to feel more good than bad. I’m not saying go out and run with the heat, just saying it is possible especially if you ease into it. I have been trying to get up early and run with limited success. But today I made a little late but I was there. My speed seemed to be pretty fast and I came in at just over a minute for the six and a quarter miles.

I have also found myself really enjoying jumping over things. I found a bush right off the sidewalk in reed that will be perfect for an approach up a driveway onto the sidewalk and over the bush to a lawn on the other side. It is a long jump, but I think I can do it! Mini parkour!

Today it was still cool when I left and I didn’t bring water. Big mistake and I quickly was regretting it. But I was able to hit a few water fountains. Still it was not enough.

Running in the heat

Posted on by
Reply

All this week I have been trying to get out early to beat the heat. Today was no exception. Unfortunately like several other days this week I didn’t get up early enough to beat it. But I did manage to go ahead an join it! So off I went with a bottle full of water and a couple of sharkies in my pocket.

It was one of those runs where I had no plans and no idea of how far I would go. Despite the heat I quickly decided to do a long one and headed out on one of my longer routes. I made a conscious effort to drink small sips of water at pretty regular intervals. This was the key to a successful run for me. I wasn’t really regulating my speed and heart rate, but I noticed four miles into it that I was keeping my HR pretty low, so I decided to keep at it and not push too much. The strategy worked out really well. I had water constantly throughout the run and even had extra energy to power up and out of the reed campus to make it to my neighborhood. It wasn’t until I stopped at the library to pick up one book that I had on hold and found a total of eight waiting for me that I acknowledged the run was over. I had to run about a tenth of a mile with my armload to reach nine miles and that was all I could muster. But I was satisfied. I’ll wait for double digit miles until I am ready for it (and don’t have the books!)

These hot runs this summer have had me a little concerned. We have had such a long cool spring that I have gotten spoiled. So when the temps finally increased I worried how I would react to them. So far so good. I have been bringing my water with me and taking little sips throughout the run. This really seems to help keep me hydrated. I also have been careful to get enough fluids in after the run too. Add in a good amount of shade on my main routes and I am surviving!

One thing about today’s run that was a bit of a bummer: when I got home I saw a message from my acupuncturist asking where I was. I had totally forgotten the appt. But she was gracious enough to fit me in and we had a really good session. She is concentrating on my foot issues of numbness and pain as well as helping me get rid of a plantar wart. For the plantar wart she is using a technique called maxa that consists of little tiny cones of incense that are burned on the accu points. She is doing them all around the wart as well aas in the center. The heat is supposed to bring the wart to the surface. So far it seems to be working really well and it actually looks better than ever and much better than salicylic acid treatments make it look (like a weird burned out crater.) She also works points on the leg and ankle. I haven’t seen a lot of improvement there, but this is also due to me not doing my foot stretches with a foam roller. I have had the worse blister on my little toe (actually the blister IS my little toe!) and it has been too painful to do much other than go barefoot. I have been running still, but with padding. My running shoes don’t appear to irritate it at all, but my converse sure did! The good news is that my toe is getting close to being back to normal! Phew. I am really curious to see what the accu is able to do for my foot pain and spacticity issues, more to come.

Long Saturday run

Posted on by
Reply

After getting some hours in for a client I headed out towards Mount Tabor. I needed to get a quality run in of some sort, be it a tempo, long run or hills. I ended up combining all three. My plan was to head to the volcano first, originally I set out to just do the eight mile loop to the top which includes 4.5 miles of low grade elevation change and 3 miles of hills and half mile loop at the summit. I brought a Clif Shot gel along and a bag of Sharkies but I made the mistake of not bringing enough water with me, something I paid for later.

Mount Tabor was a bit muddy but not too bad. There were a couple of spots that really need to dry out.I hit the climbs pretty hard and made it to the top without stopping. HR was pretty high but I kept it under 170 for the most part as I was going pretty slow.

On the first steep part to the caldera I decided I’d like to try out the first long run I did when I was marathon training. My Ipod Sport then told me it was 13.1+ total but I always thought it exaggerated. So this has been a run I wanted to measure with the Garmin and see what I came up with. I tried to stay with the same route, but I did have to go checkout the off leash area and see if it was fully fenced in (it isn’t). At the top I gobbled and mocha gel and chewed a few sharkies. Even at this point I knew I was not going to have enough water. For some reason I passed up a water fountain, I think I had a good pace going and just cruised by.

There are some good downhills on this run too, but they wood chip several of the trails and I find those better to run down on than hard packed dirt (or mud for that matter). Once I was off the volcano I headed west and north for 25 blocks each direction and did a loop around Laurelhurst Park, one of my favorite parks in Portland (Mount Tabor is my fav). Time to head back. I had a couple more sharkies at the park as well as the last of my water, again I foolishly passed fountains. When I realized I still had four more miles to go to go along with my lack of water I should have gone back through the park but I was sick of hills and it would add another.

Reed college is directly south of Laurelhurst. I headed off through the Belmont business area as well as Hawthorne’s where. Across Division and I was in the Clinton neighborhood where a buddy of mine used to live (great parties). I veered west again for a bit so I could cross Powell by Lincoln track. I almost did a few laps there so I could fill up my water bottle. Anymore running though was out of the question. So I popped some more sharkies and continued to plod on.

Past the Wimbledon is fun apartments I came up on Reed. There was a lacrosse practice going on. I passed them and headed for the east bridge. I powered across it pretty fast though in reality I was going pretty slow. I kept my HR at 160 which was high, but I didn’t really want to go over than. It had been pretty high all run. Campus was sort of quiet and as I passed a few walkers I came upon two water fountains, but they were turned off. So I hit the final uphill climb, at least I didn’t have any extra water weight to deal with. I really slowed down as I was truly feeling done at this point. I made it up the first hill only going over 160 at the very last steep part but I had to go really slowly. After the last hill the light didn’t give any reprieve either. I had to pick up the pace to make it before it changed. The last mile was a killer, I was really feeling the lack of water as well as the hills in my legs. I passes the same old houses I always run by but I the lack of water was making my head sort of swim, and a lot of the houses looked like I had never run past them. Spring slowly popping out all over didn’t help my dementia either!

I turned into Woodstock park and decided to check the fountains there. The bathroom were all still “Closed for Season” so I was skeptical. It had been really warm this winter, so I had some hope. I spied a brand new fountain over near the play area and thought I’ll check it out. As I twisted the knob on the dry bowl I was all ready to be disapointed, but water came out! Even though I was only about a half mile from home I felt like I was saved. I decided not to turn the timer back on and guzzled some water, I was done.

I did a little stretching when I got home but mostly I wanted to eat. We had pizza and I had my eye on it. But first a shower.

Long Saturday run

Posted on by
Reply

After getting some hours in for a client I headed out towards Mount Tabor. I needed to get a quality run in of some sort, be it a tempo, long run or hills. I ended up combining all three. My plan was to head to the volcano first, originally I set out to just do the eight mile loop to the top which includes 4.5 miles of low grade elevation change and 3 miles of hills and half mile loop at the summit. I brought a Clif Shot gel along and a bag of Sharkies but I made the mistake of not bringing enough water with me, something I paid for later.

Mount Tabor was a bit muddy but not too bad. There were a couple of spots that really need to dry out.I hit the climbs pretty hard and made it to the top without stopping. HR was pretty high but I kept it under 170 for the most part as I was going pretty slow.

On the first steep part to the caldera I decided I’d like to try out the first long run I did when I was marathon training. My Ipod Sport then told me it was 13.1+ total but I always thought it exaggerated. So this has been a run I wanted to measure with the Garmin and see what I came up with. I tried to stay with the same route, but I did have to go checkout the off leash area and see if it was fully fenced in (it isn’t). At the top I gobbled and mocha gel and chewed a few sharkies. Even at this point I knew I was not going to have enough water. For some reason I passed up a water fountain, I think I had a good pace going and just cruised by.

There are some good downhills on this run too, but they wood chip several of the trails and I find those better to run down on than hard packed dirt (or mud for that matter). Once I was off the volcano I headed west and north for 25 blocks each direction and did a loop around Laurelhurst Park, one of my favorite parks in Portland (Mount Tabor is my fav). Time to head back. I had a couple more sharkies at the park as well as the last of my water, again I foolishly passed fountains. When I realized I still had four more miles to go to go along with my lack of water I should have gone back through the park but I was sick of hills and it would add another.

Reed college is directly south of Laurelhurst. I headed off through the Belmont business area as well as Hawthorne’s where. Across Division and I was in the Clinton neighborhood where a buddy of mine used to live (great parties). I veered west again for a bit so I could cross Powell by Lincoln track. I almost did a few laps there so I could fill up my water bottle. Anymore running though was out of the question. So I popped some more sharkies and continued to plod on.

Past the Wimbledon is fun apartments I came up on Reed. There was a lacrosse practice going on. I passed them and headed for the east bridge. I powered across it pretty fast though in reality I was going pretty slow. I kept my HR at 160 which was high, but I didn’t really want to go over than. It had been pretty high all run. Campus was sort of quiet and as I passed a few walkers I came upon two water fountains, but they were turned off. So I hit the final uphill climb, at least I didn’t have any extra water weight to deal with. I really slowed down as I was truly feeling done at this point. I made it up the first hill only going over 160 at the very last steep part but I had to go really slowly. After the last hill the light didn’t give any reprieve either. I had to pick up the pace to make it before it changed. The last mile was a killer, I was really feeling the lack of water as well as the hills in my legs. I passes the same old houses I always run by but I the lack of water was making my head sort of swim, and a lot of the houses looked like I had never run past them. Spring slowly popping out all over didn’t help my dementia either!

I turned into Woodstock park and decided to check the fountains there. The bathroom were all still “Closed for Season” so I was skeptical. It had been really warm this winter, so I had some hope. I spied a brand new fountain over near the play area and thought I’ll check it out. As I twisted the knob on the dry bowl I was all ready to be disapointed, but water came out! Even though I was only about a half mile from home I felt like I was saved. I decided not to turn the timer back on and guzzled some water, I was done.

I did a little stretching when I got home but mostly I wanted to eat. We had pizza and I had my eye on it. But first a shower.