Ok. So it's been a month since my last blog and yes ... I continue to run .... My life has become busier and at times more complicated and trying to manage my time appropriately has been somewhat of a challenge. I crave running and I am consciously working on my pace but I find that it is often a challenge to find the time to run. I continue to run after work which means I am more tired than I would be if I ran in the morning but there is no way around that at the moment. On the weekends I run in the morning and I find that invigorating. I wish I could start every day with a run....
For those wondering, my foot condition has improved dramatically and this is due to rest and new shoes, but primarily new shoes. I only bought the shoes a week ago and I have already seen the difference. Thanks to John at Fleet Feet in Pleasanton I am once again wearing the appropriate shoes. John hooked me up with my first "real" pair of running shoes last June and I ran my first marathon in them. He hooked me up with Brooks that time and they were great shoes. Shortly after, I discovered the Nike + system and I switched to Nike shoes to accommodate the chip. I did well for awhile but in the last three months I have a seen a dramatic difference in the amount of pain I feel in my foot. So ... I paid a visit to John last week and I am now wearing Brooks again. Goodbye Nike + for now (I miss it terribly) but I am checking on a few things that may allow me to use it again. For now, I am back to wearing a watch again and my feet feel great.
Three weeks ago I ran the Disneyland Half Marathon. I was shooting for 2:00 and ended up running a 2:17. Not bad considering my feet were hurting like hell (literally they were on fire because I was still wearing the Nike's) and the temperature in LA was over 90 degrees which did not help at all. The Disneyland people had raised the flag from a yellow to a red before the race even started due to the heat and threatened to raise it to black if the temperatures rose even slightly more. We had a 6 am start time and it was already warm when we caught the shuttle at 4 am. I am used to running races in the Bay Area and the valley (SF, Santa Cruz, Sacramento) and temperatures are usually in the mid 60's to low 70's. I had great time running the Disneyland race but the heat nearly killed me ...
I put 15 miles on the new Brooks right after I bought them last week and then ran a 10k in Mountain House today. I finished first in my division with a pace of 9:15 which put me at the finish line at 57:22. My goal was to finish in under an hour so I accomplished my goal ... Mountain House is located just below the Altamont and there was a lot of wind coming off those mountains today. When we started the race we were running directly into the wind which made it extremely difficult to maintain a decent pace. I tried to draft behind a couple of other runners but was only successful at this for a short period. We were running into the wind for about the first half mile and then we had a side wind which was not as bad. By the end of the first mile the wind was behind us giving us an extra "push." I was at the 1st mile marker at 8:02 so I was not that disappointed with my pace but I also knew I had gone out a little too fast. I had to take two short walking breaks at about halfway through the race and I was concerned about not maintaining my pace. Because the course was a loop (which I hate) we were running into the wind again at mile 3.5 and again at mile 5 'till the finish line. I've run with wind before but usually side winds (especially in the Bay Area) and while not pleasant, certainly do not require such strenuous effort to maintain pace. All in all, this was a great race in an absolutely wonderful community and one which I will definitely run again.... Great people, nice medals, some good post race food, and beautiful scenery (one of my major requirements).
I plan to run Bridge to Bridge in SF at the end of the month, Cow Town Half Marathon in October and possibly Four Bridges half as well. Bridge to Bridge is one of the most beautiful runs in this area and has great pre and post race entertainment. Possibly the best I have seen yet. Bridge to Bridge is a 12k and my plan is to beat last year's time of 1:17:14.
Stay tuned ...
In my last post I mentioned joining a running group. I did and it has proven to be somewhat disappointing ... I will continue to train with them but .... more on that later. I miss Charlie .... you taught me so much.
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