1000

Today, I FINALLY hit 1000 miles running this year. I say finally for two reasons:

1. Because of my heel injury, I arrived at this mark about a month later than expected.
2. The closest I ever came to this mark was in 1984, when I logged 983 running miles.

Even though it's just a number, I've been itching to surpass it for 26 years. Injuries notwithstanding, I should finish the year somewhere between 1600 and 1800 miles. For someone who thought he'd never run again before last year, I'm thrilled to have that opportunity.

To reach this mark today, I ran 12 miles at a very slow pace (9:37/mi), keeping my heart rate under 135 bpm. I'm now in full-blown ultra mode (without the hills...see previous posts re: how the hills KILL my heel), and am trying to re-build my aerobic base and teach my body to burn more fat than glycogen. That will involve lots of long, slow running. That's not always an easy task, and after today's run, I was pretty tired and sore (partially from the race I ran on Saturday). I'm taking my training one day at a time right now, due to how my heel feels. Ironically, yesterday and today, the heel felt better than it has in a long time - even after a half marathon!

So I suppose I should celebrate the 1000 mark in some small way tonight. I'm thinking a cold Widmer Hefeweisen. Mmmm....

Surpassing 2009

We just returned from our annual Memorial Day camping trip to Entiat, WA...way out in the middle of nowhere. My in-laws have property on the Entiat River, so their kids (i.e. my wife and our kids, my wife's sisters and their families, and one other family that's friends of all of our families...are your eyes crossed yet?) all converge there for three days of riotous fun...if you can call having everything you brought with you smelling strongly of campfire smoke and un-showered bodies fun.

I managed to roll out of the tent this morning at 6:00 for a run. Wasn't sure how far it would be. I was going to "Forrest Gump" it...just keep going if I felt like it (within limits, of course). I chose to run "up" the road. It was definitely up, climbing an average of 100 feet per mile. Not terribly steep, but good enough for a decent hill workout. When I was 5 miles in, I decided that a pre-breakfast 10-miler would be groovy. Thanks to the downhill, my return trip was 6 minutes faster.

My right heel reminded me it was still there, but it wasn't a run-stopping pain. It seems like it's not getting any worse, so for the moment, I've decided to train through it, unless it DOES get any worse. I have no idea what the issue is, but as long as the status remains quo, so will my training.

This morning's 10-miler also put me beyond last year's very modest running mileage (825 in 2009, 828 as of today for 2010). Having done it in 5 months is something I feel pretty good about. Hopefully I can keep the pace through the end of the year.

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.

RR

300

Today I officially hit the 300 mile mark for running mileage so far this year (307.8 to be exact). This is, by far, the earliest I've ever hit that mark. I've never been a high-mileage runner, even back in high school when I was faster than I am now, so this is new territory for me. I'm currently on pace to run 2037 miles this year. It's exciting to do this while in my 40's, even though I know there are people who run much higher mileage at much older ages. So far, my body seems to be adapting to the mileage fairly well, aside from my right knee (that has good days and not so good days). I do have to stay on top of things like stretching, icing my knees (or taking ice baths) and using the foam roller. I'm still working on getting the proper nutrition right after running to aid in recovery.

I didn't start increasing my mileage until December of last year. Here are the weekly mileage totals of my previous 10 weeks (from oldest to most recent):

40.0
42.0
40.7
42.5
40.6
30.0 (back-off week)
36.5
38.5
40.7
40.0

This week should total 43.5 miles. For me, this is as consistent as I've ever been with my running. My body likes this kind of weekly mileage. I'll be gradually increasing it the next few weeks (peaking at a 60-mile week) in preparation for my first marathon in May. Hopefully the consistency, and the adaptation by my body, will continue!