Update

Natalie and I ran the 2-mile fun run at Berry Dairy Days this past Saturday. There was also a 10k and a half marathon. It rained the entire time, so it was quite a soaker. Natalie has only run two or three times since track season ended, and not at all since June 5th, so she didn't expect to throw down a crazy fast time. Still, she managed a 38 second PR, running a 15:42 (she ran a 16:20 at a 2-mile race last fall). Her splits were 7:55/7:47. She was hurting toward the end, but that was to be expected. Our next race will be the Run of the Mill 5k on July 7th. I'll probably let her run on her own there, while I see what I have in my pretty minimal tank.

My Maffetone-esque training is progressing into its 6th week. If you're not following along at home, several weeks ago, I decided to do all of my training runs at a pace slow enough to keep my heart rate in zone 2 (roughly 120 bpm, or under, for me), with only the occasional race serving as speed work. I've lost weight — 7.5 lbs. in 4 weeks — and I feel fitter, but I still am unable to run at a faster pace while staying in zone 2 than when I first started this system. I've been running at a 10:15-10:30 pace pretty consistently the past 5 weeks. I was able, however, to run a decent 5k a couple of weeks ago on this type of training alone. I'm going to stay the course, with only one modification. During the weeks in which I'm not racing, I'm going to give myself one "fast day." It'll either be a short tempo run, or some 1/2 mile surges during a run. Other than that, it'll be slow zone 2.

I also wanted to follow up on my orthotics/no orthotics experiment. I ran one week (two weeks ago) while wearing my orthotics in my running shoes for every run. I followed that up by running for one week without the orthotics in my shoes. I did this to see which approach was less stressful on my perpetually injured heel.

The results?

I have absolutely no clue. This heel has been finicky at best for over two years now. The only thing I know for sure is that running more than just a few miles per week does still bother it, to some degree, as does running hills. The frustrating thing is that I've never really been able to establish a pattern based on whether or not the orthotics have an effect. Maybe I need to go with each approach for longer than just a week. During each of the last two weeks, there were periods when the heel felt fine, and times when it was really aggravated. And there were times when it felt fine during my runs, but ached like crazy at other times during the day (especially at night, and often really ached when I woke up in the morning). I've taken ibuprofen regularly for a week at a time, but I'd really like to stay away from it if at all possible. I still ice it after nearly every run and stretch nearly as frequently. Ah, the trials and tribulations of a middle-aged runner.

That's about it from the Western Front. I'm trying to very gradually increase my weekly running mileage. I cracked the 14-mile mark last week. For a guy whose DOWN week was 30 miles a couple of years ago, a 14-mile week is paltry. But given how many weeks (months) I've been unable to run during certain periods for the last two years, I'll gladly take a 14-mile week right now. Onward!

Aerobically Speaking

What little running I've been doing lately has been a bit on the unstructured side. By that, I mean that I've been trying to force my body into running fast (i.e. intervals) without having any kind of mileage base.

I don't want to come across as being "Joe Expert" when it comes to running. Like all of us, I'm learning all the time — especially when it comes to my own body's response to running. But I will say this: having been a runner (off and on) since the late 1970's, I know that a skyscraper can't be built without a foundation. Fast running can't safely and effectively be developed without first building a base.

It's been obvious, if you've read any of my ramblings from earlier this year, that my heart hasn't been that much into running lately. The last two years have been incredibly frustrating for me. I've tried to build some kind of running program that will allow for improvement (or at least some semblance of a "return to form"), while not aggravating my perpetually injured heel. I somewhat cavalierly thought that I may be able to PR in the 5k this year, even while running limited mileage. Well, it appears that my version of "limited" is a bit TOO limited. At 45 years of age, my body doesn't want to bust out sub-7 minute miles while only recording 10 miles (or less) of running per week. Go figure.

Which brings me to the topic in the title of this post. I need to scrap the notion of speed (for the most part), and try to reconstruct my aerobic base. Today, I ran an easy 3.4 mile run (with my crazy dog) at a very slow pace. I wanted to see what it would take to keep my average heart rate within my Zone 2 (roughly 125-135 bpm). What an eye-opener! I had to run 10:17 per mile pace to do it. But I actually had fun doing it. I wasn't struggling (as I have been during recent runs), yet I felt like I accomplished something. I'd like to see if I can continue on this path and keep my heart rate low while gradually increasing my average pace. Kind of an informal Mark Allen/Phil Maffetone approach. I'll still run some 5k races (I have one coming up this weekend), but without the intent of gunning for a PR.

Even to a novice runner, this seems like common sense. And even though I've been a runner for 30+ years, I often need to take a step back and return to basics. Given my current physical limitations, this is one of those times.

And, for a change, I'm okay with it.