Just A Little Running Update
Awhile back I promised an update on my running. So far I’ve failed to deliver. (Yes, I know that I also promised some pics from the 5K two weeks ago…) Well, hold your breath no more, because here’s an update on my running!
As you all know, I had surgery on my right knee in early February, which was followed by PT, and a gradual return to running. At my 1 month follow up, the doc said it would probably be a couple of more months before I could return to my pre-surgery activity level.
In March I started running again. First, it was just a couple of miles at a time, every other day, eventually working up to 10-12 miles per week. Throughout April, I continued to add miles, still running every other day, until I was closing in on 20 miles per week. At this point, most of my runs were in the 3-4 mile range, I was able to go up to 6-7 miles a couple of times. Once May rolled around, I started to add short tempo runs and short intervals (neither of which matched the intensity level of their pre-surgery counterparts). I also continued to up the mileage, and started hitting 25-30 miles per week. Now, with 7 days left in June, I’m running 5 days per week, averaging almost 30 miles per week, and have upped the intensity and duration of the tempo runs and intervals. And just this past Sunday, I went 10 miles—the first double-digit run since 11/1/2008.
With one week remaining in June, here’s a breakdown of the last 3 months:
- April: 70.1 miles
- May: 116.3 miles
- June (through 6/23): 95.2 miles
Here’s a breakdown of last week (6/15/2009 – 6/21/2009):
- Mon: Full body strength training. No running.
- Tues: A.M. – Easy 3 miles; P.M. – 3 miles @ marathon pace
- Wed: A.M. – 4 mile hill run.
- Thurs: A.M. – Easy 4 miles; P.M. – 4 x 800m intervals w/400m recovery jogs; 5 miles total.
- Fri: Upper body strength training. No running.
- Sat: Easy 4 miles.
- Sun: Long run – 10 miles.
If you’re paying attention, you probably noticed a couple of doubles last week—this was a first for me (and probably not the last). I feel like my body was able to handle the doubles pretty well, and I can definitely see myself running twice a day a couple of days a week.
This week I am breaking my first new pair of shoes since the surgery—Brooks Defyance 2. I took them out for a test run this morning…a 6 mile tempo run on the treadmill. They passed the test with flying colors.
Well, there you have it, a little running update. See you on the road!
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Oatmeal Raisin Energy Cookies
The other day the boys and I got the taste for something sweet, but we didn’t have anything in the house, so I suggested that we make some cookies. Of course they thought that was a great idea, and I went to work finding a recipe and gathering ingredients.
The cookie of choice was oatmeal raisin, because that’s my favorite, and we didn’t have any chocolate chips. Fortunately we had plenty of oats, and raisins, but the only two eggs were about a month past their expiration date. I went ahead and cracked them open, just to see if they were still good, and while they didn’t stink, I decided not to use them.
Here we are with all of the ingredients except eggs. I really didn’t want to go to the store, so I searched (binged, not googled) for egg substitutes in baking. Among other things, I found a site that said I could use ground flax seed mixed with warm water as a substitute for the eggs. I thought “hey, we’ve got that!” And I set off mixing some flax seed and water, and making the cookie batter.
Before I added in the oats and raisins, I asked the boys and Julie if I should add in some peanut butter. They all agreed that I should, so I did (note: I didn’t substitute it for anything else, which I would do next time). I then added the oats and raisins, spooned the mixture out onto a cookie sheet, and went about baking the cookies, sampling a healthy portion of dough along the way.
The dough tasted good, so I was optimistic that the cookies would taste good, too. I was not disappointed. There was a hint of the peanut flavor, and some added nuttiness from the flax seed, and the texture was spot on. If I didn’t tell you that these were egg-less cookies, you would probably never know. The boys even loved them.
So there you have it, my oatmeal raisin energy cookies. I used the recipe off of the Quaker Oats container, adding a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter, and substituting ground flax seed mixed with water for the two eggs. I also used the “baking” Splenda, instead of regular white sugar. The next time I make these, I will leave out some of the butter for the peanut butter, and I might experiment with some different dried fruit.
Let me know if you try your hand at these, or something similar.
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Bryan
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11:44 AM
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xSIGHTment Run 5K Race Report
…or…
I Got Chicked
…or…
I Had A Faster Chip Time, So It Doesn’t Matter
As I mentioned in my last post, I finally did my first post knee surgery race—the xSIGHTment Run 5K, put on by the Colleyville Lions Club. I really didn’t know what to expect with this race, and I was even less sure what my goals should be. In fact, as Julie and I were driving to the race, I was still working them out.
I knew that my training had been solid over the last two months, with 70 miles in April, and 116 in May (okay, perhaps I’m ramping back up a little too quickly), but I had put in little time doing speed work. Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t running everything slow (slow being relative, of course), but I certainly hadn’t had any specific speed sessions—just some runs that were faster than others.
Searching my mental training log, I looked for proof that I could run a time close to my PR (25:12). I certainly had runs that came close, including one particular run done in brutal conditions. That was it—if I could run 2 sub 8:00 miles, back-to-back in the middle of the afternoon, in hot, humid weather, plus a 9:00 minute mile, then surely I could run something within 30-60 seconds of my 5K PR in the morning, with relatively cool, dry weather. I now had my plan—8:20/mile, speeding up if I felt good, otherwise just holding on.
Finally, we arrived at the race, and immediately got to work getting ready—put our bibs on, sipped some Gatorade, found the timing chip table, and started our warm up. After 10-15 minutes of easy running, plus some strides, we made our way towards the starting line. We deliberately stayed well away from the front, but made sure to line up in front of any strollers or young children. Within a few minutes, the gun went off and we were on our way.
I was immediately boxed in, and had to do a little maneuvering to find some open space. Once I was in the open, I proceeded to go at a pace a little faster than planned. After settling in somewhere between 8:10-8:20 pace, I focused on running with a nice, relaxed form, as the course made its way up the first of 4 hills.
Mile 1 ended on the backside of the first hill, right before the start of hill number two. I hit the marker at 8:16—right about where I wanted to be. I passed tons of people in the first mile, and was passed by just a few folks. Feeling pretty good, I brought the pace down a bit, and found some targets up the road to reel in.
Through the turnaround, just past the halfway mark of mile 2, I still felt strong, continued passing people, and started to pass some of the folks who had passed me. Things were going pretty good, and I headed towards hills 3 and 4. Somewhere between the final two hills, I hit the two mile mark, going through in 8:08—not bad, and still feeling pretty good.
With just over a mile left, I began focusing on holding onto my form, running relaxed but hard up the hills, and letting gravity pull me back down. At this point, the pack had thinned out considerably, but I was still reeling in runner after runner, including everyone that had passed me at the beginning of the race. What a great feeling! With about .4 of a mile left, I made the final turn, and headed down the home stretch.
At this point, I was averaging a low 7 min/mile pace, and was just trying to hold on. I passed a couple more people, and could finally see the finish line, along with a couple of more folks that looked to be catchable. I passed the first, a very fit looking teenage girl who was not looking so great at that moment. A funny thing happened when I passed her though—she came to life. Within a couple of seconds of passing her, I sensed a presence off my right shoulder, and an extra shadow confirmed that someone was there—the girl I’d just passed. She stayed put for a few more seconds, and I tried to lift my pace. She stayed put, but only for another second or two, before picking the pace up another notch. She made her move to pass. As she opened up her stride in front of me, I knew that catching her would be a tough task, but I tried to find an extra gear and go with her. On this day, I didn’t have the speed to match her finishing kick, and she cruised to the finish line a second ahead of me.
I’d been “chicked.” Or had I? Sure, she passed me right before the finish line, but I hadn’t seen her the entire race. It wasn’t until the very end, right before I passed her, that I saw her for the very first time. I suspected that while she would have a faster gun time, that I’d end up with a faster chip time. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch her bib # before she left the finishing corral.
Looking at my time, I quickly forgot about getting “chicked”—I had a new PR! 24:56! My first sub 25:00 5K. I couldn’t believe that I did it. I really didn’t set out to attempt a PR. I just ran my plan, and felt good enough to keep pushing the pace all the way to the end.
Knowing that Julie would be coming in soon, I made my way back out on the course a bit, and cheered her home. She had a great race herself, finishing with her 2nd fastest 5K time!
After some pancakes, we made our way over to look at the preliminary results. What do you know, we both placed 5th in our Age Group. Not bad for a race that attracts a fast crowd! I also noticed one woman with a gun time that was just a second faster than me, and a chip time 9 seconds slower than me—that had to be her! As it turns out, she won the 15-19 AG, and she did out kick me at the end. I can handle that.
Later in the weekend, as race photos became available, I was able to confirm that this was in fact the girl. I’ve got a great series of photos from the end of the race, which depict me getting “chicked.” Wouldn’t you like to see them?
Here are my splits (according to Garmin):
- Mile 1: 8:16.69
- Mile 2: 8:08.73
- Mile 3: 7:48.09
- Final .12: 0:42.84
- Total: 24:56.35 (3.12 miles)
Look for pictures in a future post.
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12:11 AM
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Back To Racing
Just a quick update regarding this morning’s xSIGHTment Run 5K race—first let me say that this is an excellent race, and that the Colleyville Lions Club does a great job putting this on. Thank you very much to everyone involved!
We’ve got to head out to a birthday party, so I don’t have time for a full race report, but here’s what I will tell you: I set a new PR for the 5K, finishing in 24:56, which was good enough for 5th in my age group. I have no idea by how much I missed a top 3 spot, but I’m guessing a few minutes—there are some fast runners at this race. The overall winner came in under 15 minutes.
Mark this one on your calendar for next year, I know I am!
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Bryan
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12:24 PM
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Signed Up For My First Post-Op Race
Well, it’s official—I’ve signed up for my first post-op race. Tomorrow morning, Julie and I will be running in the xSIGHTment Run 5K, which is put on by the Colleyville Lions Club.
Being that this is my first race since knee surgery, and that I’ve only just recently started training again, I’m not expecting a whole lot from this race. (Regarding my training, I did go over 100 miles in May, but I’ve not started back to any formal training, and I haven’t really gotten back to doing any speedwork.) Looking at the results from past years, this race attracts some fast runners. So even though it isn’t a big race, I have no delusions of placing in my Age Group. Honestly, I’ll be lucky to get a top 10 AG finish.
With that in mind, I’ve been trying to come up with my goals, because you know you should always have a reason to race, and a plan in place for the race. My reason to race is that I desperately want to get back into it. I haven’t raced at any distance since a 10K last September, and haven’t done a 5K since last June’s Run for Dad. Also, I want to run this year’s Run for Dad, but I don’t want it to be my first race back. Considering it is in two weeks, tomorrow’s xSIGHTment Run seemed like a good choice. So that’s the reason, but I’m having a little more trouble with my specific goals.
Of course the most important (and obvious) goal is to finish the race. Beyond that, I’m not sure. Even under ideal circumstances, I think a PR is unrealistic, but I’m having a tough time deciding how to pace this race. Do I just go run and have fun? Do I shoot for a pace I can maintain all the way through? Do I go out a little conservative, and then ramp it up? Do I go out fast, and see how long I can hold on? I really don’t know. I’m torn between running an evenly pace race and trying to hold on as long as I can. You’ll have to wait for the race report to hear what I decide.
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Bryan
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10:51 PM
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