For the first time, I have crossed 100 miles for the month.  The month isn’t even over yet so I wouldn’t just cross that barrier, but rather, I’ll smash right through it.

I came close last year at 99 miles, but I couldn’t run even the extra mile in order to cross the 100 miles.

Next step…..100 miles in a week. Yeah, right!!!!!

Posted by derek as Training at 5:35 PM PST

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I noticed yesterday that my legs are starting to feel very tired.  This week I’m aiming for 30 miles and I guess the extra running is taking it’s toll.  Luckily I only need to run 3.7 miles today and I’ll be able to rest tomorrow.

My goal is to run 30 miles per week for 5 weeks (including this week).  I will then do a cut-back week which also coincides with a 10K race I’m doing.  I’ll then run 33 miles the following week and then move to the next level of 35 miles per week.  I’ll hold at 35 miles for 4-5 weeks and again, increase to 40 miles per week.

I’m hoping to be running 40 miles per week by the beginning of April.  Let’s hope my knee holds up and gets better!

My plan is to be running 50 miles per week by the time I start my marathon program in July.

Posted by derek as Training at 3:22 PM PST

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The last few days has been quite a test of my dedication, but I’m happy to report that I’ve passed with flying colors.

I’ve had to do my last few runs in 32F or lower temperatures.  Yesterday was initially a tough call.  We woke up to snow-covered ground and I was a bit unsure if I wanted to run in the snow.  Luckily by the time I did my run, all the snow had melted on the sidewalks.  There was a little water that I had to be careful of when running over just in case it was icy.

I had gotten a new pair of gloves to see if they would keep my fingers warm, but no such luck.  I’m going to go hunting this weekend to see what alternatives I can find.

Posted by derek as Training at 3:11 PM PST

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Today was the coldest weather I’ve run in so far. I went yesterday and got a pair of long pants for runnings. Up until now, I’ve been running in shorts. I wore 2 long sleeved tech shirts and a cotton t-shirt. I got a new set of gloves and wore a hat that also covered my ears. When I headed out, it was 32F and was lightly raining. I took out the insole the podiatrist gave me from my right shoe so I ended up doing my run without any insoles.

After after 3 miles, my right knee started to hurt. I decided to slow down so see if that would help and surprisingly, it did. The pain went away and I was able to run the entire 10 miles without any knee pain. My legs and knees are sore after the run, but I was ecstatic to be able to run the entire 10 miles.

I’m hoping I’m on to something here. Maybe I’ve just been running too fast. For the last couple months, I’ve been trying to keep my runs at faster than, or equal to 10:00 min/mile and maybe I’ve been pushing too hard to accomplish that. I did today’s 10-mile run at a 10:25 min/mile pace.

I’ll run this entire week’s mileage at around 10:30 min/mile and see how that impacts my knees.

At the end of my run today, I was soaked, my shoes and socks were soaked and I was cold, but I felt GREAT! I went out in weather a lot of people would have bagged their run and kept warm.

Posted by derek as Training at 1:14 PM PST

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I saw the Podiatrist yesterday. He was unable to discern any problems with my feet, but he said there were some very subtle issues. I understood that to mean that I’m probably just about average as I know no one is ever perfect.

As a first step, he gave me some off-the-shelf insoles from Powerstep. He wants me to use them for a week and take a note of any improvements or lack thereof. Depending on what I find, we may move to more expensinve custom orthotics.

I used them yesterday for a 4-mile run. I didn’t have any knee pain in the normal spot, but I did notice a very slight discomfort on the outside of my right knee. It’s too early to tell if they are making a difference. The real test may be when I try a long run on Sunday.

Posted by derek as Injury at 2:58 PM PST

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