The weather in Klamath has been really nasty since October, and I've gotten really tired of it. To give you an idea of what it's like, none of the trees in our yard have leaves on them yet. Normally by May 21st all of them are green, but Mother Nature has decided that we'll go from winter to summer without any spring in between, and I think she's confused about when summer is supposed to start. I watched the weather report last night, and we're supposed to have snow showers today and tomorrow. The wind has been blowing on a continual basis, also, which tends to discourage my running desires.
There was a parents' meeting for football last night, and I wound up talking to one of the coaches' wives who ran in the Eugene Marathon. Because of talking to her, my motivation to run picked up a little, so I headed out to the OC&E Trail when the meeting was done to try to get some miles in.
My running has been very erratic, to say the least. I managed to get 13 miles in last week (with a total of 3 runs), and my pace is very slow. As I mentioned earlier the wind has been brutal, and I really don't like running in the wind, so it's been tough to get off my lazy backside to run. Monday I went 4 miles, Tuesday we had 20-25 mph winds with rain so I didn't go, Wednesday we had more wind, more rain, and a baseball game so I didn't go, and I managed to get in 2 1/2 last night. Pretty weak training schedule, isn't it!
It's not possible to get in shape doing those kind of runs, so my goal in the Lake of the Woods Run 5 k is going to be the same as the lofty goal I had in the Pear Blossom 5k....finish in front of the last place runner. This time will be harder, because there are no where near the number of runners.
It's two weeks from tomorrow, and with weather forecasts predicting another week of wind, rain, and snow, the only thing that might save me is if the Henley baseball team makes it to the state championship so I don't have to run the race.
Go Hornets!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Good Week
The weather yesterday was absolutely wonderful, so when I got home from work I strapped on my bright blue Nikes and went for a run. It was about 72, 5 mph winds, and blue skies. Other than the fact that it was a little bit warmer than what I really like (65 is about right for a good run), I couldn't have asked for a better day. There weren't any people on the OC&E Trail, which made it even better. What a great day!
The run, on the other hand, wasn't so good. I'd decided that I was going to go a full 5 miles, even though I had doubts about my ability to make it that far. I did an out and back, and went 5 miles, but it definitely wasn't pretty. I walked a couple of times (when I walk I add the distance I walk to the end of the run, so I did run a full 5 mles), and stopped for water at my pickup with 1 mile to go. Like I said it wasn't pretty, but 5 miles is better than what I've been doing, so there's hope! So far I've run 13 miles this week, and I plan on going for a fairly short (2 1/2) mile run this afternoon.
If I can figure out how to do it I'll put a mileage tracker on my blog so I don't have to keep track manually. If you're reading this (Laurie) and I don't have one feel free to comment on how to do it.
The Lake of the Woods 5 k is 3 weeks from today. Hopefully I'll be able to stay healthy and increase my miles/pace so I do better than my last race.
The run, on the other hand, wasn't so good. I'd decided that I was going to go a full 5 miles, even though I had doubts about my ability to make it that far. I did an out and back, and went 5 miles, but it definitely wasn't pretty. I walked a couple of times (when I walk I add the distance I walk to the end of the run, so I did run a full 5 mles), and stopped for water at my pickup with 1 mile to go. Like I said it wasn't pretty, but 5 miles is better than what I've been doing, so there's hope! So far I've run 13 miles this week, and I plan on going for a fairly short (2 1/2) mile run this afternoon.
If I can figure out how to do it I'll put a mileage tracker on my blog so I don't have to keep track manually. If you're reading this (Laurie) and I don't have one feel free to comment on how to do it.
The Lake of the Woods 5 k is 3 weeks from today. Hopefully I'll be able to stay healthy and increase my miles/pace so I do better than my last race.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Old Man Shuffle
It's been quite a while since I last posted...in fact, a little more than a month. What a slacker!
The Pear Blossom 5k gave me motivation to try to get in better shape. I'd forgotten how much fun races are, but as I mentioned a month ago my time was worse than atrocious, and I really do think that I could have walked almost as fast as I ran.
The week after the Pear Blossom I did 3 1/2 mile runs on two consecutive days, and then managed to strain my left calf. Rather than try to run through the pain, as soon as I felt the first twinge of pain I started walking, and was able to keep the injury fairly minimal. Since then I've gotten in 6 or 7 runs, and have gone on two 4 milers this week. My time is still really slow, but at least I'm getting some miles in.
This morning on the way to work I passed a guy that reminded me of something Tom posted in one of his blogs...the "Old Man Shuffle." For those of you who don't know what it is, it's when an old codger (like me) goes for a "run." They act like they're running, but their strides are usually really short, and they don't go much faster than a crawl. They don't pick up their feet - they just kind of slide them along the ground. They pump their arms, and bounce up and down, but their forward progress is pretty slow. I saw an old guy (older than me) on the OC&E Trail a couple of weeks ago, and his strides were short enough that his tracks were overlapping. I asked him how far he was going, and he told me "this run is pretty short. I'll get in about 8 miles today." I know from watching him before I passed him that he literally COULD walk faster than his running pace.
Every time I go for a run I think of Tom's post. I really hope that I'm not to the stage where I'm doing the "Old Man Shuffle."
The Pear Blossom 5k gave me motivation to try to get in better shape. I'd forgotten how much fun races are, but as I mentioned a month ago my time was worse than atrocious, and I really do think that I could have walked almost as fast as I ran.
The week after the Pear Blossom I did 3 1/2 mile runs on two consecutive days, and then managed to strain my left calf. Rather than try to run through the pain, as soon as I felt the first twinge of pain I started walking, and was able to keep the injury fairly minimal. Since then I've gotten in 6 or 7 runs, and have gone on two 4 milers this week. My time is still really slow, but at least I'm getting some miles in.
This morning on the way to work I passed a guy that reminded me of something Tom posted in one of his blogs...the "Old Man Shuffle." For those of you who don't know what it is, it's when an old codger (like me) goes for a "run." They act like they're running, but their strides are usually really short, and they don't go much faster than a crawl. They don't pick up their feet - they just kind of slide them along the ground. They pump their arms, and bounce up and down, but their forward progress is pretty slow. I saw an old guy (older than me) on the OC&E Trail a couple of weeks ago, and his strides were short enough that his tracks were overlapping. I asked him how far he was going, and he told me "this run is pretty short. I'll get in about 8 miles today." I know from watching him before I passed him that he literally COULD walk faster than his running pace.
Every time I go for a run I think of Tom's post. I really hope that I'm not to the stage where I'm doing the "Old Man Shuffle."
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