Sunday, April 26, 2015

Jax Beach Intervals - 4.25 Miles - 4-25-2015 - Garmin Connect - Details

Jax Beach Intervals - 4.25 Miles - 4-25-2015 - Garmin Connect - Details

Gosh, time sure does fly when fun is happening. I’ve been so busy this spring with working, chores around the house and trying to get some running done I have found very little time to sit down and work on a blog post, or two. Not to worry though, somehow I’ve managed to get most of my gym workouts completed and still get out on the roads to get some miles in.

Since I have not been able to post to this blog on a regular basis I thought I’d kind of do a year to date summary and maybe hit a high spot or two. First off, almost a third of the way through the year I have run 319.32 miles toward my goal of running 860 miles. I’m pretty much right on target and still have a lot of marathon training left to do for the Tecumseh Trail Marathon on October 24th.

One of the high spots of the year for me was the Run 13.1 Jacksonville on March 29th. I felt ready to run on this cool morning and just started clicking off the miles while I kept my eye on my watch and tried to hold the pace at about 8:50 per mile. I thought I was going to be well under the 2 hour mark until I got to the Acosta Bridge and struggled on the climb with sore legs. I had another climb along the river walk that was at least twice as steep and long as the Acosta. I lost about 3 minutes over the last 3 miles and finished at 2:00:24. Sure, I’m disappointed that I didn’t break 2 hours but it is my quickest half marathon since I started running again in 2009 which is quite pleasing.

Also in March, on the 14th, Speedster Chuck visited Jacksonville for the Gate River Run which is the USA 15K championship. Chuck covered the course in about 7:15 minutes per mile pace and nabbed 2nd place in the 60 to 64 age group. A month later, on April 18th, Chuck was in Marathon, FL for the 7 mile bridge run where he again placed 2nd in the 60 to 64 age group, this time at just less than 7 minute per mile pace.

And Kudos to Shoeless Sonny in Carmel, IN who put on a pair of running shoes on the morning of April 18th and rocketed to a 1st place age group (45-49) finish in the Stay Healthy Hamilton County 5K with a time of 20:49 or 6:49 minutes per mile.

So with these old rascals all around me turning in fast times and walking away with the awards I thought maybe it is time for me to step my game up a level.  After all, I am in a new age group (60 – 64) in a few short weeks. So I started doing interval workouts on Saturday mornings in an old cemetery in Jax Beach. I have been focusing on doing 2 minute quarter mile repeats. The most repeats at speed I’ve run at any workout, as of yesterday's workout is 4. (Total workout with warm up and cool down 4.25 miles)

This morning I ran with the Jacksonville Running Company’s group run. I did a 5 mile loop in a pair of new Altra trail shoes with two of the ladies, got back to the store, changed shoes and we were off again. By 7 miles, 2 miles into the second loop, I was heading back to the barn walking. I was getting some pain in my left leg in the exact same spot that right leg pain forced me into PT last year. (Yes, I have been doing my PT exercises at least twice a week, just not always hitting the foam roller)

So a couple different things, or a combination of things, could be the cause of the pain. Running 5 miles in a brand new pair of shoes could be a contributing factor but I am far more suspicious of the intensity of the interval workouts on Saturday mornings. Intensity of runs has usually contributed in the past so I am going to stop the interval workouts until I can run comfortably without pain. As I’ve said in the past, I would prefer to run slower and stay in the game than deal with an injury that keeps me on the sideline for an extended period of time.

My future event schedule, which involves some travel over the next several months, is in the right sidebar. The focus is on trail events with a couple out of state trips to get some training on hilly terrain. My big goal event for the year, the Tecumseh Trail Marathon in Nashville, IN is right around the corner on October 24th.

1 comment:

jel5010 said...

Thanks for the updates, Allan. Sorry to hear of your leg pain. Hopefully it's not serious and won't impact the Noblesville Mini 3 weeks from Saturday. Man, that Chuck is sure fast for an old guy! :) Thanks also for the shout out! --Shoeless Sonny