Back at It

Did anybody notice that my oldest son, the one off at cooking school in San Diego, commented on the blog after SGM. Very cool. That brought a big old smile to dear old Dad's face.

Well, this week I'm back at it, albeit, with a fairly relaxed attitude. December will be here like tomorrow.

Tuesday I had planned an easy 3 miler. I had already determined not to wear the watch. My back and neck have been kind of all tweaky since the marathon. I hate to keep harping on it, but I think this hip/muscle thing has everything a little tweaked. Before I even started the run, I had the twinge of a head ache. I sometimes get these nasty headaches that start on the right side of my neck and then circle my head and make my eyeballs feel like they are going to burst. Sometimes these are brought on by dehydration, but I had tried to drink a lot of water throughout the day. Once I get running everything usually loosens up and I'm alright. Tuesday's easy 3 turned into THE worst run EVER. Even before I hit the first mile the pain in my head was so severe, each step felt like my head would explode. I finally had to walk for about a quarter of a mile. I was too stubborn to turn back early. I finally was able to start "jogging" again and finished up most of the run. I ended up walking the last quarter as well. Its a good thing I hadn't timed this one, I hadn't "run' this slow ever. After a couple of acetaminophen when I got home and dinner I felt a little better.

Wednesday, my back and neck were sore most of the day. Wednesday I headed over to the Dam right after work for a 6 miler. The multiple marathon schedule called for 6 miles at marathon pace. I've never really tried to do a pace run so decided to give it a try. I had just been reading about them here when I was figuring out my schedule. I decided to see how my head would feel after yesterday to determine just how far I would go at pace. I also had planned on a mile warm up and another cool down. The first mile I took it easy for 9:30 which includes the hill to get up on top of the dam. At the mile marker I ramped up the speed, attempting to get to 8:00 miles. I hit that 2nd mile in 8:08. Not too bad, I thought, since I don't have a really good feel for this. I kept going on pace for mile 3 and finished that one in 7:32. Whoa, how did that happen? I actually felt pretty good. A headache did not appear. At this point its a turn around to retrace my steps back to the car for 3 more. I opted for mile 4 as a recovery mile at 8:54 including a 30 second walk break at the beginning. Mile 5 I jumped back into the pace part and finished that one in 7:30. I finished up the last cool down mile in 8:23. I was pretty happy with the way the whole thing worked out. I think next time I'll try to put 3 miles together in the middle with 1.5 miles on either end at a slower pace. Eventually kicking it up to a full 4 at marathon pace over the next few weeks before Tecumseh. Since I'm not focusing on speed there, I thought this relaxed cycle would be a good time to try something new. Ultimately I need to extend those pace runs farther and farther. I need to string together 26.2 miles at less that 8:00 to get that BQ.

Tonight I went out for another easy 3 over in Via Verde. Everything felt pretty good. After the run I picked up Veggie burritos from Taco Ready. That definitely hit the spot.

I'm not sure what Saturday's run will be. Bryan needs a ride to a paintball thing in the OC so I may head out to Aliso and Wood Canyon late in the morning.

My check for registration for Tecumseh cleared the bank today. Everything is coming together.

In reply to some of your comments:
Wes: me worry, no way! and I'll pretty much guarantee I won't be spending that kind of change on a pair of aluminum running spikes that I'll wear once.

Rice: I actually love hills. Although I'm more of a mule than a mountain goat on the way up.