Sunday, September 02, 2007

Predictable

If nothing else, I am at least predictable. Come Saturday morning with 17 miles staring me down I headed down to Huntington Beach. It seems like this summer if I'm not at Bonelli I'm at HB. Just to change things up a little I parked at the far north end, actually Bolsa Chica, at the 10 mile mark. I usually park farther south at the 4 mile mark.

With the recent frustration over my pace and with the hip acting up I decided to ignore the mile markers as much as possible. Just running seemed to work out well a couple of weeks ago when I ran south into Newport Beach. Running south first and then heading back north later was a smart decision. There was a nice cooling breeze in my face on the way back when I needed it the most.

My left hip starting complaining around mile 10 or so. My right foot even complained a little. After I finished I headed down to the ocean and took a dip (I told you I was predictable). The cool water sure feels good on tired legs. I sat on the beach for awhile, had some water and food and watched the surfers and paddleboards. I could have sat there all day, all weekend even.

I was very happy to see my final time of 2:33:07. Almost dead on 9:00 pace. I'm happy with that. It is a little maddening though when I think back to my training for SEAFAIR last spring. I distinctly remember the moment when I was running 20 with Jeff and realized that at mile 18 I was running 8:30 miles. That was an ego boost beyond compare!

I really don't know what to expect at Marine Corps. 9 minute miles still keeps me under a 4:00 marathon, but certainly not where I had hoped to be. I had originally thought that marathons 5 months apart would give me plenty of time to recover and rebuild. Instead my body (and mind) has revolted.

The hip started hurting last year about this same time. I was running a lot of my runs on the hills in Bonelli then too, taking full advantage of the long days and off road running. I wonder if there is something inherently wrong with my gait that all those rolling hills just aggravates. My left side is my weaker side. Another contributing factor to the slow down could be my weight. I weighed in Friday. I'm Lifetime at Weight Watchers. The end of August marked 4 years at goal...but this time I was 2 pounds over. I'm up 10 pounds from this time last year. That's got to be a contributing factor. Time to renew the commitment. No ice cream and cookies at least until after MCM.

Sunday morning was 7 in Bonelli; hills and hip be damned. It was hot even at 7:00 in the morning. It has been well over 100 for almost a week. If Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer, I expect the temperatures to cool down come Tuesday morning. Can I get a second?

I ended the month of August with 135.6 miles. A nice steady increase from May's all time low of 44.6. The plan calls for 18 next weekend which I will do on Friday. Hope everyone is enjoying the long (hot) Labor Day weekend.

11 comments:

Ryan said...

Great job on the 17-miler - and what a monster comeback from your low month of mileage. Hope the hip thing works itself out.

Backofpack said...

Darrell,
That hip thing is tough. It's frustrating to not be able to pinpoint a cause, isn't it? I hope it all settles down for you before MCM.

Scott McMurtrey said...

keep it up! the pace will be what it will be. it seems you're doing all the right things (minus the cookies and ice-cream!).

Tyler said...

I second the heat.
Been at least 90's with higher humidity down here.
Running at 11:00 at night isnt that much fun anymore.

I just finished 6 miles like 10 minutes ago! Woot for personal farthest.

Joe said...

I wish I had a brilliant suggestion for the hip/foot thing, Darrell...I know it is frustrating to not be where you thought you'd be.

Being the predictable, disciplined, scientific linear thinker that you are, I suspect you'll get some insight.

I'd only add that the heat can't be helping the cause either.

glad you got in the miles. Look at it this way...you DID have the ocean to jump into at the end...and no blue gills in sight :-)

Joe said...

Oh, and major kudos to Tyler for his personal longest run yet!!

Journey to a Centum said...

Darrell,

Houston is the concrete jungle. Two hills though, both overpasses on the freeway. Otherwise flat and fast. Use new shoes, practically out of the box new shoes.

Unknown said...

Maybe you are in need of the Maniac way to a PR. Run as many marathons as possible as close together as possible and eventually you will run and race yourself into PR shape. Don't tell Lisa about this method though. She might think I am a bad influence :)

Unknown said...

Actually, I ALWAYS think you are running Bonelli unless you say otherwise...

I really don't know what to expect at Marine Corps. 9 minute miles still keeps me under a 4:00 marathon, but certainly not where I had hoped to be. I had originally thought that marathons 5 months apart would give me plenty of time to recover and rebuild. Instead my body (and mind) has revolted.

You know by now with everything that is unpredicatible, that if you've trained one way for a marathon, you've trained one way for a marathon.

As much as we'd like to think that marathons are identical. It's more like Comparing Granny Smith to McIntosh to Golden Delicious. Sure, they are all apples but each (road race) has a different flavor and a different purpose. Some have a harder texture, some have a softer texture. So don't lament too much... your body and mind tell you these things for a reason... are they saying "back off some Darrell" or are they saying "I'm adjusting Darrell, just a little slower this time"?

Unknown said...

did someone say hip? i thought i heard hip...

darrell, do you have a foam roller that you're using? if not, hop on that thing every night and loosen up your quads, it, calves, etc. do it even when your legs don't hurt.

and shoot me an email next time you run hb!

David said...

If the weight won't get you the heat or old age will.

Summer training is never as easy as winter training, right?

It'll be a nice 55 degrees in DC for MCM. Just wait!