Running tally ending Dec 6 and Dec 13, 2009

The Physical Therapy is still happening and I think it's improving how my hamstring feels on the runs. I am more sore but I believe this is a good sign. We are finally getting into the scar tissue and smoothing it out. I don't have that tickling sensation as much in my hamstring. I think with a few more sessions it will be cleared up. I am focusing on stretching it out a lot BEFORE and AFTER my runs.

Still, I have not made any decisions as to what marathon I will run in 2010 (if any at all). Part of me is thinking just to wait until June to do San Diego's Rock n Roll. I know the course, have run it twice and it's the last one I ran. I will have to defend the 2:57 time I posted in 2007. It's going to be tough to do that. This will allow me to not rush through any marathons earlier in the year. I can take my time with gearing back up. It's just difficult to stay motivated right now. I have lost my competitive spirit. I am realizing that running isn't as important is it once was. It's kind of sad actually. I miss that "fire" I used to have inside of me. It's still there, but not as strong. It's more like a camp fire burning its last log. It's orange glow is slowly fading away into the night.


Here is what I did for the week ending Dec 6.

Date	Time	Mileage	Min/ Mile	Notes	HR Max	HR Ave
Nov 30, 2009	46:01	6.54	7:01	While still in the Boston area I ran in the cold. It was probably about 45, windy and slightly misting.	171 (91%)	158 (84%)
Dec 2, 2009	44:51	6.21	7:13	I actually ran after traveling back to California. I was so tired but I put myself through this run.	165 (88%)	146 (78%)
Dec 5, 2009	1:12:39	10.15	7:09	I did a longer run. I was attempting to do 8 miles but felt better so I went longer. I ran from my place up through the Balboa Peninsula to about the Balboa Pier, then reversed direction. It was sunny and perfect running temps in the upper 50s and low 60s.	168 (90%)	151 (81%)
Dec 6, 2009	30:34	4.28	7:08	Just a shorter recovery run around LA (Highland Park area) where I was staying since I had to fly out in the morning.	168 (90%)	146 (78%)
Week ending Dec 6, 2009	---	27.18	---	I barely ran 4 days this week. Traveling home from Mass killed some of it. It was too cold for me to even run outside one of the days so I just rested. I was happy to get a double-digit run in though.	168 (90%)	150.2 (80%)

Here is what I did week ending Dec 13.

Date	Time	Mileage	Min/ Mile	Notes	HR Max	HR Ave
Dec 8, 2009	29:05	4.13	7:01	Just a quick run around the neighborhood. I wasn't feeling great.	---	---
Dec 9, 2009	35:59	4.31	7:02	I ran on the treadmill at the gym while in Boston for work. It was so cold outside I just didn't want to deal.	170 (91%)	155 (83%)
Dec 12, 2009	1:21:08	11.27	7:11	I just barely got this run done in between the rain storms we were having here in SoCal. Luckily I chose the perfect time to run (12:15pm) and the skies even opened up with some sun. I ran up through the Balboa Peninsula to the end. I looked at The Wedge and then turned around. I wanted to see how far it was to the end. It was about 5-something miles.	171 (91%)	153 (82%)
Dec 13, 2009	20:03	2.82	7:06	I ran to the gym about 11 min and then ran a little over a mile after the gym	169 (91%)	153 (82%)
Week ending Dec 13, 2009	---	22.53	---	With the work travel I just didn't have enough time to run a lot this week. I was lucky to get in the 11-miler on Sat as I was not really in the mood to do anything long. My left knee hurt during and after but not too bad. These concrete streets really take a lot out of my body.	172 (92%)	153 (82%)

Am I too old for marathons? Run tally ending Nov 15, 2009

I'm finally posting last week almost a week late. I believe my long distance running days are slowly fading away due to my age (almost 34) and just overall wear and tear on my body over the last 10 years. I started running longer distances in 2000. Nathan, if you are reading this, you were totally right. He said my knees would eventually go out on me. I feel them slipping away slowly, one by one. I have developed pain in my left knee. The same leg as my hamstring issue.

I thought I was supposed get better with age in regard to long distance running. Some of the greatest marathon champions are in their 30s. Even the Women's 2008 Olympic Marathon champion Constantina Dita won her gold medal at age 38! I know many runners in their 30s, 40s and 50s even who thrive and have faster marathon times than me. Ughh. I guess I am not as resilient as I thought I was.

The more and more I fight it, the harder it is to maintain the same level of training. I've been struggling with my hamstring injury since December 2007. Yes, almost 2 years ago. I went back to physical therapy again this week. Basically the injury has healed but left scar tissue deep inside it that needs to be smoothed out. I already knew this. So I was able to get it worked on and it was painful. She dug deep in there and got to the problem area using her elbows and fingers. We also did some other stretching and strengthening exercises.

I feel this PT is so much more effective compared to the PT at Mercy Hospital last year. They never really touched/massaged my injured area. Sports medicine PT is so much better for me. I wish I had realized this in 2008 when I just picked the closest PT place near my home. I should have specified a sports medicine facility. We'll see how it goes. I will go once per week. In the mean time, I have cut down some of my mileage and won't do any long stuff (more than 8 miles in a single run) for at least another few weeks.

Below is what I did before last Sunday, Nov 15.

Date	Time	Mileage	Min/ Mile	Notes	HR Max	HR Ave
Nov 10, 2009	43:24	6.13	7:04	My knees were ok. I didn't run for 2 days so I had more energy on this run.	169 (90%)	150 (80%)
Nov 11, 2009	24:42	3.51	7:03	I ran to the gym, 0.64, then did 2.23 on the treadmill and then 0.64 back. I also did upper body weights. I HATE the treadmills they ys	---	---
Nov 13, 2009	58:58	8.35	7:03	I ran outside around my neighborhood. I should have run more, like 12-13 but my body wasn't feeling it. I just ache too much. I ran mostly on concrete. That's the problem. How am I going to do a marathon that is mostly on concrete? I have to adapt my body.	173 (93%)	155 (83%)
Nov 14, 2009	29:03	4.26	6:48	I ran outside at night around my neighborhood. Sometimes I smell burning rubber and other chemicals in the air. It sucks that there are some industrial factories nearby that emit this pollution! I ran faster than normal since I just wanted it over with.	165 (88%)	153 (82%)
Week ending Nov 15, 2009	---	22.25	---	I had to decrease this week a little. My body wasn't feeling great. I don't know if a marathon is even possible this winter. Next week I'll cut down again then I will decide what I will do in terms of the marathon.	169 (90%)	152.6 (82%)

Physical Therapy and running tally ending Aug 16, 2009

Last Tuesday (Aug 11) I had my first physical therapy session for my injured lower calf. You can read more details here about my doctor's visit on July 31. It was hard to pinpoint exactly where the pain source was since I hadn't run in a few days. We eventually found it. My physical therapist did a deep tissue massage on that leg for about 15 min. It hurt like hell. She said my calf is extremely tight and as it gets looser the pain will not be as bad. Also, I will need to do sets of stretching exercises for my calf before I run. Each stretch I have to hold for 30 seconds and do it at least 2-3 times. I will have to really focus on stretching BEFORE and AFTER each run. I have to admit that previously I would stretch, but not to the extent that she wants me to do now.

Here is my run tally but I will not total it until I am consistently running. This is what I have not posted since the last chart that was posted on my July, 20, 2009 entry.

Date	Time	Mileage	Min/ Mile	Notes	HR Max	HR Ave
July 25, 2009	32:08	4.87	6:35	Not sure my pace was accurate as I have had calibration issues with my Nike +. I have to re-calibrate I think. Also the HR watch was off. I don't think I was at 177 bpm!	177 (95%)	164 (88%)
July 29, 2009	29:03	4.07	7:07	I ran slower today. I wasn't feeling it.	159 (85%)	149 (80%)
Aug 1, 2009	31:17	4.57	6:50	Doctor said to run slower so I did slow down a little. I ran mostly on grass.	174 (93%)	162 (87%)
Aug 4, 2009	30:28	4.35	7:00	I fixed the calibration issue and re-calibrated. I think this was more accurate now.	165 (86%)	156 (83%)
Aug 6, 2009	31:19	4.39	7:08	On doctor's orders he told me to run slower. So I did. It felt ok. Ran mostly on grass.	162 (87%)	151 (81%)
Aug 8, 2009	33:05	5.0	6:36	Ran too fast. I think the watch was off still.	177 (95%)	159 (85%)
Aug 9, 2009	26:46	3.87	6:55	Ran slower but wanted to be around 7:00 pace, a tad fast. HR was not working on watch so I estimated. It was reading 213 bpm, which is an error or I would not be typing this right now. I would be dead.	170 (91%)	160 (85%)
Aug 12, 2009	45:27	6.60	6:52	After stretching extensively for 3 min each calf (per my PT) and also doing my hamstrings I ran along the Back Bay in Newport up through UC Irvine and back along the river/back bay. It was mostly on dirt. My leg felt better after a mile. It was a rough run as I have not done over 5 in a while so I was fatigued. I iced the calf after and felt ok. I thought I would be slower. I need to consciously slow down for now on.	174 (94%)	161 (86%)
Aug 15, 2009	41:36	6.09	6:49	After 2 days off from running and one day from complete exercise I felt ok on this run. I was in San Diego so I ran down through Balboa Park and back up to Hillcrest. I felt ok and stretched a lot before and after. My HR got too high but it was a bit warm and I ran at 11AM instead of a lot earlier as I had planned.	176 (94%)	160 (86%)

I have determined I won't be able to get my mileage up to complete the full marathon at Long Beach Marathon, so I will most likely do the half (13.1 miles). Then I will train to do Carlsbad Marathon on January 24, 2010. Then hopefully I can run a time to get me into Boston Marathon for April 2010 since my qualification expired this year since I didn't use it. That's the plan. I hope my body can cooperate.

Getting better and healing

Well, it looks like I am finally healing. The hamstring injury that has plagued me for the past 6 months is slowly going away. I am glad I was able to finally go to physical therapy over the past 2 months and do all my exercises that he taught me. I am now running 3 times a week. I actually did over 6 miles on Saturday in 47:31. I wore my Polar heart rate monitor and averaged 161 beats per min (bpm), which represents 86% of my max heart rate. On this run I reached a max of 175, but I did that on purpose. Near the end I sprinted some to see how high my heart rate could get. I did have a hard time breathing at times during this run, but it's natural since my cardiovascular system is getting used to running rather than the spin classes and elliptical trainer cardio I was doing before I was able to run.

The other two times I ran this past week were on 6/25 when I ran 30:32. I only averaged 153 bpm (81% of my max heart rate) and maxed at 173. On 6/26 I ran 32:01 but did not wear the heart rate monitor. I need to get new batteries for the watch part and have to have it shipped out to a service center so I will need to part with this watch for a few weeks. I am not sure if I want to do that yet. I may just let it die completely before sending it in.

I ran today only 23 min total. I ran from my car where I parked it to Ballys (my gym) in 11:30 and then after doing upper body weights and my hamstring exercises (that I need to do for therapy) I ran another 11:30 back to my car. I probably shouldn't have run today since I ran yesterday, but it was at an easier pace. My PT said that it's ok to stress my hamstring since the stressing is helping it heal. Still, I probably will take tomorrow off from running and then do a run on Tuesday. That way I can do a Tues, Thurs, Sat run week.