Another Fail

Time to get back up to speed.  Though I haven't updated on here in almost a year, I haven't been just twiddling my thumbs this whole time.  I've been running, sporadically, and I even managed to finally run a 5K race, after a number of failed attempts.  I'm just going to post stats mainly.  Too much time has passed to go back and comment on individual runs, though a couple moments stand out, one good, one bad.  I'll post in more detail about the 5K I ran in October 2017.  But, first, earlier in the year, April 2017 to be exact, disaster struck.  I suffered one of the worst running injuries I've experienced when my right calf muscle popped on me mid-run.  I was about four weeks into a training schedule getting ready for a 5K race in June.  I'll first list the runs that led up to that unfortunate night.

Monday, March 27, 2017:
Distance: 1.19 miles
Time:  11:57
Location: Rio Vista-Yucca Loma-Cochise

Tuesday, March 28, 2017:
Distance:  1.53 miles
Time:  15:26
Location: Yucca Loma-Apple Valley-Ottawa-Cuyamaca

Friday, March 31, 2017:
Distance: 1.52 miles
Time: 16:41
Location:  Yucca Loma-Apple Valley-Ottawa-Cuyamaca

Monday, April 3, 2017:
Distance:  1.53 miles
Time:  15:06
Location:  Yucca Loma-Apple Valley-Ottawa-Cuyamaca

Tuesday, April 4, 2017:
Distance:  1.53 miles
Time:  15:12
Location:  Yucca Loma-Apple Valley-Ottawa-Cuyamaca

Friday, April 7, 2017:
Distance:  1.79 miles
Time:  17:55
Location:  Top of Cochise to Powhatan to Apple Valley-Yucca Loma intersection and back via Cuyamaca

Monday, April 10, 2017:
Distance:  1.88 miles
Time:  18:58
Location:  Top of Cochise to Powhatan to Apple Valley-Yucca Loma intersection down to Ottawa to Cuyamaca

I ran as well on April 11, but I have no stats for that run because that's when I got injured and so I basically scratched the whole run, even though I was maybe half a mile into it.  These runs all took place back when Yucca Loma Road was shut down.  Though I did still run along that road a few times, they had it all barricaded, so for the most part I avoided it.  That was why I had started to run up Cochise Road to where it meets Yucca Loma at which point I'd do an about-face and run down to Powhatan and out to Apple Valley.  It was a route I began running only a few days before on April 7.  I ran it again on April 10.  But on April 11, little did I know that that abrupt turnaround at the top of Cochise would do me in.  My April 11 run started out pretty ordinary.  I ran up my street, hung a right at Cronese, then a left on Cochise.  When I got to where the roadblock was I quickly stopped, turned around, and used my right leg to propel me in the opposite direction.  And then, pop!  It felt like a rubber band in my right calf had extended too far and snapped.  I let out an audible groan and grabbed my leg.  It was pretty intense pain initially.  I crumpled down and tried to massage my leg.  After the worst pain subsided, I tried to walk it off.  But I could barely put any pressure at all on my right leg.  I even (stupidly) thought about trying a light jog.  Even after this injury I didn't want to admit defeat.  But after a few feet of trying I had to quickly give up.  There was just no way I could put that right foot down, even lightly.  So I shut my watch off and dejectedly walked home.  It was a painful, half mile walk back home.  A lot of thoughts raced through my head.  I was smack in the middle of training for a 5K that was going to take place in June.  I wondered if I'd be able to bounce back from this in time for that race.  I also wondered if I had ruptured a muscle!  The pain and the feeling of that pop were so intense that I was worried it was indeed worse than just a pulled muscle.  This was definitely one of my worst running injuries, right up there with my bad ankle sprain in Lake Arrowhead almost five years before.  But ankle sprains had happened before; this was an injury unknown to me.  The feeling of that muscle stretching and snapping was actually frightening.  I finally made it home and quickly got to icing my leg.  I could see some swelling around my calf area.  I knew I'd be out of commission for a while.  Optimistically, I thought I might still be able to make the race in June.  I had actually already built in a week off into my training schedule because we were about to make a trip to Florida during my Easter break.  I thought maybe a week of rest would be sufficient and upon our return from Florida I could resume my running.  But the pessimistic side of me still had doubts.  In fact, the next day, still unable to put pressure on my right leg, I felt that I should see a doctor.  One regret I have after that bad ankle sprain in 2012 was not seeing a doctor about it -- to this day I have a feeling it never 100% healed.  I still have stiffness in that ankle and I'm pretty sure I did some damage to it that may have been fixed had I seen a doctor.  So this time I didn't want to take any chances.  I went to the urgent care after work.  And luckily they didn't think it was a tear, probably just a really bad pull.  So I continued to rest and ice and elevate that leg.  To fast forward a little, things did improve after a few days, but I knew my leg wasn't ready for running.  It didn't bother me too bad while we were in Florida, except for a couple times after long days of walking -- then it would stiffen up on me.  But mainly I was just too worried about re-aggravating it out on a run.  That feeling of snapping my muscle was almost scarring.  I absolutely did not want to feel that again.  So in the weeks after Florida I continued to lay low.  Suddenly it was May and the race was only a month away.  As June approached I finally had to concede; another 5K down the drain.  But it was for the best.  Even as late as June I would still have periodic pain in my calf, usually after a lot of walking.  And so it was.  No 5K and no running for most of the summer.  Until August.  I came across another 5K race, this one also in San Diego (as the June race had been).  It was to be October 7 and I felt enough time had passed and my calf seemed to be fully healed.  So I gave it a go.  I set out for my first run since the injury on August 24.  And thankfully it went well.  I'll save the next segment of runs, though, for next time.  Luckily, 2017 ended well, as I was able to actually complete my training regimen and run the October 5K successfully.  But the year started rough.  The aborted 5K in June was the last of a long line of canceled races going back to 2015.  It seemed like every time I'd set my sights on a race, something would happen to change those plans.  Sometimes it was something good, like when we adopted our daughter Lucy and I had to cancel a Hollywood 5K in late 2015.  But usually it was because of illness or injury.  So it was a giant relief to accomplish the October 5K.  More on that next time...

Week One Is Done

Week one of twelve is complete.  I had my last of this week's three runs tonight.  It feels good just to have completed a full week of my training regimen.  I have a long way to go till race day in June, but things are off to a smooth start.  Tonight's run was a repeat of Tuesday's run, only in reverse.  I headed to Rio Vista School first, then hopped onto shut-down Yucca Loma Road.  I was the only one on the whole street again.  It'll be nice when they finally open it up (in about five weeks) and I won't feel like I'm trespassing anymore.  This run felt the best of the three this week, however I also felt the most sore.  I ran it in 12:31 (1.21 miles) as opposed to Tuesday's 13:08.  Extremely slow times, but, hey, this is only week one after months of inactivity.  It was a pretty cool night (low 50s), but calm and quiet.  I'm certainly glad to be running in the spring instead of the bitterly cold winters up here.  Now I get to rest for the next three days and hopefully Monday's run will be sore-free.

March 23, 2017:
Distance: 1.21 miles
Time:  12:31
Location:  Rio Vista-Yucca Loma-Cochise

Sooner or Later

As in, sooner or later I'll run my next 5K.  I'll keep this one short.  The Hollywood Hard Rock 5K that took place in November of last year came and went.  The daily grind got the better of me and I sputtered out.  I can't even recall what specifically caused me to bail on that race; it was most likely just the stress and obligations of work.  I went on a couple of runs in September:

September 8, 2016:
Distance: 2.39 miles
Time:  31:14
Location: Cochise-Cronese-Havasu-Ottawa

September 16, 2016:
Distance: 2.46 miles
Time: 30:04
Location: Cochise-Cronese-Havasu-Ottawa

The latter of those two runs is distinguished by being my first run using a new device I acquired that month.  For the past few years I've been using my phone to track my runs, but I've always felt it a bit burdensome.  I'd long wanted to get a GPS watch.  So finally, with some birthday money, I forked over a good chunk for the Garmin Forerunner 230.  I got it mid-September and took it on its first run on September 16.  But as much as I enjoyed running with the new watch, as mentioned, my training fizzled after that and it wasn't until the new year rolled around that I started to get serious again.  I got some new running shoes in January and finally set my sights on a new race, the San Diego Fair 5K in Del Mar in June.  My first run of the year took place yesterday and my second run was tonight.  Both were short runs, but they felt great.  Yesterday was warm and I ran a single mile to Rio Vista School and back, and even though I hadn't run in six months, it wasn't too difficult.  Tonight the weather cooled and it was breezy.  I ran a little longer, opting to go up to Yucca Loma (which has been under construction for close to a year now as they widen and improve it).  The road is still closed off, but the sidewalks are paved and I enjoyed the new, wide, and smooth surface.  Tonight's run felt a little better than yesterday's, and that's all I can ask for.  I'm looking forward to getting back in the swing of things. 

March 20, 2017:
Distance: 1.01 miles
Time: 11:23
Location:  Rio Vista School and back

March 21, 2017:
Distance: 1.21 miles
Time: 13:08
Location: Yucca Loma to Rio Vista and back

My new running toy. :)

Hollywood, Take 2

It's been one thing after another as I attempt to run my next 5K.  A whole year has passed since my last update, and during that time I've had to bail on three different races!  A year ago I was in the middle of training for the Hollywood Hard Rock 5K in November.  I continued to run throughout September and then in October a life-altering event put everything on hold.  My wife and I had adopted our son back in 2013, and we were put on a waiting list for a second adoption early in 2015.  On October 1 (after waiting about six months and having a few close calls) we were called about a 3-month old girl!  The whole month after that was a whirlwind of excitement.  We had a meeting with social workers on October 7, then finally got to meet our little girl on October 13.  All this while I was still running and planning on going through with the race in early November.  We had another meeting with social workers on October 14, during which we got to take Lucy (the name we decided on for her) out for a little family outing.  Then, finally, on October 15 we got to bring Lucy home!  It's no coincidence that at that point my running ceased.  Our life was quite full now with our 2-year-old boy (a handful himself) and now a 3-month-old little girl who we discovered was quite fussy and would not be an easygoing baby.  The transition from the foster home to our home was rough on her, and in turn on us.  Lots of sleepless nights and frustrating (and heart-breaking) moments when we couldn't calm Lucy down and just had to endure her crying fits.  Getting training runs in was the farthest thing from my mind.  My wife had the hardest time, being home with her while I was at work.  When I'd get home it was all hands on deck to help out with the baby.  I figured I'd need to wait a few more months at least until I could consider another race, and so the Hollywood 5K came and went without me.  And I was fine with that.  We were blessed beyond belief to have been chosen as parents for Lucy, and despite the hardships I was fully focused on caring for her and easing her transition.  Running naturally took a backseat.  And to make a long story short, it took a few months, but eventually Lucy did indeed get comfortable with us and her fussiness slowly but surely decreased.  By the time spring of 2016 rolled around, she was crawling, laughing, sleeping better, eating great, and becoming the most adorable and precious little girl.

And so we come to my second failed attempt at a 5K in the past year.  In late March we were at our local farmers market when I was stopped by a guy at a booth signing people up for a 5K right here in Apple Valley.  My wife suggested I do it, so I gladly signed up.  It was to take place April 23, so I immediately threw together a training plan and started running.  All throughout April I was able to get in at least three long runs per week.  Things had gotten a bit easier with the two kids; my wife was working from home and we had a babysitter coming to help out during the day, so getting out in the evening for a run seemed less out of the question now.  However, as the race day neared we were dealing with sicknesses with both kids.  And sure enough, only a day or two before the race I came down with whatever they had and felt weak and wiped out.  I decided to forgo the race, to my disappointment.  Looking back I probably could have just pushed through it and run anyway.  A similar thing happened back in 2014 when I ran the Timberwolf 5K in Irvine.  I came down with a cold the day before the race, but ran it anyway.  So I'm not 100% sure I made the right choice this time.  It seemed that bailing on races was becoming a regular thing, which was unfortunate.  In some cases the situation was out of my control, but in others, like this Apple Valley 5K, I just sort of used the obstacle as an excuse.  And so my running ceased.  Summer came, we got busy, and suddenly the new school year was around the corner.

So now for the third (and hopefully final) aborted 5K.  In August I was determined to give it another go, so I found a race for early October called the Aloha Run in Long Beach.  My wife even agreed to run it with me!  We thought we could make a weekend out of it and take the kids to the aquarium.  So I drew up a training plan for the both of us and just as we were gearing up to begin, forces conspired against us.  For two weeks straight, forest fires ravaged the nearby mountains and filled our skies with smoke and ash.  The first fire, the Pilot Fire, was just south of us near Silverwood Lake.  It lasted a couple days.  But then the Blue Cut Fire broke out near the Cajon Pass and proceeded to destroy over 30,000 acres!  My school even shut down for two days due to the bad air.  So running was definitely out of the question.  Our training plan had been reduced by 2 weeks, and I felt we had lost valuable runs, especially for my wife who is more of a beginner runner.  So we decided to skip the Aloha Run.  Once again, I let an obstacle get the better of me.  I could've condensed my training plan and still gone for it, even if I didn't feel 100% ready.  It was a crazy, eventful, busy year, and it made for challenging circumstances in which to focus on things like running regimens, but the bottom line is I could have still run at least some of those races.  The goal now is to rise to the challenge and be ready for the obstacles that will inevitably come.  And so I'm not wasting any time in picking my next race.  I'm going full circle.  I bailed on last year's Hard Rock 5K in Hollywood, which set off a string of aborted 5Ks, so I'm going back to Hollywood for a do-over!  The Hard Rock 5K this year is on November 5 and I'm going for it! 

Before I begin logging my runs in preparation for the Hard Rock, I have many runs to document from this past year.  It's been too long to recall details from each run, but I have the basic data.  I went on 17 runs, some in the fall of 2015, the rest in the spring of 2016.  I totaled 43.28 miles for a total time of 8 hours and 35 minutes of running.  Here is a quick rundown of those runs:

September 19, 2015:
Distance: 0.97 miles
Time: 10:21
Location: Yucca Loma to Rio Vista

September 23, 2015:
Distance: 1.65 miles
Time: 20:11
Location: Yucca Loma to Rio Vista and back

September 25, 2015:
Distance: 2 miles
Time: 25:10
Location: Yucca Loma to Kasanka to Apple Valley to Powhatan

October 1, 2015:
Distance: 1.76 miles
Time: 20:10
Location: Yucca Loma to Kasanka and back

October 3, 2015:
Distance: 1.01 miles
Time: 10:32
Location: Rio Vista and back

October 7, 2015:
Distance: 2.12 miles
Time: 25:08
Location: Yucca Loma-Kasanka-Apple Valley-Powhatan

October 8, 2015:
Distance: 2.52 miles
Time: 25:48
Location: Apple Valley to Catalina and back

October 12, 2015:
Distance: 2.38 miles
Time: 25:17
Location: Yucca Loma-Apple Valley-Sitting Bull-Ottawa

October 14, 2015:
Distance: 1.51 miles
Time: 16:09
Location: Yucca Loma to Rio Vista to Cochise

April 4, 2016:
Distance: 2.61 miles
Time: 30:53
Location: Kasanka to Yucca Loma to Cronese and back

April 8, 2016:
Distance: 3.8 miles
Time: 48:12
Location: Yucca Loma-Kasanka-Havasu-Ivanpah-Ottawa

April 10, 2016:
Distance: 3.45 miles
Time: 40:14
Location: Kasanka-Yucca Loma-Cronese-Apple Valley-Ottawa

April 11, 2016:
Distance: 2.57 miles
Time: 34:13
Location: Kasanka-Yucca Loma-Apple Valley-Powhatan-Cochise

April 15, 2016:
Distance: 3.97 miles
Time: 45:17
Location: Kasanka-Yucca Loma-Apple Valley-Sitting Bull-Paraiso-Ottawa-Havasu-Yucca Loma

April 16, 2016:
Distance: 3.84 miles
Time: 49:23
Location: Ivanpah-Havasu-Kasanka-Yucca Loma-Cuyamaca-Ottawa

April 18, 2016:
Distance: 4.27 miles
Time: 55:13
Location: Yucca Loma-Coachella-Cochise-Powhatan-Apple Valley-Yucca Loma-Delaware-Apple Valley-Sitting Bull-Ottawa

April 20, 2016:
Distance: 2.85 miles
Time: 33:15
Location: Ottawa-Havasu-Yucca Loma-Cronese-Havasu-Cuyamaca

On To Hollywood

After a busy few months, I'm finally back with a new running goal.  Earlier in the year I was planning on running the Encinitas Mile, but, as I mentioned in previous posts, my plans were derailed by various things.  It was a hand injury in February that finally forced me to drop out of the race.  So 2015 has so far been a disappointing year in terms of running.  But I recently signed up for a new race, the Hard Rock Hollywood 5K in November.  I'm much more optimistic about this race.  First off, it's a 5K, which, at this point, I feel more comfortable running than a fast single mile race, which is what I would have run back in March (and I probably would have done horrible).  And this time I'm training in the mild early fall months instead of the bitingly cold months of January and February when runs in the 20s and 30s are typical.  The one challenge will be sticking to my running schedule in the middle of one of the busiest times at work.  But I'm determined to not let 2015 go by without a race, and this will probably be my last chance.  So here we go!

I've already logged my first two runs.  My first run was Wednesday, September 16.  My first run since February!  I ran a 1.5 mile loop around the neighborhood.  It was slow, but the encouraging thing is I at least ran the whole thing without stopping.  It's a start.  It was a perfect night for running.  The weather had cooled just a bit from the scorching summer temps we've been dealing with.  It was that perfect temperature, right between hot and cold. 

Wednesday, September 16, 2015:
Distance:  1.5 miles
Time:  16:28
Location:  Yucca Loma-Apple Valley-Ottawa Loop

My second run was last night.  This time I took Nathan out in the stroller.  It's been about seven months since I ran with him, and he's obviously much bigger now, but it still worked great!  He was much more talkative and observant on this run than he's ever been.  He wanted to talk to me the whole time, even when I was completely out of breath.  We ran up to Yucca Loma and along the bike path toward the river.  It was another pleasant night, though a little warmer than Wednesday.  I ran for 15 minutes, but by about 10 minutes I was almost completely out of energy.  I was feeling pretty sore from Wednesday's run.  But I pulled it off, and had a great time with my boy!

Friday, September 18, 2015:
Distance:  1.28 miles
Time:  15:07
Location:  Yucca Loma to Kasanka Trail to Cronese Lane

Change of Plans

This is long overdue.  It's been over two months since an update here, and quite a lot has changed.  When last I wrote, I had just recovered from the flu and was resuming my training for the Encinitas Mile.  Things seemed to be moving in the right direction, and I was filled with optimism that I'd still get all my runs in on time to be ready for the race.  For the next week after my last post I got some good runs in, each one just over 2 miles.  Then, on February 6, a mishap at work occurred when my classroom door slammed on my finger.  It was eventually determined that my finger was broken, and I had to stabilize it as best I could for the next couple weeks.  This meant no running.  I was already playing catch-up with my runs after missing some when I was sick, so this setback was especially discouraging.  By the time my finger seemed healed, I had only a few weeks left before the race (which was on March 15), and I felt far from ready.  I knew I wouldn't get all my runs in, and I didn't want to partake in the race if I wasn't physically ready for it.  I made the unfortunate decision to not run the Encinitas Mile.  Too many unforeseen events just derailed all my plans.  Which I suppose is just how life goes, and it makes for a good lesson.  Around the time I decided to forgo the race, Lent started, and my sacrifice was to limit my food intake quite a lot.  Consequently I didn't have much energy each day, and my runs basically became nonexistent.  By the time Lent was over, though, I had dropped over 10 pounds, and I'm currently in a prime spot to start my training again.  Only I now need a new race.  I've been on the lookout for one, and as soon as I find it my plan is to make a 100% re-commitment to my running, and this time hope for a successful outcome.  So far 2015 is off to a bumpy start, but hopefully that'll change soon.  In the mean time, below is a brief rundown of the last few runs I went on before injuring myself and temporarily throwing in the towel:

Wednesday, January 28, 2015:
Distance: 2.05 miles
Time: 22:58
Location: Sitting Bull and back

Saturday, January 31, 2015:
Distance: 2.04 miles
Time: 21:49
Location: Yucca Loma to Kasanka Trail and back

Monday, February 2, 2015:
Distance: 2.2 miles
Time: 21:29
Location: Sitting Bull and back

Wednesday, February 4, 2015:
Distance: 2.08 miles
Time: 24:18
Location: Yucca Loma to Kasanka Trail and back

And here's a picture of Nathan, who accompanied me on my Jan. 31 run.  :)

Update: The Flu and a Rainy Comeback

I know it's been a while since I last posted.  I went back to work on January 5 after having two weeks off, and finding the time to write about my runs became difficult.  A lot actually happened over the last three weeks.  My training was going great -- no missed runs, my pace was slowly getting better, the weather was getting slightly less freezing...  But then disaster struck on January 16 when I came home from work with a cough.  The next day I had a full-blown fever and I was bed-ridden with what appeared to be the flu.  It had been years (maybe even more than a decade) since I caught the flu, and this one hit me hard.  The 17th and 18th were the worst days, but for several days after I was still feeling the effects of the sickness.  I called out of work on the 21st and 22nd.  Needless to say, I wasn't able to run during that whole time, and so I fell more than a week behind my schedule.  This was a real bummer, but I knew I still had time to make up for those lost runs.  The comeback began tonight with a 1.8 miler in the rain.  I'll need to hit it hard these next couple weeks to get back on track, but it's entirely possible; the Encinitas Mile is still about seven weeks away. 

First, a quick rundown of the first half of January, prior to getting sick.  My last post featured the coldest run I'd ever gone on.  Thankfully, after that, the weather "warmed" up quite a bit.  Some nights it was still in the 30s, but once you've run in the 20s, anything above that is comfortable.  It even got up to the 50s a couple nights, which might as well have been summer weather! 

Saturday, January 3, 2015:
Distance: 1.48 miles
Time: 15:48
Location: Ottawa-Apple Valley-Yucca Loma loop

Monday, January 5, 2015:
Distance: 1.51 miles
Time: 17:21
Location: Yucca Loma to Rio Vista School and back

Thursday, January 8, 2015:
Distance: 1.53 miles
Time: 16:14
Location: Yucca Loma to Rio Vista School and back

Friday, January 9, 2015:
Distance: 1.75 miles
Time: 18:24
Location: Yucca Loma-Apple Valley-Powhatan-Cochise loop

Tuesday, January 13, 2015:
Distance: 1.84 miles
Time: 19:31
Location: Cochise-Powhatan-Apple Valley-Yucca Loma loop

Friday, January 16, 2015:
Distance: 1.84 miles
Time: 19:41
Location: Yucca Loma-Apple Valley-Powhatan-Cochise loop

And tonight's comeback run:

Distance: 1.8 miles
Time: 20:18
Location: Cochise-Powhatan-Apple Valley-Yucca Loma loop

After nine days of inactivity and misery due to the flu, today was the first day I felt normal enough to attempt a run.  And it happened to be raining.  But I wasn't going to let a little drizzle stop me.  Missing so many runs means I need to run each day I have available, and if I do that I should be caught up in a pretty short amount of time.  Today was crucial.  So after Nathan went to bed I geared up and waited for the rain to lighten a little bit.  And once it did I was off, ready or not.  Luckily it wasn't a long run (1.8 miles).  The 2+ mile runs start next.  I ran the same route I ran on the 9th, 13th, and 16th, before I got sick.  The rain was definitely light, so it was not much of a factor.  In fact it acted more like a refreshing mist.  It started to pick up only once, when I was about half a mile into the run.  I did worry that it would start to come down strong, but luckily it died back down to a light sprinkle the rest of the way.  As far as my performance, I was slower than the last time I ran, but I chalk that up to recovering from the flu.  I still have a lingering cough, which the run almost made worse, so that wasn't fun.  But overall I felt good and back to normal.  I'm definitely ready to start making progress again.  And hopefully that was my only bump in the road as I prepare for Encinitas.  Tonight's rainy run was a fun one, and it officially kicks off my comeback.