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.

Starting 2015 Ice Cold

Distance:  1.5 miles
Time:  16:39
Location:  Yucca Loma-Apple Valley-Ottawa Loop

2015 has begun, and it started with the coldest run I'd ever gone on.  In the span of one week I have now set a new record for coldest run three times!  It was 37° last Friday (which beat my previous record by only 2 degrees), then 30° the next day (Saturday, Dec. 27), and finally tonight (New Year's Day) it dropped to 28° by 8:30 p.m. when I set out.  I'm not even two weeks into my training and I'm already getting hit with cold that I never experienced all last winter.  It doesn't usually get much colder than this here, so there's a good chance these records will remain.  The cold snap we've been experiencing is soon to disappear, and next week we're supposed to have highs in the 60s and even 70s, which will be a nice break from all this freezing running! 

Tonight's run was pretty intense.  28° is no joke.  I had on as many layers as was practical, but I was still pretty freezing throughout the run.  At about 1.25 miles into it I did begin to feel slightly warm, but I was almost done at that point and I didn't intend to stay out longer than I had to.  I increased to 1.5 miles tonight so I ran a different route (one I last ran on April 3 of this year).  I went up to Yucca Loma then east to Apple Valley, down to Ottawa, then back toward our house.  A nice, easy loop.  My pace is still super slow, but hopefully when the weather warms I can work on that more.  I'm just glad to be getting in the miles right now during this cold snap, because opting to stay inside the warmth of my house is beyond tempting each night.  Here's to 2015, a new year of running that I hope will bring new accomplishments!  It's off to a good start.  Only about 10 more weeks till my first race of the year.  Right about now I'm looking forward to the spring thaw and some warm-weather runs!  I'm sure by then I'll look back at these freezing winter runs and be thankful I did them.