Running – Page 8 – My Thought Spot

February Goals Report

Running
I was still trying to get my weekly mileage up during the month of February. I was making a slow comeback after my injuries in October and November. Finally things are headed the right direction. Even though I am still not consistently hitting my goal, I am not having any physical problems. It is now a matter of scheduling. I am getting that better under control too.

The goal is to run 1000 miles for the year which means 83.3 miles a month or 19.2 miles a week. In February I ran 66 miles with 2 weeks of hitting my goal. I should be able to make up the lost miles by the end of the year if I stay healthy.

Reading
My goal is 800 pages a month and I read 869.

The only significant book I read was The World is Flat. An interesting book on understanding how the global job market and economy are changing.

Recent Runs

I won’t bore you with all the details, but I have had some great runs, and some not so, recently. I started out last week trying hard to get a nice long trail run in.

Last Friday (a week ago) we were in Wytheville, VA near the Appalachian Trail. I was very excited about running 3 or 4 miles on the AT. When I went in search of it I was driving along I-77 which runs several hundred feet below the AT. The interstate goes through a tunnel under the AT which goes across the mountain ridge. I guess they figure someone walking the AT has more horse power to go over the mountain than a car.

I ended up on the Seven Sisters Trail near the AT. I was still hoping for a longish run, but knew quickly that my efforts would probably be thwarted as soon as I started up the trail. Up literally, not just figuratively. You only go a couple hundred yards on the trail before it becomes a climb. After running for 36 minutes I heard my GPS beep telling me that I just crossed another mile of my run. Assuming I had crossed the 3 mile mark, that meant a 12 minute mile which seemed reasonable based on the terrain. I finished the run in just over 50 minutes. I was a bit surprised to look at my GPS and find out that I had run less than 3 miles! Total distance and pace was 2.93 miles at 17:17 per mile.

Saturday I tried again to do a good long trail run. By this time we were in Dunbar, PA just south of Pittsburgh. There is a Rails to Trails track from Pittsburgh to Washington DC that runs right through Dunbar. Or, so I thought. It runs close to Dunbar. I had my wife drive me to the closest point we could get to the trail. I was going to run down a dirt road and onto the rail bed. She left and within 3 minutes I was calling her to come get me. The road that my GPS showed would get me to the trail had signs down both sides saying that anyone who steps foot on that property would be shot and left to rot. Or something like that. She came and got me and I scrapped the run. I was limited on time anyway and it was probably just as well that I did not get to do it.

My efforts were rewarded on Monday when I went to another spot on the same trail in Connellsville, PA. Instead of going towards Dunbar I ran towards Dickerson Run. It was a wonderful 9.2 mile run that was everything I had been hoping for in my previous attempts.

I ran out of town along a river. I saw a few people also running and walking when I started out, but after 10 minutes or so I was all alone on the trail for the rest of the run. Because it was a converted rail road track it was very flat. There was a gradual incline over the course of the run, but nothing dramatic. I had to cut the run a little shorter than I wanted because of time, but I really felt like it made up for the two previous failed attempts.

Then we were in Duncansville, PA on Wednesday where I did a very nice 3.73 mile run up the Allegheny Portage Railroad’s 6 to 10 Trail.

Today (Friday) in Jackson, MI I ran on the Falling Water Trail. I ran 4 miles on the very flat and straight paved trail. I love these old rail beds, but sometimes when you turn around after having run 2 miles and can see your car parked at the point where you started it makes that return trip seem to take forever.

One thing I have really enjoyed about running as we travel is that I can enjoy these different locations without getting bored of running the same path over and over.

Up and Running

I think I have turned the corner on my foot injury. I have been running again for a few weeks. Since the start of the year I have not put in the 20 miles a week that I want but I am pleased to be back on the road.

Yesterday I did a 6.5 mile run. It was a new route for me, but one that will probably become a regular path. I had several of these in Mexico, but I have not fallen into enough of a pattern here to have regular routes. The only one I really have up to this point is a 3 mile route right inside the neighborhood. It requires that I go up and down every dead end street to get the distance in. Pretty boring. I don’t do it often.

The run I did yesterday took me to the water reclamation plant near our house. I have run over there several times, but in the past I ran south from the house to get there. That required that about 3/4 of the run I had to be on major roads. I hated feeling like I was risking my life for the joy of running by myself on the boardwalk over the swamp. But yesterday I found a more direct route to the water plant which kept me on side streets and only had to cross the major road instead of run along it.

I am slowly ramping my way back up to 20 mile weeks. I was starting to feel like I would fall out of the habit of running regularly, but the last couple of weeks has gotten me excited again about being on the road.

Back to Georgia

I am not sure that being home is very exciting. I have been home quite a bit the last few weeks and I have not posted a whole lot. However, when we are on the road I seem to be too busy to get to the computer much.

We hit the road last Wednesday for our first trip since just before Christmas. We headed up to the Atlanta area for some meetings. On Wednesday we were in a church that is pastored by a college friend. It was great to be there with him. Since we graduated from college we have not been together. It was fun catching up a bit, but mostly talking about our respective ministries.

This weekend we were in a mission conference in a church that we had not been in before. But we do have previous contact with the associate pastor. He is a man who supported us when he was in another church. He also is someone who is very tuned in to missions. He put together a great conference and the church people executed the plan well. We had a great time getting to know the church.

I got to run a bit this week. I have not been consistent in my running since I started back. It may be a good thing though. I have run between 8 and 12 miles a week for the last 5 weeks. It is about 10 miles a week less than what I want, but I think that is helping me ease back into it without injury. I did 5 miles in the rain yesterday. Fortunately it was in the 50s. Today was 4 miles at 34 degrees and no rain.

I did a bunch of geocaching yesterday afternoon while the family was taking a nap. Most of the places I hit were out on nature trails in Carrollton, GA.

Spinning Class

Bike crossing Have you ever done a spinning class? Intense!

I have been to 4 classes so far. Unfortunately I have not been able to string all 4 together. The first one I went to was just before I left town for a week. Same thing with the next class. Then the next two classes were on a Tuesday with the corresponding class for the week on Thursday: Christmas and New Year. I think these classes will be tougher if I actually do 2 in a week.

I have really enjoyed being pushed by someone else. I am working harder than I would if I were to just do it on my own. I know that spinning is great cross training for running, but is not a substitute for actually putting in the miles on the road. However, I am learning more about what my body is capable of handling by pushing my lungs and muscles past my perceived limits.

I am running a 5K this weekend and expect that I will do well because of these classes. Though I have not been able to run, my fitness has not suffered any because of the spinning and other exercises I have been doing. I think a PR may be in the cards this weekend.

Last week I was able to take my little brother to class with me. He struggled. It was very hard for him. I don’t say this to make fun of him, but I was pleased to see how hard it was for him to even try to keep up. It encouraged me to know that 4 years ago I was in the same place. When I started seriously exercising I was going to a class and dying in the back row wondering who sucked the oxygen out of the room. I could not believe how hard it was. I have come a long way since then. Seeing my brother struggle helped me see just how far I have come. It makes me thankful that I stuck it out and am much healthier today because of it.