I'm not that Groovy Baby

Last night my family unit went out for some tasty Ethiopian food then some frozen custard with another pretty famous running family.

Mrs Speedy holding A and K!

My last few attempts of running after Ethiopian food doesn't produce the most amazing results, but hey, maybe I just ate the wrong dish that didn't give me wind beneath my wind the next day.

This morning I had a pace run on plan per Hanson Marathon Method. Warm up, 9 miles at marathon pace, cool down.  I got out around 4:20am, so I would only be able to do 12 miles and have time to stretch after my run. This at least would be what the plan called, but I was hoping to get a longer warm up and cool down in.

When I was walking around before my run, I felt surprisingly....normal.  I began to feel a slight glimmer of hope that I would be on the upswing finally of my rehab period.

Get outside, temperatures dropping, run started at 62 degrees, was 54 when I got home. 10-15+ mph wind out of the north.  The waves were angry, frothing with strength, and eating the beach.  The path just south of Fullerton was not safe until you hit the sand again.  The waves engulfed the entire path like it was a game.

I felt a little brisk, but quickly warmed up. First few steps, that glimmer of hope quickly faded as I felt giant knots in both of my calves.  Neither were in areas that I had pain/aches in over the last week. New day, new trash to deal with. First mile, they barely get better. I start thinking of a plan B for the day. Maybe I'll just do some easy miles today, and hope that therapy works out the kinks in my legs, and I can try the pace run again tomorrow. I stop to stretch, try to calm my brain down, and tell myself I'll try speeding up slowly at 1.5 miles and then make a last minute call.

Legs slowly warm up better... I'm not saying they were normal, but they didn't hit the danger zone.  Time to man up and just do it. And do it I did.

The first 4 miles of my pace portion of my run was pretty unstable. Maybe it was because the wind was at my back, but I couldn't get in my pace groove. My half mile splits were going like 6:40, 7:11, 6:20, 7:15, 6:18 and so on. I tried to settle in the zone, miss it, then think I just sped up a little, but apparently I threw on some nitro.

I couldn't find my groove baby!

On my turn around, it was an entirely different game. The wind was now my foe. At least the wind evened out my pace. The extra resistance to running was overshadowed by the change in breathing as the wind continuously punches your throat.

I had one near fall down near North Ave, I didn't see the sand spill over into the path and nearly last my footing/twisted my ankle! Yikes.

The run went well on the way back.  Took a bit more effort, but I had it in my to give.  I also saw one boss of a runner, who is very friendly, knocking out 6:45s like he was just having a fun old time! You go bro!

When I was about to get off the path, I took a moment to soak in the sky. The lake looked like it was on fire, the dark black clouds, and just a small open window of red breaking off the lake made it a magnificent view. As usually, my phone doesn't do it justice.

And for those interested in the actual stats, here are the splits:

Total time for my 9 mile pace portion, 1:02:48.

Today I also have physical therapy and my run gait analysis. I may be needing a nap by dinner time!

Happy Friday everyone!!!

Live to run another day

Last night was a treat of brinner, French toast, and since we have company over, I went out to get us some dessert.  This much sugar can't possibly have a bad outcome right? Hold this thought.

Wake up time, feel exhausted and like I have an extra 100lbs on me. Oh well, let's get this show on the road.

I decided to go easy on my calf until it feels solid a few days in a row. Figure I would do a warm up then see what pace I can hold today. Get out...holy fog , 53 degrees. Fun times ahead. Leg feels decent and holding a nice pace when the check engine light comes on around mile 3.5..

Brain: G.I is this you?...
G.I.: zzzz
Brain: Are you high again? You gave me the all clear 30 minutes ago.. damnit you were on a sugar high..
G.I.: huh.. waaa...I'm so high . I told you what? Wait wait, we have a problem brain
Brain: *face palm* hurry up and tell me how bad it is
G.I.: Michael Jackson bad ... I'm going to take about 2 minutes off your pace and put pain on the face
Brain: wait!
Legs: dudes what's going on? We be jamming
(We are now turning around at mile 4.5)
*A wild wind appears* Going North now are you? Feel my damp embrace
Brain: fine... All system please operate at recovery level.

So yea, last 5 miles were brutal. Guy I was using behind me to keep me honest quickly overtook me once my gut was on high alert. Next time Tuesday... Next time. At least my leg feels okay. I feel like this run shouldn't even count, I don't even feel like I ran. Sigh. Learning experience right?

We do have a new contender for friendliest runner. On my way back I did my normal wave/nod if someone was paying attention. Surprisingly this happened around Belmont, a young lady must have had just downed a 5 hour energy shot or something, I passed along my light wave (note- my wave - when my hand swings up for my normal cadence, I simply turn it to a light wave, and go back to my normal form) and her wave back was...loud? big? not sure how to describe it. Head tilted, smile, giant wave and hello. I immediately thought.. do I know her? I don't think so.. is she going to kill me? Probably.


Side note: My CTA pass hasn't worked for the last 24 hours, time to go to CTA HQ!
And Ethiopian food tonight!

Did you get a foggy run in this morning or are you running later?

Have you ever given a running hello that was a bit much?

You Are What You Eat? Ethiopian food = Faster running?

Late run for me today, maybe the latest run I've done in a year. Circumstances prevented me from doing my morning run and I don't have a long enough lunch break to knock out 9 miles... yet.

I cleared the run time earlier in the week with the Mrs. to make sure I wasn't messing up the force at home.  I picked up  dinner on my way home from the  Ethiopian Diamond. They are usually pretty decent, but we've had a few just "meh" experiences. Tonight was slightly above meh, need to try Ras Dashen sometime (Plus they have a better WBEZ member discount)

I put mine in the fridge and quickly changed.  Leaving for the run was rough for me.  The food smelled great and I wanted to be home and settled. Although I know if I didn't run, I'd probably get cranky. Does this happen to anyone else?

I dressed for slightly cooler weather and rain, so of course it didn't rain or cool down.

Today was about a 1.5 mile warm up, 6 mile run and a 1.5 mile cool down (roughly, probably more like 1.2). Total was 9.1 miles. In a month they'll turn into interval and strength runs, based on the Hanson Marathon Plan.

Comparing running at 5am to after work, I'll stick with 5am. No guilt with missing the family, and I know what my stomach is going to be like.  Just booking it after work caused a few periods of discomfort.  I was surprised by the lack of people running, maybe due to the potential rain? Or "Aint nobody got time for dat" on a Friday if it ain't warm and sunny.

The run overall was uneventful, I had a pebble in my shoe to start, that was the biggest drama. And the wind out of the north took the wind out of my sails on my return trip.  Glad I got it done.

I got home, had a quick dance party with my daughter, cleaned up, and inhaled my Ethiopian food (Tibs if you are wondering). Not sure its the best post run food, but hey, you are what you eat. I expect to do 5 minute miles tomorrow for an hour.

Do you like Ethiopian food?