1. i hit the actual 50 a couple of weeks ago. the earth didn't move, my hair didn't suddenly fall out or turn white (it's mostly white already, truth be told). i didn't suddenly turn into an ancient decrepit. i just got another day older. no biggie.
2. on the other hand, when one of my neighbors the week prior mentioned that he was selling his motorcycle, told me what it was and for how much, i snapped it up. some say, aha, there's that midlife crisis again, me, i just saw a bargain and jumped at an excellent investment opportunity. that it's fun, well, that's just gravy :)
3. the running. the original purpose of this. so, i managed to recover from the foot injury. did mostly as the doctor ordered -- that is, took my anti-inflammatories, threw out my shoes and bought another pair, rested a week or so, and started back relatively easy. it's been all good since. no injuries at all. on the other hand, this heat is a bear, especially now as my mileage is climbing.
actually, i hit something of a plateau after coming back from the injury. that is, kind of 4 or so mile days several a week, and then 5-6 or so on the weekend. couldn't do those 8, 10++ long saturdays. well, we went on vacation, other things got in the way, but really, i just didn't think i could.
so i found a group online of folks in the neighborhood, seemed open, so i figured i'd try them to kind of push myself for the long run. calendars finally worked out this past saturday.
well, that was my longest run ever, i think. 13+ miles. ok, so i didn't run the whole thing, especially nearer the end when i ran out of what to drink and the heat got worse. but the 10k split time was better than my race a month or so ago, which is a good sign, and even the whole thing paced out to a decent for me time. and no, i didn't finish last of the group, though only a couple behind me. not to worry, it's no competition, except with myself and survival
what else. so i went this weekend and bought a garmin forerunner 305. did my first run with it tonight. love all the data, and how much better it tracks than the iphone, and of course, easier to carry/wear. will take some time i think to get it programmed for what i want, actually to figure what i want, but for now, just gathering and looking at data is worth it. observations -- the steady 9-10min/mi pace at which i tend to run, i've got it pretty consistent. wish it was in the 8's, but maybe next year. how when i was getting like i wanted to walk a bit, invariably the garmin said i was at 85+% max heart rate, and once i got it below 80, i was ready to run again. but how to keep it in the sub 85% zone so i can keep it up and not want to stop, that's the challenge. run even slower? i'll have to tinker with the alerts and see if i can get there. everything i read says training at 85% just doesn't work, certainly for prolonged periods, so i have to get to where i can keep it below that so i can go longer. like this weekend, when i think i did pace myself pretty well (though no garmin, indeed no iphone, so hard to tell).
ok, i'm getting off. the good news is that after that 2 1/2 hr, 13+ mile excursion on saturday, i felt ok, and running tonite, no lingering aches to speak of. will i run with them again this saturday? hope so. i need to keep building the miles to make it thru the end of this, plus i want to see the data a long run will provide, tech curious data geek that i am.
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