Outpace Parkinson's 5K

On Saturday I raced on the UGA campus for the first time. I've run there many times, but this was the first time I've actually signed up. A member of my church has Parkinson's disease and she and her husband were the movers in getting this going. We were happy to support them.

Parkinson's disease, according to the Mayo Clinic, "is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement... the disorder also commonly causes stiffness or slowing of movement." Proceeds from the race went to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

I dug my Asics Gel-Lyte33 shoes out of the closet for this one, and I was reminded of how lightweight they are.

Temperatures were in the mid-70s, and the humidity was up there as it has been for the last several weeks. The campus has many hills, but UGA is building a new indoor training facility for the football program (have I mentioned I live in the south?), so the customary 5K route was altered to eliminate a famous hill but sent us around the basketball arena (and its extra incline) a second time.

The course took us around the journalism building where my master's classes were held and took us past Sanford Stadium, and past the hotel where there seemed to be sewage issues. It smelled like used port-a-hooters, and we ran through this area twice. Swell.

In fact, a guy I was chasing stopped to cough not long after we passed this area on the way back. I don't know if the smell was the reason, I just know that I won the master's division over this guy by four seconds. The finish is downhill and I'd turned on the jets and had no idea as to where anyone was behind me.

I did find a good pacer at the front of the pack who kept me going. I passed him once, but he passed me back not long after. I didn't mind-- he wasn't in my age group. My mile splits were 7:28, 7:23, and 7:37. Not bad, but the hills and the heat took a toll. My half -mile times alternated-- good split, then 3:50. Good, then 3:57 (bad). It was that kind of course.

Race number and SMO for a master's division champion! Not pictured: massage coupon. 

23:00 for the official time, 13th overall out of 200+. Slower than my Twilight 5K time, but I haven't done much speedwork and I don't really lift much. If I have time, I spend it running, although I'm working to change those things. I'll have to if I want to improve and maybe someday run under 20 for a 5K.

Retirement

I'm having to put a pair of shoes out to pasture: the Asics Gel-Neo33 I scored from my old running store back in December, 2011. I just ran the numbers on the last seven months of running, and I saw I'd racked up 416 miles on these dudes:

The 'after' picture, after 4 1/2 years and 416 miles. Note the
worn treads on the heel & forefoot-- signs that it's time. The gum
didn't come with the shoes.

My belief is that these weren't meant to be 500-mile shoes since there's a little less cushion here, and I feel like it's starting to cost me a little in terms of shock absorption since I'm noticing a little bit of right foot pain on my first metatarsal. This is a new pain to me, and I hope that taking them out of rotation will help.

I also have a plantar wart near the ball of my right foot that I hope is more related to the source of the pain. These warts don't sit above the skin, but they're digging into my foot since they've got to go somewhere. The hope is that by treating the wart will reduce the pain and solve the problem. A stress fracture is another possible source of the pain, so I hope my plan A is successful and saves me from writing a string of depressing blog posts about swimming and weights. A runner's worst punishment is 'not' running.

I don't recall ever racing or doing speedwork in these shoes, but they were good foot soldiers. They always came up recently when I wanted to go longer, like a 7 or an 8.

Shifting gears a little, my string of 20-mile weeks ended at eight last week. Instead I spent the time driving around the mid-Atlantic seeing the sights and family I hadn't seen in a long time. Last week's total was eight miles, but it included a run across the Potomac River (on Key Bridge) and onto Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Gorgeous scenery and a beautiful campus.

I remembered shoes and socks and even my Garmin, but for the first time I forgot shorts and tech shirts. So I ran in soccer shorts and a cotton t-shirt. Definitely a 'mission fail.' I've never forgotten those things. But I also forgot to bring dress shoes, so at least I tried to balance it out a little.

Candygram for Vongo

So it seems that New Balance is actually starting to name some of their shoes, getting away from the numbering system they're known for-- 980, 860, etc. Though they do have a Fresh Foam 1080 that's out there now. They've already named shoes Zante and Boracay, as well as the Vongo, which is a stability entry for their Fresh Foam line of shoes.

Medial side view of the NB Vongo. Note the grid pattern on the sole.
The diamond pattern is more compact here leading to a firmer feeling
 than on the lateral side.

I ran in these shoes Monday and today, and I am a big fan. They seem a little bulky and perhaps they are, at a weight of 10 ounces, but I like how smooth and cushioned these shoes are. The stack height is 25-21 for a 4 mm offset so the shoe has more contact with the ground which helps the transition feel less intrusive.

Since it's a stability shoe I don't have to wear my inserts, so perhaps there's also that factor at work. It contrasts especially since I wore an older model shoe (with inserts) for the last week while on vacation.

Something else I noticed is on the sole is the longitudinal groove.

My thought is that this groove is a big thing for those who make first contact on the midfoot and not the heel. Perhaps it serves as a bit of a guidance line since there isn't such a pattern on the sole, and it allows the shock to escape out the back of the shoe, helping the smooth transition with each footstrike. 

Great shoe. I like it a lot. It's also available in grey/black/green and blue/charcoal. I have the color shoe pictured above.

Desert Heat

So I'm back home for the week visiting family. There really isn't much going on. The wife flew with me to El Paso as she hasn't seen my folks in several years. But now she's visiting family in New Mexico, so I'm left to my own devices.

One thing I've managed to get done is to keep my string of 20-mile weeks going. Currently it stands at five with number six in progress. I stretched it to eight back during the school year, but other commitments got in the way and now I'm building it back up. I think I saw in a running mag many years ago that 20 was the magic number to where you could run that many miles and lose weight. Of course it's not that simple, but the number has stayed with me. Anything below 20 and I don't really have the sense of accomplishment.

This sixth week is more challenging due to the desert heat. The high temps are all supposed to be north of 100 degrees this week. You hear a lot of people say that it's not the heat, it's the humidity. I'm here to tell you there's some merit to that. I've gotten in three runs this week, all before 9:00 AM and I don't think the dry heat wears me down as much as the humidity in Athens does. The overnight temps here in the borderland stay in the 80s (it was 90 degrees at 11:30 last night- yikes) so the morning runs still take plenty out of me. I just don't feel as exhausted afterward, though that may relate to the flat terrain I'm on now as opposed to the rolling hills in my neighborhood.

I've done what is always recommended-- run early, bring water, and slow the pace. Today's fiver was at 9:15 pace, which felt more like a trudge, but it has to be like this in order to get my runs in and keep the streak alive. One thing about my 'hood in Georgia is that there are plenty of trees to offer shade, which is a disadvantage here in El Paso.

I reached my goal of 90 miles last month. Blew it out of the water actually, reaching 106 on the chart. The won/lost record sits at 3-3 since I got myself back to .500 in June. I'm still behind for the year in terms of total mileage, but I'm working on that.

My Two Cents on Stretching

So I see a lot of debate on whether to stretch before or after a run.

To me it's quite simple. Take a few minutes to get it done. Your body will thank you sooner and later.

Tight muscles are why I spent six months going to the physical therapist to get stretched and dry needled. I thought it was because I had a calf strain, but the real reason was that my muscles were tight.

Tight muscles are not able to absorb shock as well as muscles that are loosened and ready for action. I've taken the extra few minutes to stretch my hamstrings and my calves before and after every run (when muscles are warmed up, especially in the Georgia heat). Between that and adjusting to a midfoot strike, I've been healthy and it's been nearly a year since I had my calf outbreak that sent me to the therapist.

Funny story-- many years ago, I thought that when I lost weight I would be able to touch my fingers to my toes while my legs were straight. So I lost the weight, but I still couldn't get it done without bending my knees.

Turned out that my muscles were tight and that I was very inflexible. A regular stretching program takes care of that and prepares them for action.

Some decent weeks of running around here-- 25-ish miles each of the last three weeks, and we are on pace for a fourth this week. When there was no school there was no structure to my days and I'd run twice a week instead of five as is teh case now.

My monthly goal for each month in 2016 is to run 90 or more miles, and I'll make it this month to make it 50/50 on achieving this goal. On the months I've missed, I've come way short, but the times I've made it, I've only had a few miles to spare. So I was 70 miles short (380 miles at the end of May, behind the goal of 450). I should get a few miles back in June.

90-mile Months

Now that school has been out for several weeks, running has not been the priority I want it to be. It was easier when I had the structure of being on campus and being at a certain place by a certain time. I knew what to do the night before and the next morning.

So I set monthly goals in Garmin Connect of 90 miles for the month. Goals I reached in both March and April, mainly by breaking it down even further, into weekly segments of 20+ miles. Long runs weren't a thing, so I'd run enough four and five-milers to make it happen. It's pretty amazing what you can accomplish when you set your mind to something and commit to it. Georgia heat and humidity are both in full effect so not all of the runs have been good ones, but I'm concentrating on closing the door behind me and taking off.

Through five-plus months of the year, I've run 410 miles, averaging almost 19 per week. I'm off to a good start this month, with a rare Sunday run (an eight-miler, which is also uncommon) leading to me being well ahead of schedule for June. Hopefully I can put a big number up and erase the 70-mile deficit I've made.

My goal by setting the bar at 90 is to make it to 1,080 miles for the year. Still very much within reach. I'm incredulous at one of my running friends who has already made it to 1,000 miles, or about 40 miles weekly. I'm only north of 40 when I'm in marathon mode, and that isn't happening anytime soon.

Another priority I made at the start of the year is to be OK with shorter runs as I finish school. It required a change of mindset, as I used to think I hadn't really 'ran' that day unless I bagged a six or better. Shorter distances are working well for me at this point, and I'll add in some 400 and 800 repeats along the way.

Twilight 5K PR

A few weeks ago I raced my second race of the year-- the Twilight 5K. It's a running event that is encircled by a big cycling event, the Twilight Criterium. There was also a $1000 mile later that afternoon, for the top 5 male and female finishers.

I felt like I was in decent short-distance shape, having had two decent months of training but not much speedwork. Since I don't race much, I never know what to expect.

The weather was nice-- not too hot and sticky, and not rainy/crappy like it was in 2015. So I toed up and took off. The first half of the course was relatively flat... the second half was not. I went out at 3:30 for my first half split. I was pleased, but I knew I couldn't hold that pace the whole time, especially with hills coming.

My splits stayed near 3:35, give or take a second, as this turned into a red-line event. I gave it what I had that day-- I left it all out there. There were two hills on the back stretch that gave lots of us trouble, myself included. After the second one, I found that I couldn't reach down for a deep breath. I didn't have any lung capacity to make it work. I guess that's what happens when you go full out.

I sprinted the last 10 or so yards and got it up to a 5:20/mile pace right at the very end as someone tried and failed to pass me right at the finish. I set a PR by about 25 seconds, so I was very happy with this. I wear a race belt and try to keep my number on my hip, so the pad didn't pick up my chip at the end. As a result I didn't make the official race results list, but Mr. Garmin said I ran it, so I'm counting it.

Now the training has become more sporadic, with no goal race and lacking the structure that the school year provides. Now that I got into better shape, the plan is to stay that way and even take it forward from there.