Pesky PRs

Personal Records, or "PR" as they are called in the running world, are pretty important to a lot of people.  How else would you rank your progress (against other runners)?  

I just tried to think of my own record for the whopping two marathons that I've run in, and it took me a while to remember the times, although I am pretty sure that these are arbitrary numbers.  My first marathon was my best time, reaching the finish line in about 4 hours and just under 30 minutes.  4:24, maybe?  Already I am trying to inch down to more respectable numbers.  My second marathon in Raleigh took me almost five hours.  I crossed the line with the five hour pace guy, forgetting that I had been in the porta-john for about 15 minutes after the starting pistol went off.

And yet, I don't feel like a failure for running more slowly.  They were two totally different races – Raleigh was FULL of hills, hills that I ignored in my workouts.  I was in good shape, but probably not as good a shape as I was in after just four months into my first deployment.  So I took that time gratefully, and without regret.

Still, any running magazine I read talks about the PR, and how to improve it.  I just read a Facebook post for a group dedicated to "making you faster, and reducing your times!"  Now, I am all for people to improve their fitness levels and even go faster if they want.  But that is not what I want.  I am very happy finding that sweet spot in my stride where I can run on and on.  Which, coincidentally, is exactly what I am going for.

I feel bad for runners who, in pressing their bodies to the limit, have injured themselves and can't run anymore without surgery or intensive therapy.  I can relate, having to reduce my weightlifting ever since injuring (and re-injuring) my supraspinatus tendon.  Never again will I be able to lift the magic weight of 315.  Man, I felt like a monster benching that much after years of just enjoying lower weights to maintain a good pushup number.  I've had injuries to my knees and ankles as well, but luckily I have been able to continue running after a short rest and some ICE.  I don't want this run, or the training leading up to it, to keep me from continuing to run more, later.

Treadmill Troubles

We don't have the best equipment out here when it comes to cardio.  Out of the three treadmills in our gym, one is out of commission and a second one has a belt that is continually slipping.  

On the other hand, by 9 AM, the outside temperature is already in the high 90s - 100s.  The sun is blazing and I hate sunscreen dripping into my eyes.  So if I schedule a short run later in the day, I'm usually hopping on the treadmill.  

Two problems that I have found using the treadmill, even for an hour or so of running:

1.  I am a forward leaning runner.  While there are a lot of ways to define this, basically it just means that I try to keep my center of gravity slightly forward.  This running style has saved my knees.  I have noticed, however, that working out on the treadmill causes the balls of my feet to heat up to the point it gets uncomfortably hot.  I'm not sure if it is my running style or my running shoes, but I have limited my running on the treadmill to an hour.

2.  I actually prefer to run outside, and when I am running outside I don't watch the clock.  I have general distances I want to run, and whenever I'm done, I'm done.  On the treadmill though I find myself getting away from that natural stride in order to cover more mileage in a shorter amount of time.  There are times I have run on the treadmill, and end up with minor knee soreness for a little while that day.  I generally don't get knee pain when I run on the street, regardless of the time I spend there.  I wonder if this is a factor of changing my stride or running speed artificially.

Looks like I'll have to continue getting up early to run as dawn breaks, to avoid the heat as best I can, and limit treadmill runs to less than one or one and a half hours.

Poor blogging form this week, only one post.  I apologize, it has been a very busy week.  I respect someone who can blog three or more times a week, every week.