re-intro run number three

MoveitFred may be running with the devil, but I'm right behind him. Last night I dressed my sorry carcass in my spiffy new Adidas running clothes and made it out the door for a 29:12 Tour of the Overlandscaped McMansion Neighborhood in the dark. This was run number three of the 2006-2007 off season. This summer I went 92 days without running, perhaps my shortest break ever. Truth be told, even though I've dabbled in running almost as long as I've been riding, most years I never kept it up enough to gain any benefit, and even my shortest and easiest fall runs usually resulted in crippling hamstring tightness and other maladies. This all changed back in 2002, when I found myself without employment in an extremely tight post-Sept 11 job market. I conceded to living off severance and being an almost full-time student, finally finishing off the bachelor's degree program I'd been slogging through at night for the prior five years. Man can not live by study alone, and so during the day I started to do really long walks with my neighbor's energetic Golden Retriever. These walks, along with some physical therapy I received for persistent low-back pain, conditioned my legs for running in ways that cycling never did.

The primary cause of my back pain had been diagnosed as a gross imbalance in the development of the muscles in the front of my legs when compared with those in the back. Having all friggin' day to stretch and recover didn't hurt either, and eventually I started to run consistently. Running became more that just survival, and I got to the point where I could actually drive my heart rate up a bit before my legs seized. This was all new to me as my cardiovascular system had always been way ahead of my running legs, although at this point in my life I'd been away from bike racing for almost five years and was not exactly a picture of fitness. At any rate, I never ramped up my mileage past fifteen miles a week or so, but at least I could do a run that would pass for a workout, and enter the local 5k and 5 mile road races and not have my finish listed on the last page of the results.

This past winter I ran more than ever, which is still not to say much. I worked my way up to occasionally running just over an hour for a total distance of about eight miles. For the most part though, I stuck to 35-40 minutes and four to five miles or so. This year's plan will be much the same. Since I've got about a ten day headstart on last year, I may be ready to do the 5 mile NRT race here in town on October 1, unless we go to race 'cross in Pittsfield. That's also the same day as the Mud, Sweat, and Gears off-road duathlon, which I've done once before and was pretty fun. After that, I'm thinking about skipping the Gloucesters and racing a duathlon in Elliot, Maine on Oct 7. The jury is still out on doing the Pinnacle Challenge on Oct 15. If my legs withold protest as I ramp up the running mileage in the next few weeks, I just might be foolish enough to attempt it. Duano said that he might be game. My budget has taken quite a beating recently with all the racing, so I'll need to factor that in to the decision making process as well. The third weekend in October is looking like it might be the best time for a foliage ride out of the KL North training center. Who is up for that? That might be the last chance for me to do such a ride, as the last weekend in October the Canton 10K falls on the same day as the Canton 'cross race. I am planning on doing the 10k, so that makes me a doubtful starter for the 'cross race, even though it is right on the run course. The conflicts continue on that day, as the final FIRM duathlon of the season takes place in nearby Wrentham. It's a tough decision, but the Canton foot race is a tradition for me, so it wins. Lower entry fee too.

Back to the top, this morning I took the road bike out over last night's run loop so I could measure the distance, which turned out to be 5.2k/3.2 miles, so my pace was a pedestrian 9:04/mile. At least my average HR was only 114, but I have my work cut out for me for sure.

There are lots of other topics to write about, but the work of the MAN beckons. If I have time I'll spew some words on diverse topics such as the eerie similarities between mine and Moveitfred's training, the TT going on at the World Championships, why I still haven't joined a gym, and the other (besides MoveitFred) tremendous athlete I know from Long Island, former Patchog-Medford wrestling star Paullywog. Oh yeah, then there is the 36 tooth chainring, and it has also been brought to my attention that Vinokourov bears a striking resemblance to Beavis. Thanks for reading!