Getting back to Boston

First run in two weeks after recovery from flu/pneumonia. Breathing was OK. Left knee, not do much; felt like patella tendon not happy. Got through it, slowly, in about 10:20 average. Probably will take a week to get back in the swing, then try to do something race-specific for the half in Bentonville for about two weeks.

Then Jen wanted me to run at the gym with her, so I did. Very slow, very easy. She did four laps without stopping, which is real progress. Total of 3.17 this afternoon. Nothing like not running for two weeks, then doing a double... 

Another easy run, legs a little stronger than yesterday. Able to negative split and get the average pace down to 10:00. AHR still running high, whether because of being sick or warmer temps, do not know.

Left the house at 5:15 intending to run by the Women Can Run clinic and check on them (particularly Jen). I did that, but I wound up participating in the clinic, helping with the Advanced group. Rachel planned a timed mile for that group as a baseline. I figured I'd run with the fastest woman as a pacer/cheerleader on the timed mile. Except that one woman named Jenna blasted out of there and seriously, seriously chicked me. I ran 7:44, which wasn't bad after a 6-mile warmup, but I promise she went sub 7, maybe 6:30

But I got to run with Jen some too. She was disappointed that they didn't run enough, but Rose wasn't there to lead them due to having run the marathon in LR yesterday. I told her Rose will kick her butt. Actually, I think Rose will be the group leader for their Thursday runs at Chaffee, so the buttkicking should commence then.

Jen is concerned that I'm running too much, too soon after being sick. I feel fine, the legs are coming around, 10:00 pace is not too difficult (neither was 7:44 pace, really). The AHR is still a little higher than I'd like, but that will come back as I get back in better shape, Now will I be ready to run a good half in Bentonville? I have no idea. I'll plan a speed work session next week to give me a better idea. I'd need to duplicate what I did tonight X 13, plus speed up 15 seconds a mile, to run my goal time. We'll see if I can. I doubt it, really, but we'll see.

Anyway, with the 4.9 to get there and then running at the clinic, I wound up doing 7.5. I was going to run home from the clinic too, but I didn't have reflectors or a light, and Jen wisely decided she would drive me home. I didn't argue with her. 

Late afternoon run after sleeping until 10. Did Free Ferry/Old Greenwood, Phoenix/Leigh/Cliff and home from there. Started out at 10:30 pace, wound up with 9:57 average, so I must have put the hammer down once I got up the hill on Leigh. Didn't wear the HRM, so no heart rate figures, but felt pretty comfortable. /First 10-miler since I got sick.

Run at Chaffee with Kathy Langford. Didn't feel greast, but got through OK.

Indoor run at MAFC, since it's over 80 already. I'd planned to do 7 or until they called or work. I got a call, all right, but it was Jennifer. Decided I'd rather do what she wanted me to do than to run, so I bailed after 34 laps. Not feeling great, but then I have been sleeping rather poorly.

Outdoor run today on the Cliff Drive loop. Hot, humid, miserable, slow. I really do not feel good. No energy at all, for anything. I'm finally going to break down and schedule a doctor's appointment to get checked out. Am I anemic, low T, B-12, lingering effects of pneumonia? And then there are the issues Jen is finding, which may also be related. Or maybe I've just hit a wall and need a long break. We'll see what I find out.

Ran/walked 2 with Jen, shortly before she decided to check into Vista to get her meds fixed.

A double that wasn't supposed to be a double. Started out on a planned 8 at MAFC, but Jen called at 3:25. She needed something brought to her at Vista, and it was either get it there by 4 or not until Tuesday. Fortunately, I already had it in my car. So I changed clothes without showering, drove to Vista, got there at 3:55, gave her the stuff, got a hug and a kiss, left, went back to the gym, changed back, and finished my 8-miler. Felt better afterward than I have in a while, which may have as much to do with 68 degrees and low humidity inside as anything. It's gonna be a long hot summer. Already a hot spring, and spring hasn't even started yet. I think it got to 87 yesterday.

Another indoor run, as thunderstorms moved through. About 9:25 pace overall, faster as I went on, as usual. Took a while to loosen up after Sunday's 8 miler, but felt OK when it was over. A full night's sleep made a big difference. Still going to the doctor tomorrow to get some things checked though.

Another sushi on the SHS loop, a little quicker than I've been going. Dodged a few raindrops, again.

Gr8 at the track after visiting Jen in the hospital tonight. She should come home Friday (crossing fingers). Hadn't seen her in four days, and realized how much I'd missed her. She's better than I deserve, but who am I to argue?

Anyway, back to the run. Decided to shake things up with some surges; two laps per mile once I got warmed up. Surges were at about 10K pace, I guess. It feels like I'm getting my mojo back after the pneumonia and all. I'd be in trouble if I were running Boston this year, but I'm not.

Eight days now to the half in Bentonville. Obviously in no shape to really race it, although I'd thought about giving it a try anyway. But Rose has asked me to pace her for a 2:00 run, which is low-9 pace, and I figure I might be able to handle that, so I agreed. Probably smarter to do that than to bust it trying and failing to go sub 1:40. Especially since we'll be going directly to Tulsa from Bentonville.

Ok, so I cheated. This was really 7.5 on the bike. But since there were a whole lot of uphills, and the derailleur doesn't work right, it was about as hard as a run.

Pushed a ~10K hard at MAFC this afternoon, despite about 45 minutes of sleep total. Ran the first 27 laps in low-8 pace, just about MP, ran everything else sub 9. Good trial run for pacing Rose at 2:00 pace in Bentonville. Now if I can just get some sleep...

This was supposed to be a race report. I lined up, and I started, but I neither raced nor finished. The left leg went numb in the first four miles, and I bailed. Didn't want to run 9 miles on a dead leg and possibly do more damage. Plus I was at the southern end of the race course, closest to my hotel. I had my phone with me, and called Jen to come pick me up. But by the time she found me, I'd jogged another two miles in the general direction of the hotel.

Run wasn't going well even before the numbness. I'd planned to pace Rose at sub-9 speed. Never found her before the start (she didn't have her phone), so decided to drop back in the pack, run a little faster than that pace and hope to catch her eventually. Dunno if that would have worked. For three miles, that 8:45 pace felt OK. But it was warm (it would get to almost 90 degrees), sunny and humid, and I was starting to feel the heat even before the leg went. The quads felt a little weak along with the numbness, which was concerning and definitely contributed to my decision to bail. I didn't want to hurt my knee or something because the quads wouldn't adequately support it.