Author: Mark Allman

Well, this experiment didn’t last very long. The knee problem isn’t going to get better with work. Time for the “RICE” (rest, ice, compression, elevation) approach. I’ll bite the bullet and stay off it until it’s mostly pain-free, then start back on the bike. I’ve never tried riding in the winter. I suspect that maybe it might be just a bit chilly.

Started back running with a relatively flat route. The knee is still a problem but I’m thinking that I just might fix this by running rather than resting. Some things are like that. The contrarian approach. This will be an interesting experiment.

Good morning for an early run. Temperature about 50 degrees, next to no wind and no rain. In fact the next few days in Boston are forecast to be very warm for November.

Distance today: 7.15 miles. Target pace: 9:50; actual: 9:23.

Good morning for an early run. Venus is up in the east just above a crescent Moon and Mars is bright in the western sky. The route I ran is a figure-8 type route, run in both directions, to take advantage of what hills are nearby. There’s a guy who is doing some bike work on part of the route as well, so we pass each other occasionally. Another crazy out at 5AM.

I’ve been nursing a bit of a “runner’s knee” for about a week or so. Annoying. Some ice, rolling, and a massage after a run seems to be sufficient. Interesting that there’s a dark bruise behind my knee on the inside-leg side. It feels superficial but something to keep an eye on.

Distance: 6.85 miles. Target pace: 9:50; actual: 9:51. Target weight: 145.7; actual: 149.4

Had to improvise a course due to telephone poles and trees being down on roads and those road then being closed. The power was out so it was a real challenge to see it all in the dark.

My Samsung Gear 3 watch for some reason didn’t really time the run. I started the timer but it didn’t apparently actually start. Not a crisis obviously, but it is something to pay more attention to when it’s really needed, e.g., a race.

Distance: 4.35 miles on a generally flat course. Target pace: 9:10; actual: guess around 9:30. Maybe less–doesn’t really matter too much. Target weight: 146.6; actual: 148.2.

Nice, cool morning for a run.

One of the things I’ve noticed about distance running is that the mental part is just as, if not more important than, the physical part. We need to train our brains to be patient — we’re going to be out here for a while. Relax.

Distance: 8.05 miles on a rolling hills course. Target pace: 9:10; actual: 9:12. Weight: target 146.5; actual: 148.0

After running for about a month with rest days worked in between running days (usually), I think everything is in good enough shape to start running daily. I haven’t felt anything from the stress fracture I had and my left knee feels a bit sore after a run but by the next morning it’s OK. I ran 8 miles this morning — no problem. I’ll pick up virtual racing with the Ocean View Half on November 8th.

Distance: 8.05 miles on a good rolling hills course (about 400 feet of climb). Target pace: 9:10; actual: 9:12. Target weight: 146.7; actual: 149.4.

Very nice early morning for a run. Clear skies, 56 degrees, no wind, and a near-full moon low in the west. No skunks.

I’ve noticed, now that I’ve been tracking my weight each day, that it varies by several pounds day to day. I always weigh myself first thing in the morning, so that I can get as consistent a daily tracking as possible. Yesterday my weight was about five pounds heavier than today. I’m focused (correctly) on the trend but the daily variation is surprising.

Distance: 7.15 miles on a fairly flat route. Target pace: 9:10; actual: 9:15. Target weight: 147.1; actual: 146.4.

Warm day today, so it was a better training run to get out in the sun instead of running at 5AM. Early morning is great (gets the started right) but mid-day sun and humidity are more of a workout.

Distance: 5.3 miles. Target pace: 9:10; actual: 9:22. Target weight: 147.3; actual: 148.6.

Getting back into the daily habit of early morning (4AM) runs is, let’s say, “a bit of a challenge.” It does get easier though. I think we’ve all become a bit soft with the pandemic stay-at-home we’ve been forced into. There isn’t such a rush to “get up and go” since we don’t really “go.”

Distance today: 4.32 miles on a relatively flat course. Target weight: 148.0, actual: 149.2. Target pace: 9:10, actual: 9:08.

First “official” day back to training after taking a break to let a stress fracture heal. I’ve run some to test it all out. No issues. It’s so much more enjoyable to run (relatively 😉 pain free.

Since I couldn’t run for about nine weeks, I decided to put in miles on my racing bike. I read several articles about what to do while healing and all recommended hitting the bike. Apparently bike training doesn’t negatively impact a healing stress fracture. Riding up to 15 miles on a rolling hills course is a good workout. Now that I’m back to running I plan to mix in some cross-training bike miles.

Distance: 6.85 miles on a rolling hills course. Weight: target: 148.2, actual: 148.8. Pace: target: 9:50, actual: 9:46.