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I thought maybe a weather related post would catch Doug's attention...this is the weather blog isn't it?

Madras set a rainfall record.  2.63"  No, not in one hour.  No, not in one day.  That's the most rainfall ever recorded in Madras for the month of October.  It smashed the previous record of 2.21" set in 1979.  It kept us out of the fields and things have been a bit muddy but we aren't going to complain.  The reservoir is filling and the snowpack is building.

And the sun was shining for my run today. 

Hope all is well and you've just been to busy to post for a few days.

nkrichards wrote:I thought maybe a weather related post would catch Doug's attention...this is the weather blog isn't it?

Madras set a rainfall record.  2.63"  No, not in one hour.  No, not in one day.  That's the most rainfall ever recorded in Madras for the month of October.  It smashed the previous record of 2.21" set in 1979.  It kept us out of the fields and things have been a bit muddy but we aren't going to complain.  The reservoir is filling and the snowpack is building.

And the sun was shining for my run today. 

Hope all is well and you've just been to busy to post for a few days.

Wow! That's impressive. We set a record over here in Vancouver, too. A hair over 8 inches for the month. That'd be fine with me, if my darn lawn would get the message and stop growing already....

Anybody up for a game? Anybody? Anybody?

Mark B wrote:




Anybody up for a game? Anybody? Anybody?

I'm a bit worried about Doug.  It's not like him to pass up the chance to play online tic-tac-toe!

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:




Anybody up for a game? Anybody? Anybody?

I'm a bit worried about Doug.  It's not like him to pass up the chance to play online tic-tac-toe!

Me, too. He hasn't made an appearance on Facebook since Halloween. Hope he's okay.

Mark B wrote:

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:




Anybody up for a game? Anybody? Anybody?

I'm a bit worried about Doug.  It's not like him to pass up the chance to play online tic-tac-toe!

Me, too. He hasn't made an appearance on Facebook since Halloween. Hope he's okay.

Yea,  he's been absent here for a few days in the past but usually not this long.  I hope he's just been to busy to check in...

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:




Anybody up for a game? Anybody? Anybody?

I'm a bit worried about Doug.  It's not like him to pass up the chance to play online tic-tac-toe!

Me, too. He hasn't made an appearance on Facebook since Halloween. Hope he's okay.

Yea,  he's been absent here for a few days in the past but usually not this long.  I hope he's just been to busy to check in...

Me, too. I miss our loquacious friend! Hope it's nothing serious.

Oh, Doug - where are you????

BREAKING NEWS from HEAVEN---
Yup, I died a few minutes ago , but in Earth time it was October 29 while eating...choked on popcorn while watching "Heaven Can Wait" (of all movies) .

I can relay (sadly) that Hillary will win tomorrow with around 295 electoral votes (still waiting on Florida, as they require so much hand holding.  Chad didn't make it to Heaven, as he was hanged---rim shot).  I have friends still holding out that Trump will win, but they're still on the Kool-Aid IV drip.  Sucks to be them.

Tomorrow, God is showing "Air Force One" during the election results for those that didn't want to know who wins until Trump concedes.  That will be a while.

Heaven is really cool!  I now have the speed of Dave-O, without the upset stomach!  It took me awhile to get used to the speed, but the angels kept on picking me up and letting me get the hang of it.

I can choose to come back to earth, but I lose the speed and the foreknowledge.

ounce wrote:BREAKING NEWS from HEAVEN---
Yup, I died a few minutes ago , but in Earth time it was October 29 while eating...choked on popcorn while watching "Heaven Can Wait" (of all movies) .

I can relay (sadly) that Hillary will win tomorrow with around 295 electoral votes (still waiting on Florida, as they require so much hand holding.  Chad didn't make it to Heaven, as he was hanged---rim shot).  I have friends still holding out that Trump will win, but they're still on the Kool-Aid IV drip.  Sucks to be them.

Tomorrow, God is showing "Air Force One" during the election results for those that didn't want to know who wins until Trump concedes.  That will be a while.

Heaven is really cool!  I now have the speed of Dave-O, without the upset stomach!  It took me awhile to get used to the speed, but the angels kept on picking me up and letting me get the hang of it.

I can choose to come back to earth, but I lose the speed and the foreknowledge.

Heaven, huh? Neat!

I'd suspected time in the county jug.

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:BREAKING NEWS from HEAVEN---
Yup, I died a few minutes ago , but in Earth time it was October 29 while eating...choked on popcorn while watching "Heaven Can Wait" (of all movies) .

I can relay (sadly) that Hillary will win tomorrow with around 295 electoral votes (still waiting on Florida, as they require so much hand holding.  Chad didn't make it to Heaven, as he was hanged---rim shot).  I have friends still holding out that Trump will win, but they're still on the Kool-Aid IV drip.  Sucks to be them.

Tomorrow, God is showing "Air Force One" during the election results for those that didn't want to know who wins until Trump concedes.  That will be a while.

Heaven is really cool!  I now have the speed of Dave-O, without the upset stomach!  It took me awhile to get used to the speed, but the angels kept on picking me up and letting me get the hang of it.

I can choose to come back to earth, but I lose the speed and the foreknowledge.

Heaven, huh? Neat!

I'd suspected time in the county jug.

Or worse...

Good to see his sense of humor survived the ordeal and is still intact.

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:BREAKING NEWS from HEAVEN---
Yup, I died a few minutes ago , but in Earth time it was October 29 while eating...choked on popcorn while watching "Heaven Can Wait" (of all movies) .

I can relay (sadly) that Hillary will win tomorrow with around 295 electoral votes (still waiting on Florida, as they require so much hand holding.  Chad didn't make it to Heaven, as he was hanged---rim shot).  I have friends still holding out that Trump will win, but they're still on the Kool-Aid IV drip.  Sucks to be them.

Tomorrow, God is showing "Air Force One" during the election results for those that didn't want to know who wins until Trump concedes.  That will be a while.

Heaven is really cool!  I now have the speed of Dave-O, without the upset stomach!  It took me awhile to get used to the speed, but the angels kept on picking me up and letting me get the hang of it.

I can choose to come back to earth, but I lose the speed and the foreknowledge.

Heaven, huh? Neat!

I'd suspected time in the county jug.

Or worse...

Good to see his sense of humor survived the ordeal and is still intact.

Boy, I hope I never hit any penal system facility. 

I'll work on not having this many days elapse between postings.  I essentially took a 'bye week' from running and posting and even FB for a few days.  But there's no excuse for worrying y'all, so I apologize.

-30-

So my last posting on running involved a botched attempt at 20 that ended in 2.88 miles on a Friday.  I went out on the next day to give it another attempt.  It was around 70 degrees.  Everything was proceeding nicely, when the a part of the compression shorts that I wear became threadbare and caused a chafing area around mile 8.  I didn't realize it was the shorts until I found the hole around mile 10.  I came to a fork in the road.  Going left was the route for 20 or going right was the route for 17.  I chose 17 and stopped at 15.  I hadn't properly kept up with ketosis, so that was the main reason for the stop with a supporting Oscar to chafing.  With the lack of padding on my heel strike area, it wasn't fun walking the 2 miles home.

The following Monday, Halloween, I ran my anti-Christ loop of 6.66 miles.  That was encouraging because the body had responded enough to run that distance as anything less than 4 miles would have been concerning.  I also layered enough vaseline to the chafed area to make it mostly transparent to the user.

The heel pain on both feet is another area.  It's irritated.  Ground zero on both feet is specifically wear runners heel strike.  In the morning, it's tight.  Tight like the muscles are, the morning after a marathon.  I've never had this before.  This was the major reason for not running the rest of last week, so maybe it could recuperate a bit.

I'm comfortable about my endurance level, not comfortable with the pace but have 10 weeks to get there, and comfortable that I can easily get back into ketosis.  My heels are not a problem during a run.  Finding elastic waistband, draw string compression shorts is an issue, but I have two pairs of full leg compression leggings that I will employ regardless of weather condition.  They are that important.


Yesterday morning, I ran 5 miles.  I felt it necessary to make a statement to the body that it ain't a casual run.  This weekend, I'll run a long run on Friday, then go out to Brazos Bend on Saturday to run and get more acquainted with the route.  Maybe even run in the Altras.

Sounds like a little bit of PF.  Make sure you stretch your calves, roll your feet on a frozen water bottle and massage the bottom fascia with your hands as I'm betting it will feel very tight and crinkly.  If it is a bit of PF, you will have caught it early, but no amount of rest really makes it go away - that is only accomplished with stretching, massage, and shoe inserts might be necessary (or if you use them, worn out).

Glad your back.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Sounds like a little bit of PF.  Make sure you stretch your calves, roll your feet on a frozen water bottle and massage the bottom fascia with your hands as I'm betting it will feel very tight and crinkly.  If it is a bit of PF, you will have caught it early, but no amount of rest really makes it go away - that is only accomplished with stretching, massage, and shoe inserts might be necessary (or if you use them, worn out).

Glad your back.

If those heels keep giving you grief, you might want to consider NOT using zero drop shoes and trying something with 4 mm drop or greater.

Glad to have you back!

Mark B wrote:

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Sounds like a little bit of PF.  Make sure you stretch your calves, roll your feet on a frozen water bottle and massage the bottom fascia with your hands as I'm betting it will feel very tight and crinkly.  If it is a bit of PF, you will have caught it early, but no amount of rest really makes it go away - that is only accomplished with stretching, massage, and shoe inserts might be necessary (or if you use them, worn out).

Glad your back.

If those heels keep giving you grief, you might want to consider NOT using zero drop shoes and trying something with 4 mm drop or greater.

Glad to have you back!

Thank you and thank you.  Personally, I think the internal padding in my feet since birth is thinning, making the PF take more of the force.  They're not swollen.  I think the stack height of the Altras are similar +/- 4mm to my Kinvaras.  I've thought about old inserts, which is why I have a fresh pair of inserts to put in. (Sidebar:  Boy, those Altras sure are cushy.  Hard to imagine as thin as they are.)  

I'll be road testing the Kinvara 7 tomorrow, with the new inserts.  I have only walked around in them, so far.  The 7's seem to be cushier than the 4 (ruby slippers) and the 5 (lemon flavored).  I hope the 7's work well because they're the newest Kinvara out there and I'll be able to get them for 2 years, as supply wanes.

Separately, in my Breaking News post where it mentions "Air Force One" playing tonight?  Actually, the Regal theater down the street is playing "Air Force One" tonight at 7 for $5 and half price popcorn.  That's where I got the idea.  I am thinking about going to see it.  Love the movie.  I can always handle seeing it once or twice a year at home, just like "In The Line of Fire" with Clint Eastwood as a Secret Service agent.

I think it'll take Trump about a week to concede.  His supporters?  Never, there'll be theorists on FB for the rest of the century about this.  I've unfollowed three people of the 60 friends on FB, as a result of this.  

Thanks again, y'all.

I'm not going to get involved in the shoe/PF discussion...you've got lots of advice.

I will say...apology accepted...we all need a little "me time" once in a while.  And it is nice that you're back...

nkrichards wrote:I'm not going to get involved in the shoe/PF discussion...you've got lots of advice.

I will say...apology accepted...we all need a little "me time" once in a while.  And it is nice that you're back...

Thank you, ma'am.

-30-

Last night, I stayed up too long to be able to get up this morning and run.  I did go see "Air Force One" though.  The parking garage for the theater complex was deader than it is on a Sunday morning when the Texans play at noon.  I was the only one in the theater showing the movie.  I managed to get in some ankle circles, some extension and flexion, and balancing on one foot, although that was not easy when watching the movie.

Also last night, I trimmed the inserts for the 7's (when I was planning on running).  After getting them just right, I put my feet in them and the right foot was a little too close to the front of the shoe.  So, I'll have to send those size 12's back to runningwarehouse for a pair of 12-1/2.  This is the first time this has happened in the Kinvaras.  I've had the shoes a week longer than the 90 day return policy, but they've let it slide before, so I don't expect an issue with an exchange.  They're good about that.  I hope the inserts are still usable.

Way to multitask during the movie!

Aw, shucks. 

-30-

So yesterday afternoon, I drove up to Memorial Park with the idea of running 3 or so miles at a faster pace.  I parked on a side street that would give me around 3.5 miles, in order to make a quick getaway into the 5 o'clock traffic.  It was 70 degrees with a dewpoint of 61 and cloudy, so it was pleasant.  The idea was to find a quicker pace and see how long I can hold it.

Had I worn my HR strap, I would be showing about 85% of HR max.  I was breathing hard, but not so hard that I felt like I was sprinting a 400.  After a mile and a half, I was feeling confident that I could hold the effort for the duration of the distance.  I was in my lemon colored 5's and nothing hurt.  I set the cadence at 162.  I noticed once or twice that it was showing more than 162 during the run.

3.44 miles, 43:38, 12:41 pace, 162 avg cadence, 0.78 m avg stride length
1.  12:42, 162 spm, 78 sl
2.  12:40, 162 spm, 78 sl
3.  12:37, 162 spm, 79 sl
4.  12:23 pace, 162 spm, 79 sl

So it would seem that run was somewhere slower than 5K pace, but not quite 10K pace.  I don't find that too re-assuring for guess-timating a marathon pace, therefore I think that I'm going to have to quicken the pace on runs, so I can get a little warmer and fuzzier with achieving an official finish in January.  Of course, the weather hasn't been conducive to increasing pace, but for the next 7 days our weather is to be 'seasonal' with highs in the mid-70s.

As the evening progressed, my heels weren't barking too much.  I TENS'd them and took a Meloxicam, before bed.  This morning, there was no heel pain or stiffness.  Tomorrow, I'll work on a 15-20 mile long run followed by a shorter trail run on Saturday at Brazos Bend.

Nice faster-tempo effort! Good that you kept the distance short. Still, I wish there was HR data...

Best is the lack of barking or other issues. Bodes well for your trail run this weekend.

Mark B wrote:Nice faster-tempo effort! Good that you kept the distance short. Still, I wish there was HR data...

Best is the lack of barking or other issues. Bodes well for your trail run this weekend.

When last I wore my HR strap, it only recorded about 3 miles worth of data, of which the first half mile was AWOL and then it gradually slowed to tell me that I could run a 14 minute mile at 67 bpm.  I'm sure somebody on MAF could do that.

-30-

Today was somewhere between 15-20 miles.  Last week, I did 15 tortuous miles.  This week, I did 15 pretty damn good miles with 12 of them at roughly marathon pace (13:25-but I'd like that to be faster).  I will post the numbers after I upload it into Garmin, but the avg pace was around 13:24.  Mile 15 was 14:12 or so.

During mile 12, somehow I felt like 15 or 16 should be the number to run and when I hit that 14 minute mile at mile 15, I wanted to leave this run on a high note and stopped.  The body, including the heels, are in good shape.  I'm a little slow, but I'm a ton better than last week.

At the first quarter mile (0.25) of the long run, my pace felt good, but it was 14:19.     I decided to increase the pace and hoped that a 13:25-13:30 would be good for the long haul because I really wanted to run 20.  If nothing else, I could see how long I can last.  I'm sad that I couldn't go farther, but the race is 2 months away and I'll work on dropping the pace some more as I go longer.

edit:  And the shower report is no new chafing areas.  Vaseline works again! 
2nd edit:  splits, cadence was set to 161 spm, temperature was 56 degrees

15 miles, 3:22:40, 13:30 pace, 160 avg cadence, 0.74 m avg stride length
1.  13:26, 160 spm, 75 sl
2.  13:12, 161 spm, 76 sl
3.  13:13, 160 spm, 76 sl
4.  13:25, 160 spm, 75 sl
5.  13:21, 161 spm, 75 sl
6.  13:26, 161 spm, 75 sl
7.  13:25, 159 spm, 76 sl
8.  13:28, 161 spm, 74 sl
9.  13:15, 160 spm, 76 sl
10. 13:29, 161 spm, 74 sl
11. 13:26, 160 spm, 75 sl
12. 13:43, 161 spm, 73 sl
13. 13:29, 161 spm, 74 sl
14. 13:50, 160 spm, 73 sl
15. 14:32, 159 spm, 69 sl

Good job on the run! 

And buy a new battery for your HR strap. Don't be such a cheapskate! 

Mark B wrote:Good job on the run! 

And buy a new battery for your HR strap. Don't be such a cheapskate! 

Thanks, it felt good.  Heart was going "WTF?"  But it got the hang of it.  

Battery?  Heck, it was a new strap, first.  Then when THAT battery was going south, I put a new battery in it with the same results.  

Saturday morning, I drove to Brazos Bend State Park with the idea of running somewhere between 4-7 miles on the trails.  I had my new Altra Lone Star 2.0 Polartec Neoshell shoes, hereafter referred to as "Zeros."  This was after Friday's 15 mile MP run in the ruby slippers.

I woke up with 55 degrees outside.  Arriving at the same place as two weeks ago, I retraced the trails I had ran and added two more trails to make a total of 6 miles of the total 16.6 mile loop covered.  But I managed to only run 2 miles and walked 4.  The Zeros did well and my legs did mostly well with the new zero drops.  I was feeling some fatigue in the upper part of both calf muscles, which I attribute to the missing 4mm of heel drop and having ran 15 the day before.  The Zeros were comfortable and I purposely walked through some ankle high grass with the morning dew still on it to test the water-proof Neoshell feature.  My tootsies and socks were dry as the desert.

As much as I would've liked to have ran farther, walking 4 miles was fine as I'm going to be walking at least a loop during the race.  It was quiet out there, except when I spooked some ducks and storks.  Didn't see any gators.  Heard a woodpecker. 

After the run, nothing hurt.  After the 45 minute drive home, the back of the left knee was tight and the heels were whining a bit.  Both settled down after a short walk.  I had a knot in my right quad located in the middle on a latitude basis and three fingers laterally.  Last night, I hit the quad with the TENS.  This morning, everything is peachy.

ounce wrote:Saturday morning, I drove to Brazos Bend State Park with the idea of running somewhere between 4-7 miles on the trails.  I had my new Altra Lone Star 2.0 Polartec Neoshell shoes, hereafter referred to as "Zeros."  This was after Friday's 15 mile MP run in the ruby slippers.

I woke up with 55 degrees outside.  Arriving at the same place as two weeks ago, I retraced the trails I had ran and added two more trails to make a total of 6 miles of the total 16.6 mile loop covered.  But I managed to only run 2 miles and walked 4.  The Zeros did well and my legs did mostly well with the new zero drops.  I was feeling some fatigue in the upper part of both calf muscles, which I attribute to the missing 4mm of heel drop and having ran 15 the day before.  The Zeros were comfortable and I purposely walked through some ankle high grass with the morning dew still on it to test the water-proof Neoshell feature.  My tootsies and socks were dry as the desert.

As much as I would've liked to have ran farther, walking 4 miles was fine as I'm going to be walking at least a loop during the race.  It was quiet out there, except when I spooked some ducks and storks.  Didn't see any gators.  Heard a woodpecker. 

After the run, nothing hurt.  After the 45 minute drive home, the back of the left knee was tight and the heels were whining a bit.  Both settled down after a short walk.  I had a knot in my right quad located in the middle on a latitude basis and three fingers laterally.  Last night, I hit the quad with the TENS.  This morning, everything is peachy.

I like it when a post ends with everything is peachy...

You're making progress and sounds like you're staying healthy.