Saturday, April 9, 2011

Decent Run in Chicago

One week after the half marathon, I headed out for a modest 3-miler here in Chicago. Great day for it--about 59 degrees. Ran through Grant Park, along the river trail past the conference hotel, and back to my hotel. Knees don't hurt at all.

While walking this week, I have noticed a bit of knee pain, but nothing during the run. Also, I have noticed a very odd sensation in those calf muscles that freaked out. Almost feels like they're damaged or something. No pain, but an odd sensation of "deadness." I am sure it will get better. Nothing at all while running.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Half Marathon PLUS!

Well, I finished my 2nd half marathon and didn't improve my time by much. My final time was 2:06:23 or 9:26/M, but the course was 13.4 miles, as the race organizers miscalculated the course. An "adjusted" time (use the overall pace and re-calculate a 13.1 distance) would be 2:03:38.
  • 2011-04-02 (adjusted): 2:03:38
  • 2010-10-17 (half of 26.2): 2:05:48
  • 2010-03-20 (actual 13.1): 2:02:56
I need to do some serious work on my calf spasm issue. A few random notes:
  • 30 degrees is warmer than you think. For a long race, even a 10K, I think that throw-away sweats are a good idea. I decided to go half way on this; I wore a throw-away fleece but committed to long running pants. I should have gone all the way. Even though it never got above 40 degrees, I still could have gone down to shorts with no problem.
  • The 4:30/:30 ratio worked pretty well.