More of the Same. Just Faster.

This morning I ran four miles at tempo pace. It was the same as last Thursday except I did it at four seconds a mile faster. That's progress.
When I left work today I still had a little buzz going in my legs and I sensed my form is returning with some good muscle tone down there to be happy about.
My weight has been funny. All year - since January - it was below 150. Since June 1 I have been averaging about three pounds heavier. That may not seem like much but I have to tell you I wasn't seeing any numbers above 150 for five months or more and now I don't see any below 150. It's strange.
Vacation (sort of) starts a week from Friday. I go to a professional conference in Chicago for five days then to the beloved Rhode Island shore for 12 days. I am working my contacts up that way for a huge RBF Summer Run Festival. More on that as it develops.
I am not certain if I'll run the New Haven 20K this year over Labor Day. If I told you how much money I've had to spend on non-recurring expenses you'd understand. Then again, once I get in the literal clutches of some of those CT Running Chicks, I could be pursuaded.

Feel the Rush

Five hours later and my legs are still buzzing from the speed work this morning. I was not setting any land records but the gradual increase in aggregate distance from one week to the next is making me feel the rush. I am adding all of 400m per week but it shows. Today I did 5x800 repeats with 100m recovery for 2 minutes between segments. The times ranged from 4:00 to 3:50 averaging a 7:50/mile pace. I will be racing next Tuesday and hope to be faster than that over the 5K distance.

So Sweaty

I ran nine miles yesterday morning at 7 am. It was already in the low 80s and the humidity was 100%. There was nothing easy about the run even though I fixed a bowl of oatmeal beforehand and had a lemon lime Gu 45 minutes into the run. I ran alone since none of my peeps showed up. There were plenty of other runners out there but it was a day to go alone and feel it. Maybe I would have done better with the distraction of a runmate.
My back was sore all day afterwards from the pounding. I think I need to go back to my Asics Gel Kuyanos. I wear them on my speed days and they feel great. My other Asics feel like clown shoes - big and clunky. I have a couple hundred more miles to go with them but I know I have to go back to the Kuyanos to get the cushioning.

Thanks for the fillings Ray

I sat in the same church this afternoon that hosted a memorial service for my former boss a month ago. This time it was because my dentist of 36 years died in his sleep quite suddenly earlier this week. The church was packed to the rafters with friends and patients. I felt like I should be wearing a button with the number of years he kept my teeth in great condition. It was another occasion to reflect on the quickness of life. I sat there with my wife and a neighbor who also have had Ray as their dentist.
I sat in silence most of the time reflecting and observing. When the occasion came to sing a hymn I was surprised how good it felt. Otherwise I was still and solitary. Ray was the most positive and happy person I ever knew. He was a specialist at asking personal questions while sitting in a dentist chair. The questions were always easy to answer with one grunt or two. He kept up with everybody. At the service I also learned he went on many missions to Caribbean islands to provide free dental care to those who rarely get it.
I thought about the life I have led and the people I have loved and those who have loved me. I had one welling moment or two while I pondered these things. What it all did for me was remind me to not be idle and live life fully. You never know when it - life, as we know it - will end.

I think of memorial services as curious events. Whether I feel compelled to attend is a measure of how much I respect the former acquaintance. I would be there for a friend automatically. Others, maybe not. The special people with gifts and grace earn my respect and sympathy for their family and friends. I will attend those memorials even if I do not know the family and friends. After all, a memorial service is for the living, right? They need to know how much their loved one mattered to others.

Supplements. It struck me as I commented on Jeanne's blog about using Vitamin E to help her blisters (who knows if it will help?) that I should write about suppelements. It struck me that somebody might benefit to know how I have battled against high cholesterol without taking those prescription drugs that made me feel like crap when I took them.
I was already a steady runner but had a cholesterol count of 240 two years ago. Now it's 167. I had a prescription for "L" and took it as prescribed but I felt lousy and achy so I quit. I felt better fairly soon. I also figured I ought to try some home remedies. So here's what I take to win the war on high cholesterol:

1. Policosanol with coenzyme Q10 (interesting to note that One-A-Day now has it as an additive in one of its products)
2. Garlic tabs
3. Fish Oil gels

I also take calcium and a multi-vitamin. How about you?

Day of Despair. Not Really.

I took Thursday morning off from work.
Why? To sleep in an extra hour, run my 4-mile tempo run, stretch at my leisure, walk the dogs and get over to the pub to watch the USA-Ghana and Italy-Czech Republic soccer matches.
Mind you, I had no beers. After the way the USA played/got hosed by the ref, I should have had a beer.
The tempo run was decent. It went by at an 8:37 pace. It was not easy, given the mid 70s temps, but I kept up a good head of steam throughout.
After the soccer matches I went to work for three hours where I behaved quite badly. I was despondent over the USA loss and became snappy to my charges. Plus I wanted to get an enewsletter out before I left to go so Sherlene.
Sweet Sherlene. I arrived five minutes late but tried not to go in all stressed about it. I lay on the table and listened to the background music and then lay there as she worked me over. I asked her to guage my muscle tone to the last time I'd seen her (March?) and she found my muscles to be quite grainy, the sockets popping, hamstrings and ITB tight, etc., etc. She said it was good to come in before I got worse. So I was happy for that. I even booked my next appointment instead of waiting for the painful urge/need to call her: when I get back from vacation in late July.
The day finished with a haircut. I left it long for my vacation. I equate vacation and wind whipping my hair around in the boats and at the beach. Special.