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12 Aug 2011

And the Doctor Said…

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Various Posts | 3 Comments


It took me a while to make this post because I wasn’t too sure of what to think and what to say about my experience.

First he was very good and the people at the clinic were in a good mood. Of course being the first there at 8am did have its advantages.

They took some extra X-rays and the knee specialists did a lot (and I mean a lot) of bending on my left knee.

He asked me what was wrong and I felt a little sheepish. After all, after waiting a whole month to see him, there was no swelling and hardly any pain. He then looked at me right knee to get a comparison and ended up telling me that my right leg as worse than my left. Huh? Go figure.
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07 Aug 2011

The OC Fair 5k Fun Run

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Posted in Racing Recaps | 1 Comment

Distance: 5km Time: 0:33 Pace: 6’29 kCal: 579 Heart: 155/163 RPE: 5 Type: 5k Race


I took this weekend easy and signed up for the Orange County (OC) 5k Fun Run and Walk.

I did this event last year and ended up walking some of it, so I have this feeling of coming full circle. This time, however, the 5k was not difficult and I ended up taking it nice and easy, pretending that it was just one of my weekly training runs.

There were a lot more people this year, too. Probably because it was only one event instead of two. And…

There was a traffic jam for the first 1 mile!

I ended up being a little slower than usual, but that was due to the congestion of people.

 

The fun part of this event was that I got a (non-running) friend of ours to join the event.
And of course, my wife joined me as well so we had a fantastic time!

More Photos Here
The first mile was around the parking lot and the last two miles were inside the amusement park.

It was a lot of fun running through the fair and checking out the rides with nobody on them. Thirty-three minutes later (yes, my famous 33 minute runs!)… it was all done and we got free admission into the fair before it officially opened. They also gave us an additional ticket that we can use anytime over the next week. Pretty cool…

I also posted a few other pictures online. Hope you have time to check them out!
http://bit.ly/ocfair5k

02 Aug 2011

Taking it Easy

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Blaine's Weekly Review | Comments Off on Taking it Easy

Distance: 12.26km Time: 2:11 Pace: 10’42 kCal: 1024 Heart: N/A RPE: 3 Type: Recovery


Wow – Another week!?!
Just like that. Work has been keeping me waaaay too busy, and it’s getting hard to find the time to get out and run.

But, I’m still dedicated and I even got a (non-running) friend psyched to come out and join me last weekend for an 8 mile (12k) walk-n-run in Newport Beach. Newport Beach has some amazing sunsets, by-the-way.

Yes. You heard me right. Walk-n-Run!
Thanks to all my Twitter, Blog, Facebook, and local friends for support and advise. I’m talking it easy and enjoying my ‘outings’. This coming weekend I’ll be doing a little 5k race at the OC Fair. Not so much for running as for getting free admission into the Orange County Fair. Howz THAT for motivation!?!

I did this event last year. Wow – last year…
Needless to say I was a non-runner back then and could only run half of it. 5k is now a piece of cake and it’s part of my regular running schedule. But still, one week to go before seeing the knee specialist, so I won’t push it… I plan on taking it as a regular daily run and get my free admission – Yeah!

23 Jul 2011

Newport Beach is a good start

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal | 4 Comments

Distance: 12.30km Time: 2:04 Pace: 10’05 kCal: 1072 Heart: N/A RPE: 4 Type: Pain Assessment


So I’ve got 3 months before the marathon and it’s time to start putting in the miles.

Today and tomorrow are 5-6k runs mixed in with 5-6k walks. Then next week it’s all running with some recovery walks outside my regular training.

I know I’m going to be about 3 weeks short on the rest of my training, but I will get all my long runs in before tapering the week before the marathon.

I’ll also have to wait and see what the doctor says about the knee mid-August, but for now I’m planning on going through my routine and build up my mileage. Today’s 5k was a breeze and no pain, so I’ll do a repeat tomorrow and see how it goes.

If all works out, week three will (re)start on Monday!

17 Jul 2011

Running in Paso Robles

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal | 1 Comment

Distance: 9.00km Time: 1:17 Pace: 8’35 kCal: 881 Heart: 144 RPE: 6 Type: 1 hour – hills training

It’s been a while since I could go out and run with confidence after my injury last month. So when I snuck out of the hotel just after sunrise, I knew that I was in the right place to get back into the running groove and put my worries behind me.

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15 Jul 2011

Wow – I did that!

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Exercise and Fitness | Comments Off on Wow – I did that!

Distance: 10.02km Time: 1:21 Pace: 8’07 kCal: 953 Heart: N/A RPE: 4 Type: Pain Assessment


Wow – I did that!

It was another good day.
After going to the doctor I got pissed off that I’ve got this knee problem.
I rested a little and then started out walking a bit last weekend.
I was out 5 days in a row taking it easy and then did a little running.

 

 

Well, after I got invited for a run around the lake with another runner (a first for me), I decided that I need to really stop moaning about my problems and get out there – without killing myself (I might add).

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12 Jul 2011

Hi – I’m back running again

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Blaine's Weekly Review | 3 Comments

Distance: 8.07km Time: 1:07 Pace: 8’21 kCal: 767 Heart: N/A RPE: 3-5 Type: Pain Assesment


Hello every one.
I’m back.
Well… sort of back.

I had some serious pain and swelling in my left knee and the doctor said…

no running, no walking, no cycling, no jumping, no swimming, no sailing, no scuba diving…

 

You get the picture. The worse part was that I was going on vacation to the Rivera Maya with great intensions of running along the beach, climbing the great Mayan Ruins, and scuba diving.
Hmmm…. I guess I needed to compromise.
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22 Jun 2011

Weekend Walks – A killer

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Blaine's Weekly Review | 3 Comments

Distance: 13.08km Time: 2:31 Pace: 11’34 kCal: 1023 Heart: N/A RPE: 3 Type: recovery
Distance: 10.49km Time: 2:06 Pace: 12’03 kCal: 900 Heart: N/A RPE: 3 Type: recovery


So last week I hurt my knee doing some sprints. I thought that is wasn’t anything serious, so I decided to take a few days off and walk on the weekend down at my favorite Newport Beach hangout.

The first day I planed to do just 10k, but my wife wanted to do the whole boardwalk (that includes the piers) so that total was around 15k (my Nano is off a little). I think the extra 5k was a little too much because I needed to stop a few times to stretch my leg. That was okay, I deserve it since because I didn’t wear a compression sleeve – I just think it makes me look too weird.

Okay – I guess that’s the mocho man thing – but wearing a pink or blue brace is kinda embarrassing.

So I got home and iced it up all afternoon. Come supper time, I was feeling pretty good.
Then came Sunday…

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14 Jun 2011

Fartlek and Speed Training is not for me… yet!

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Various Posts | 7 Comments

Today I was reading up on Fartlek training. It basically allows you to go from a lazy jogger to a racer. Well, I was thinking that could have been me, because I’m a very slow runner… er jogger with a 10k at just over an hour and a 5k always over 30 minutes.

But, I failed to mention that I’m currently writing this post from bed. Why? Well, 2 days ago I did an equivalent of a Fartlek training session and ended up pulling my knee out (I have an ACL tear straight though on my left knee). The reason is that I didn’t run with proper mechanics and with an already bad knee, the speed work only made it worse.

I think tomorrow I’ll be able to get out and do (at least) a 5 or 10k walk. Then it’s back to jogging (easy) and get my chi running working to rebuild my breathing and VO2 max (aka – get back in shape).

There will be time enough for me do speed training in the future, but for now I plan on running regularly and improving my technique at a speed that doesn’t make me sloppy and push my body to injury.

Wish me luck – and we’ll see how it goes. After all, it did do 4 10k races last month with no problem!

31 May 2011

Week 6 – In Canada

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Posted in Blaine's Weekly Review | Comments Off on Week 6 – In Canada


It was hot a humid in Canada.
Plus with all the jet lag and work, it was very hard to get out and run. Only had a few days to run before the Amy Thompson Run on Memorial day, too.

Now THAT was HOT and HUMID!

I was really out of my element there. I thought I only had a weakness for hills, but after this last week, I realized how spoiled I am living in Southern California where the weather is usually dry.

But now I’m back from my trip and feel like I can sleep for a week. I didn’t get to run that much either, so that might be another reason for feeling so tired.

Hmmm… as for sleeping all next week, seems to me that I still need to wake up for my runs.

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