Team McAlister » masters

8 Miles High

Lou — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 02:38:31 +0000

In 1966, The Byrds recorded 8 Miles High, supposedly about a flight they made to London. It was dropped from radio stations because of the not so subtle lyrical inferences to the band’s drug use (especially LSD, according to lore).

So today, for the first time in over 30 years, I went 8 miles on foot and was not high, although LSD might have made it a more pleasant experience. I slogged through 8.21 miles in 1:57:13. Not brilliant, but I was out there.

Daddy Needs New Shoes

Lou — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:49:04 +0000

OKAY, today it was 39 degrees with a 20 mph wind. Not Chicago, but dang! it was cold out there. Anyway, I was shooting for 4 miles today.

I did it! 4.4 miles in 1 hour! A blistering 13:30 pace! 30 minutes of running and 30 minutes of walking. I followed the usual pattern of 10 minutes of walking, 15 minutes of running, 5 minutes of walking for the first 30 minutes. Then I ran for 10 minutes, walked for 5, ran for 5, and walked for 10. It felt very good and I have no known issues with knees, feet, ankles, toes, shin splints, etc.

I can’t quite walk as fast as I run, but nearly. The main thing is that the time and distance were easy and felt good.

Now if I just had some shoes, maybe this would be easier.

I Need A Clever Title

Lou — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:13:43 +0000

You gotta love a place where the temperatures vary by 30 degrees from one day to the next. Thursday’s run in 23 degree weather was pretty special. That was Thursday wasn’t it? Well, today it was 50 and windy.

Today’s plan was to stick with the 30 minutes of walking and running as prescribed by Hal Higdon – sort of. I’m not a slave to his program, but I am being careful since it’s been a long, long time since I ran seriously. I completed 2.23 miles at a 13:30 pace and didn’t feel as though it was a push at all. That’s probably as it should be. These old knees were just a wee bit cranky at the end, but not too bad. (A doc looking inside my knees once said that I had the knees of an 80 year old man! And that was over 25 years ago.) This is my biggest concern, but I figure that in the final analysis, it’s just pain. And, pain can be overcome.

Being able to finish up the run and get on my bike was a fine reward. Slammed down a banana, aired up, and got to rolling. Had a nice 1:45 with some hills and lots of wind. Plenty of opportunity to work on smooth stroke and balance.

I’m lovin’ this!