2+ Miles With an Untied Shoe

OK, I know, I've got some serious explaining to do. It's been 12 days since my last entry. But I promise there's a good reason. And I'll start with that.

It all started Labor Day weekend. I went on a Boy Scout Outing with my son and his Scout Troop. We hiked up the Russian River trail to Aspen Flats cabin for a 3 day, 2 night outing. The hike was just under 9 miles each way. Packs ranged from a high of 61 lbs for one of the leaders to a low of about 15 for some of the scouts. It turns out that one of them had such a light pack because he left some of his food home. Good thing some of us brought some extra food. My pack was about 42 lbs going in, and about 10 lbs lighter coming out. To make a long story short, when it was all said and done, my knees were pretty sore.

Everything I have read says that when you're sore, STOP. Don't try to push things. So that's what I did. Did not run all week last week. I did continue to ride my bike to work though. I haven't driven the car to work since late April.

After a week off, I was ready to go for it again. I got home from work tonight, checked how long til dinner, and when the answer was, "about a half an hour," I knew I had time. Changed my clothes, and off I went.

I decided to run my "perfect loop" again tonight. That's the route that I discovered that is pretty much exactly 3 miles. My goal right now, for the next 2 weeks, is to run 4 nights a week, and run for 30 minutes minimum each time without stopping. Even with over a week off from running, I managed to make the full 3 minutes without any problems. That's a good feeling.

Did have one problem tonight, but maybe it was good practice for the future, or at least a warning. About a mile in tonight, my right shoe came untied. My good buddy once told me that if that happens, you just keep running. CAn't afford to lose the time. So that's what I did. If I was in a long race, I'd probably get down and tie it. But I decided to punish myself tonight for not tying it properly. I'll be more careful in the future about properly tying my shoes so they don't come untied so easily.

That's it for now.

P.S. Stats for tonight. 30:22 time, 9:55/mile average pace. 9.4 MPH max speed, 163 BPM Avg Heart rate; 172 BPM Max Heart Rate; and 3.06 miles.