Fall Comes Early

Time to add another incident to my growing list: this time I tripped on an exposed root on Moccasin Trail as I approached the entrance to the Landfill Loop.  I don't recall ever seeing or feeling roots along this particular stretch of dirt (northeast of the church), but I definitely could see this one when I looked back.  I saw some people talking near a horse ahead...so I decided to ask them for help (I was bleeding and covered in dirt...just wanted to get some water to rinse off).  One of the ladies lives in the house at the corner, offered the use of her hose, and brought out bandages and hydrogen peroxide as well.  After getting patched up, I was able to continue on to the Landfill Loop and finish my five mile run.

Year End Report 2024

Strange.  I logged 1,357 miles running in 2024, my fourth highest annual total ever - behind 2021 (1,538), 2012 (1,406), 2023 (1,376), and somehow beating 2020 (1,320).  I am not sure how I managed to do so in a year where I not only took a break from running full marathons and entering races, but also didn't once ramp up my distance as if I were training for a full marathon.

I mean, in 2023 I ran at least one 26.2+ miler, but twice trained as if I was going to run the full distance (the latter to ensure I was fit for hiking in Peru).  These past two years both included a two-week long travel imposed break from running.  Heck, this year I only ran two runs that were a half marathon distance or more (a full training schedule includes at least 9...10 if you count the marathon) and yet somehow I finished within 20 miles of last year's total.  I finished 2024 with more miles than the last two years I ran full marathon races (2019, 2020).

That said, I actually should be able to run as many as 1,482 miles if I merely run my four week between-marathon training schedule.  I only ran more than this total once in all of the years I have run marathons.  In other words, I usually fall short of distance targets or missed training days for various reasons (injuries, illness, air quality, work, travel).  I know I had an injury in 2019.  Can't remember if I had any issues in 2023 (a quick review of 2023's year end report mentions injury and illness), but I did have two big falls this year neither of which caused me to skip any running days.  That said, I did think the first of the two might have bruised or even cracked a rib (not a totally different one than the one injured in 2022 and 2023).  My wife is starting to wonder how frequently I injure myself.  She didn't realize running is a full contact sport!

I am a little disappointed that I did NOT improve my pace in 2024. I actually lost a couple of seconds per mile over 2023, but that is the downside of not including any races or race-like efforts.  The big differentiator was March of 2023, when I finished a marathon training cycle ahead of running my personal "Sea to the Sea" marathon.  Though I did not run it like a race, I still completed the distance faster than 10 minutes per mile.  I also find that ramping up the distance for an endurance event and then tapering tends to naturally gives me a boost. That said, I didn't see the same boost when I tapered ahead of Peru...likely because I wasn't worried about taking an excessively long time to do a single 26.2 mile run!

There is hope though...I finished the year completing a mile challenge in 6:33, besting the times I set in 2022 and 2023 by half a minute!  I've also shed quite a bit of weight, but for reasons outside of running.

One Bud Flatlines

Just over a week ago, on runs leading up to a rare business trip, one of my Galaxy Buds+ earbuds starts refusing a charge, the left earbud.  I did all sorts of things to try and get it working again, from cleaning it, to resetting it...jiggling it in its case trying to trigger the green charging light...but nothing works.

I decide to pack both my failing Buds+ and my new Buds Pro.

The funny thing is that I have not been willing to run with my newer buds...partly due to how much more expensive they are (though mine was included in the price of my S24 Ultra), but mostly because of how much I have liked my Buds+.  Yes, I am the same guy who bitched and moaned when Samsung dropped the headphone jack from the Galaxy series of phones, but my Buds+ have outlasted any of the wired headsets that shipped with my phones over the years, likely reduced the wear and tear on my SPIbelts (since nothing needs to protrude from the0 zipper pouch), and I no longer worry about tugging on a wire pinched to my chest shirt (lost many clips).  

I really appreciate the Bud Pro's active noise cancelling...works well to filter out the portable AC in my home office when I need to join an online meeting during a hot day, to listen to alternate content when my wife is watching a show I'm not interested in...and I loved using them during my recent five hour flights.  I do not plan to use the noise cancelling while running (too dangerous...I don't even hear my foot falls), but I fully expect they will last longer (a Bud+ dying during a run had been a pretty rare thing until now).

For this morning's run, though, I somehow tricked one of my dying Bud+ to give me one more run.  It came back to life with what appeared to be a 100% charge, but I decided to run with it while it was actively connected with my phone.  Much to my surprise, it lasted the entire 8 mile run...but it didn't look like it would.  15 minutes into my run, it had already dropped to 32%.  30 minutes later, it was down to 28%.  An hour into my run, a really strange thing happened...the charge went up to 33%!  But that was a short-lived gain as the watch dropped back to 27% over the next half hour.  When I finally got home, the bud's charge was -1% (yes, below zero), but it was still playing audio. I returned it to its case at 10:40am on August 18, 2024.

That would be the last time I ever heard audio from the left earbud.  It would never accept another charge.  Even worse, the bud would rapidly drain the case's battery (it was so bad, that I thought the case was failing).  But the right bud continues to hold a charge and, with only the right bud in the case, the case still provides a week worth of charging before it needs to be plugged in.

I continue to run with a single bud and will continue to do so until it dies.  And then I will consider running with my Buds Pro.

Year End Report 2023

My last run of 2023 was rain delayed into the afternoon, but not abbreviated, deterred or deferred to 2024.  I wanted to do at least 10 miles and was determined to see what yesterday's high tide and waves did to our local beaches, so there was a decent amount of elevation change.  I was especially glad I dressed for cold weather because the overcast sky kept afternoon temperatures unusually cool, noticeably dropping as I climbed towards my neighborhood.  With this final run, I managed to beat my annual average pace (not hard to do) and return home before the sun (which finally appeared through thinning clouds) dipped below the hill.

I clocked nearly 1,376 miles running in 2023, my third highest annual total behind 2021 (1,538) and 2012 (1,406) and easily beating 2020 (1,320).  If I factor in walking and hiking activities, I match 2012's running total.  Since I resumed running in 2007, I've totaled over 1,000 miles in nearly twice as many years as under 1,000.  That all said, I am somewhat disappointed in my performance this year.  As with last year, my goal was to focus on pace, not distance.  And I continue to get slower...10:33 per mile was my average annual pace.  In terms of total time spent running, this year is second behind 2021...I spent 25 more hours than 2012 to run 30 fewer miles.  I'd very much like to reverse this trend.  Reducing my total mileage and increasing my pace should help me get quite a bit of time back.

The two things that consistently help me improve pace are track intervals and registering for races. I entered my first race since the pandemic (The Hills Are Alive 10K) and finished in just under 51 minutes...not my best time, but certainly not my worst.  I barely did any track intervals in 2023, but did end the year with a 7:01 mile (beating the mile challenge I did in 2022 by a few seconds).  Still, I should be able to run in the 6's...and my annual average should be under 10 minutes per mile.  I will need to register for more 10Ks and maybe even half marathons before I attempt another 26.2.

I was really feeling the distance in 2023, especially as I approached the end of my second marathon training schedule. Though I was not planning to attempt a second 26.2 mile run within the calendar year, I felt I needed the routine to improve my fitness by October since my wife and I had planned a few high altitude hikes during a bucket list trip to Peru.  As our travel date approached, I started feeling like I needed more recovery time between runs. I started waking up with really sore heels and found wearing sandals with arch support helped reduce foot pain whenever I walked on our hardwood floors, especially on cold mornings.  Long runs were again aggravating an old ankle injury.

In mid-August, shortly after the Hills Are Alive run, I had a pretty hard fall during a 14 mile run.  I initially thought the way I tumbled into the fall had reduced the force of impact since I was able to resume running.  It wasn't until I lay in bed afterwards that I realized I had likely bruised or re-injured the rib I broke a year before. This injury didn't affect my routine as much as the previous one, but it did make sleeping uncomfortable until I found a position that didn't aggravate the pain...at least a month later.

I didn't run for two weeks due to our trip to Peru and then got sick shortly after we returned...a nasty cough made running impossible until I had completely shaken it.  And I had really been looking forward to getting a performance boost from having spent time approaching 16,000 feet above sea level.  Oh well.

So the trick in 2024 will be to increase pace but not so much that I accelerate injuries.  Increasing my ratio of trail to road runs should help (as will frequenting the track).  Not attempting a marathon training schedule until I'm naturally running faster will likely be the key to success.

Year End Report 2022

In terms of my running routine, this year ends on an unusual note.  I had planned to do my long run today so I could take a break tomorrow, but ended up running it yesterday afternoon.  I rarely run on Fridays.  I can't remember the last time I ran after lunch.  This morning, I proceeded with my usual short run, but as a track workout...without any plan to run on New Year's Day.

If you recall, I completed last year with a personal record in terms of total mileage, so my goal for this year was to work on pace.  I pretty much failed to do this.  This morning's track workout was one of only a few I attempted to do in 2022.  I took a page out of Vic's book and did a mile challenge.  I did it in 7:04... nowhere close to a PR.  In past years, I strived to break the six minute mile barrier...not seven. In some ways, I'm happier I managed a 7:39 during the seventh mile of Friday's eight miler. That said, I'm still considering this a win because very few of my miles this year have been under eight.  

My annual average pace slowed back into the mid-tens (10:29/mile to be specific) after being just under ten in 2021.

About the only goal I successfully hit was running fewer miles...cracking 1,200 with yesterday's run and finishing with just over 1,206.  So what exactly went wrong?

Well, I lost roughly ten weeks of training due to travel, injury, and illness.

I spent much of February traveling in Tanzania and Rwanda...my first trip since the pandemic began, first time my wife and I visited Africa, our first genuine safari, a pandemic deferred 25th anniversary celebration combined with my milestone birthday...a bucket list item boldly checked.  There is really no way to run while staying in safari camps, so I didn't even bother to pack running gear (plus bush flights have significant luggage weight limits and much of my allotment was reserved for camera equipment and batteries)...but we did a bit of hiking (which included mountain gorilla and golden monkey trekking).

I am nearly certain I cracked a rib in a freak non-running accident in April.  The injury sidelined me for six weeks. Around the end of May, shortly after I had resumed running, I caught COVID-19.  By the time I finally shook its lingering cough, my pace had significantly slowed and it took awhile to get back on track. I completely lost track of time and didn't realize I hadn't started on a full marathon training schedule until I couldn't possibly complete it within 2022.  And then, just as I was getting comfortable running longer runs, I got sick again...with a fever....just before Thanksgiving.

PSA: Don't Use Equestrian Trails

 Every year I forget how torn up the equestrian trails get during the rainy season.  Last week we had a few consecutive days of rain (rare for the Los Angeles area)...Friday being the first dry day.  I just just assumed that five days would be enough time for the wetness to evaporate, but we have also dealt with unusually cold daytime temperatures.  So there are still many muddy patches on our local equestrian trails (the tunnel under Crenshaw Blvd is still flooded!)

But even the dry patches are no fun to run on right now...the ground is really chewed up.  It's not just uneven, but there are some especially large ditches in the downhill stretches, obviously carved by flowing water.  One wrong step and I could easily trip or twist an ankle.

The hard packed dirt trail on the Palos Verdes Drive North median strip is still in pretty good shape...it rarely gets affected by the rain.  That said, this latest storm toppled a tree across the entire median and into another tree, so that trail is currently obstructed.

In other words, I'll run upon roads more than trails for the foreseeable future...

Year End Report 2021

I just finished my last run for 2021, ending my year just shy of 1,538 total running miles...a new PR!  If I include walking/hiking mileage, I would nearly reach 1,600! Not too shabby for running an entire year within a pandemic and without any races for motivation.

But my stated goal for 2021 was to run faster, not longer.  Not having regular access to the local high school's track adversely affected my training.  I did not get in nearly as many speed-focused workouts as I needed to see any substantial improvements in my pace.  Though I hate running in circles, intervals on a track are far better than on rolling hills with varying grades.  It's hard to gauge exertion and progress without consistent conditions.

That said, I did manage to improve my average running pace (9:37 per mile vs 9:43 in 2020)...but my fastest month was March.  It should have been November.  I am also very surprised that I ended the year with my slowest month (the only month my pace decreased into the 10's...10:03 per mile to be specific). If I subtract December, my average for the year drops to 9:35 per mile.  Usually I see an uptick when I run a marathon, but I ran mine at the beginning of the month...so most of the month was spent recovering.  And, as I keep pointing out, this marathon was not at a race pace.

An annual average of 6 to 8 seconds faster per mile doesn't seem like a big win, but I suppose it is still a substantial achievement when you consider how many more total miles I ran in 2021 than in any previous year.  I was nine years younger when I last exceeded 1,400 miles!  Of course, that's also when averaging 9:03 per mile was something of a disappointment...because I averaged 8:45 per mile in 2011!

My goal for 2022 will be to bring my average closer to 9 flat.  Is this achievable without racing?  I think so.  If I don't have at least one month where I average 9 flat, I will be terribly disappointed.