Sun, Apr 19-Sat, Apr 25

Sun Apr 19: PM. In Deerfield, ran 40 laps (16k) on the track in 64:50 (6:30, 6:25, 6:30, 6:28, 6:27, 6:20, 6:24, 6:20, 6:28, 6:55). I was hoping to go at least 35k, but I hit a wall after only 15. Burned out from work. The knee was ok at least. It was mostly cloudy, windy and around 50°.

Mon Apr 20: AM. Ran 10 mins. Felt dizzy and out of sorts. Must’ve gotten some bad weed. PM. A 68 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. Tired, but much better than this morning. It was mostly sunny and in the upper 40s.

Tues Apr 21: AM. A 78 min run on the SW Path, Monroe St, the Wingra Creek Path, over trails in the arboretum, and on the Capital City Trail. It was mostly sunny and 54°. PM. A 78 min run on the Capital City Trail. Left hamstring was a little sore, but got better. Knee was good. It was sunny and 75°.

Wed Apr 22: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. Darkness gave way to clear skies, temp 51°. No time for a second run.

Thurs Apr 23: AM. In Deerfield, A 60 min on-shift run doing loops around the station. Started to wake up about 45 mins in. It was sunny and around 60°.

Fri Apr 24: PM. A 90 min run around Lake Monona. Felt tired and irritable. Have a headache from too much driving and not enuff sleep. It was partly cloudy and 64°. PM2 A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and over residential streets. Still tired, but better than first run (about an hour ago). It was sunny and in the 60s.

Sat Apr 25: AM. In New Glarus, A 2 hour run on the Sugar River Trail. Left hamstring was quite sore getting started but loosened up as run went on. It was sunny and in the 50s-60s. PM. A 32 min run over residential streets in Maple Bluff. It was sunny and around 60°.

Despite the long hours and all the shit I’ve been force-fed at work, my right knee has been holding up well. I’ve been doing PT exercises as often as I can. Ever since the Madcity 33 ⅓ k a couple weeks ago, it’s my left hamstring/butt that’s been bugging me. I’m not too worried about that though- it tends to improve the more I run.

I am signed up for the La Crosse Marathon next week. Given my current fitness, I plan to treat it like a training run, starting at an easy pace and maybe picking it up toward the end (if my knee and hamstring and the rest of my body is still in one piece). I think I’ll be okay if I can just get a few hours of good sleep on my 48-hour shift (Tues-Wed this coming week).

Sun, Apr 12-Sat, Apr 18

 Sun Apr 12: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was mostly cloudy, windy, and 64°.

Mon Apr 13: AM. A 62 min run with the old man over residential streets in Maple Bluff. Knee was noticeable but never became painful. Mix of sun and clouds, temp in the low 60s. PM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was cloudy with a brief shower towards the end. Temp of 72°.

Tues Apr 14: AM. A 50 min run with the old man on the Cannonball Path and Military Ridge Trail. It was partly cloudy and 60°.

Wed Apr 15: AM. A 90 min run on the Capital City Trail and Yahara Riverway Trail. It was cloudy and 60°. PM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was mostly cloudy and in the 60s.

Thurs Apr 16: AM. A 68 min run on the Capital City Trail and Starkweather Creek Path. Knee felt okay, but my left hamstring/butt was sore. It was cloudy early, then became more sunny, temp in the mid 50s.

Fri Apr 17: AM. A 68 min run on the SW Path, Monroe St, the Wingra Creek Path and the Capital City Trail. Knee was noticeable but never became painful. Left butt/hamstring area is still sore, though better. It was dark and foggy with a temp of 56°.

Sat Apr 18: PM. Did 10 x Walsh Rd Hills (60-65 seconds). Only chance to run during shift. No time to cool down or stretch afterwards. It was partly cloudy and around 40°.

I’m burned out. Ran calls almost non-stop all day and night for two days straight. Other than saving a few poor dilapidated souls and getting in a short hill workout, the only good thing that came out of this last 48-hour work shift was that I was able to complete an application for Belleville EMS. I can’t stand to work at Ryan Bros any longer. My knee is slowly getting better, but spending 25 hours a day sitting in an ambulance can’t be good for it (or the rest of my body). A change of scenery (and hopefully a change in pace) might be the best “physical therapy” I can get.

Sun, Apr 5-Sat, Apr 11

 Sun Apr 5: AM. In Marshfield, A 60 min run with the old man over the northwest corner route. Knee was pain-free. It was partly sunny and 29°.

Mon Apr 6: AM. A 35 min run with the old man over residential streets on the east side of Mfld. Pain-free. It was partly cloudy and 33°. PM. A 30 min run on the Veterans PKWY Trail and over residential streets. Knee was okay, but had stomach cramps from eating too much before running. It was mostly cloudy and 34°.

Tues Apr 7: AM. Physical Therapy Appointment. PM. In Sun Prairie, A 90 min run over trails in Sheehan Park, on Linnerud Dr, and over residential streets. Knee was slightly noticeable, but never became painful. It was sunny and in the 30s.

Wed Apr 8: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. Knee was okay. It was dark and 33°. AM2 In Deerfield, ran 5 mins worth of loops around the station till a call came in.

Thurs Apr 9: AM. In Deerfield, ran 39 mins worth of loops around the station till a call came in. Tired from lack of sleep. It was sunny and 45°.

Fri Apr 10: AM. In Deerfield, A 45 min sleep-deprived run on the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It was cloudy and 43°. PM. A 55 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. Knee + rest of body are achy and tired from spending about 40 of the last 48 hours sitting in an ambulance. It was mostly sunny and around 50°.

Sat Apr 11: AM. Ran 2 hours 30 mins of the Madcity 50k before dropping out at 33 ⅓k. When I signed up for this race last December, I was planning on using it as a workout, running the first, third, and fifth 10k loops fast (maybe 5:45ish pace) and the second and fourth 10k loops at a more comfortable 6:30+ pace. With my recent knee injury, there was no chance of that happening. So instead, my new goal was just to make it thru 30k and hope my knee could hold up for that long. I went thru 30k in 2:12:09 (~7:05 pace) and my knee was still feeling okay so I decided to go a few more K’s. This was really tough. I am very much out of shape from the lack of running in the past couple months and the lack of sleep in the past couple days. The weather was perfect though- Beautiful sunny morning with no wind and a temp in the 30s when starting off, warming up to around 50° by the end.

I made the switch from 8 hour shifts to 48 hour shifts this week- worked from 8:00 AM Wednesday to 8:00 AM Friday. I was hoping I could get a little more running in and a lot more sleep on this shift, but I ended up spending almost the entire shift in the ambulance doing calls- not good for my knee! Only slept (lightly) for about six hours total in the 48 hour shift.

Time to catch up on z’s and running before the next 48er (Friday April 17).

Sun, Mar 29-Sat, Apr 4

 Sun Mar 29: AM. In Belleville, A 65 min joggle on the Badger State Trail. I think juggling helped to take my mind off my achy knee. It was partly sunny and in the 40s.

Mon Mar 30: AM. Ran 15 mins before rt knee became too painful. It was sunny and in the 40s.  PM. No second run—too nice out—sunny and 76°.

Tues Mar 31 - DNR - Resting knee.

Wed Apr 1 - DNR - Resting knee.

Thurs Apr 2 - DNR - Resting knee.

Fri Apr 3: AM. A 25 min run on the Capital City Trail. Pain-free. It was cloudy and around 40°. PM. A 25 min run on the Capital City Trail. Knee started acting up about 15 minutes in, but never became painful. It was raining and 42°.

Sat Apr 4: AM. A 35 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path. Knee was good. It was 39° and drizzly. PM. In Marshfield, jogged to the track, ran 2 miles in 11:45, jogged back. Knee was noticeable, but never became painful. The next couple days will be the real test.

My knee got bad again after Sunday’s joggle. I took 3 days off after that and it’s been okay. I’m really hoping to get back to big mileage soon, but for now, I think I’m just going to have to be patient.

The uptempo two mile on Saturday didn’t bother my knee much at all, but I don’t think I could’ve another 5:52 mile—my marathon pace of a few months ago is about what my 5k pace is now. If my knee can just stay healthy tho, I know my fitness will come around.