My Running Update: 11/12

My running has been a little spotty lately. I had been experiencing a soreness on my right side for about 2-3 weeks. Although running didn’t seem to exacerbate it, it wasn’t pleasant either. Also, I had been changing my running to a more outdoors, on-the-road type of activity and used my YMCA’s treadmill less often. While this represents a step forward in my training, it also breaks up a simple routine I had established, the YMCA being very close to my home and convenient.

On October 21, I ran an eight-mile loop around far-northern Gainesville nonstop. It was easily the longest I had run non-stop since early 1975. I didn’t seem to be much the worse for wear after the run, but then again it may have been one of the contributing factors to my soreness. But I was still in enough shape to complete the Florida Track Club’s Dog Days 5-K Run on November 1.

I’m trying to come up with a better format to list my training runs on this blog. The way I’ve been doing it is very tedious. I saw on another running blog how the writer was able to copy and paste a spreadsheet showing his training record onto his blog. That seems to be the road for me to take as well, although it seems that a database file would work better. When I compile it, I’ll insert it at a later date at the end of this entry.

As for my training, I do think I’ve found a course comparable to the old “block” I used to run around in Davie, Florida (encompassing the Broward Community College/Nova educational complex) when I was much younger. It’s about the same distance around (three miles) and has long stretches free of serious traffic concerns. It also was the site of two of the races I’ve run so far!

I think I will run in the next race in December. Titled the “Jingle Bell Run”, it will be held on the University of Florida campus and is once again being put on by the Florida Track Club. It, like the last race I ran, will be a 5-kilometer run.

Click on the image below to enlarge (yes, I figured out a method):