Still 2000?

 End of the year 2023 is approaching. So is 2000 miles. In your face, younger me.

Still 2000

Got 2000 miles done in 2021 and also 2022.

Pace is just getting slower.

2000

 Yup. Just got 2000 miles done. And also a week over 100km. It's been awhile. 

I'm still running

I'm slower than 2018, but what the hell... Got 2000 miles in during 2019. Maybe I will do more competitions this year. Who knows.

Back at it. Sort of...

Oh yes. I'm back. Slower and older than ever before. This spring I reached a team silver medal in master's  CC nationals. What a achievement!!! Jokes aside, I'm pretty happy that despite the Achilles tendinitis (13.5 months and counting) I've been able to jog, run and even race couple of times. Not so fast, but still. 

I've been also into orienteering (with a clear understanding of my skills and level) and found myself lost in the woods maybe too many times (3 to be exact). I ran two legs in Jukola relay (one is allowed, but I had to help another team), and thereafter, surprise, I faced yet another injury. Peroneus tendinitis hit me faster than I could say blueberry pie. I'm pretty sure that it will be a short time ache. Luckily, both it and AT locate in my right leg so I can walk and do similar stuff. 

Yippee.

This blog is dying

It's partly because my identity as a runner is dying out, as well. I still pretend to be a triathlete, which is sad, because I basically suck at it. 

Accordingly, maybe I will focus on running this forthcoming season. But then again I oooooold fart. This is difficult, albeit fun learning experience. Finding a new me.

Quick update

I got back on the road after 3 weeks. Then I got hit by a car while biking to work. Only hurt my knee, but otherwise nothing special happened. But in between I have been battling on and off with a man flu. So, I have soon missed soon 2 months of running. 

News flash

I'm injured. Again.

This time I sprained my right ankle pretty badly. After 8 days it is still blueish.

But no bones were broken.

Accordingly, the fall racing season is postponed. Currently my first race for this fall might be a 5k in Florida in November.

Shoes and thresholds

Nowadays I really like New Balance. I used to be friends with Nike (various models between 1989-2010) for many years, then I skipped to Saucony (A5 and Kinwara) and now NB's introduced Fresh Foams. They work well, and they offer a right amount of fallacy for believing that I'm fast. 

Of course the real reason for improved pace and feeling that I have been feeding asphalt for my running shoes despite their brand. The weekly amount is sad, 50-80 km, but the quality is the key. I'm not even close to my peak, but what makes me really glad is the fact that my shape improved quite a bit in 3.5 months. My threshold paces are now at the 2005 level (when I returned from 7 months periods spent with an injury and totally without running if I recall it correctly), but they are way better than what they have been lately. I consider this as a sign for better times. 

Because of couple of short periods of acute injuries I had to skip couple of races, but on Sunday I might race a 10km in a loop which used to be my morning run when I lived with my parents. My PR on that course is just below 32 minutes. I suspect that this is true also on next Monday.

How true are these!??!

Gordon Pirie's Laws of Running

1. Running with correct technique (even in prepared bare feet), on any surface, is injury free. 
2. Running equals springing through the air, landing elastically on the forefoot with a flexed knee (thus producing quiet feet). On landing, the foot should be directly below the body. (Walking is landing on the heels with a straight leg). 
3. Any and all additions to the body damage running skill.
4. Quality beats quantity; the speed at which you practice the most will be your best speed.
5. Walking damages running.
6. The correct running tempo for human beings is between three and five steps per second.
7. Arm power is directly proportional to leg power.
8. Good posture is critical to running. (Don't lean forwards!).
9. Speed kills endurance; endurance kills speed.
10. Each individual can only execute one “Program” at any one time; an individual can be identified by his or her idiosyncrasies (i.e. “Program”). An individual can change his or her “Program” only by a determined, educational effort; each individual's “Program” degenerates unless it is controlled constantly. 
11. Static stretching exercises cause injuries!
12. Running equals being out of breath, so breathing through the mouth is obligatory (hence the nickname “Puff Puff Pirie”).