Exercise in futility

Given the migration to Facebook instead of blogging, posting anything to my blog is likely mostly akin to a note to myself, but so be it. My progress in running has been frustrating. I can't seem to really improve my endurance. My speed is gone - any time I try to push the pace, my right leg stops working properly. I am convinced it is all related to some long standing back issues I have had. I was diagnosed in high school with Spondylolisthesis. Over the past 8 years or so, I have experienced some disc degeneration and this seems to be aggravating the condition. I had hoped to keep it at bay with extra core strengthening, but this doesn't seem to be gaining anything.

I hope I can continue training and build up miles this spring and summer, as I am already entered in White River and Cascade Crest.

As I get slower, daughter Kelsey gets faster. At a recent track meet for CWU, she ran a 5:18 1500 meters, a 69 second leg in a 4 x 400 relay, and a 2:33 800 meters, all in a single afternoon. She complained about the 800 being slow. All the improvement in leg turnover bodes well for next fall's XC season.

I did manage to finish Chuckanut this year. My time of 5:26 wasn't fast, but it was great to see a lot of old friends again and get to run with the Guide Dog for several miles. The last 10k was a challenge. Ended up walking much more than I should have.

Oh well, enough of this post to myself - back to work.