Christmas Morning Along the American River

Time: 126:14
Distance: 30.03k
Pace: 4:12/k
Map

My mom, Meagan and I arrived at my cousin's house in Sacramento late last night after a Christmas Eve church service that I was dragged to attend. The highlight was not lighting a candle, listening to Christmas carols or seeing a junior high classmate, though those were all fine. The best part was seeing Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives (Triple D) hanging out with his family just like a normal guy. It brought back memories of the summer in Oklahoma where I got to meet him just up the street from my shitty apartment on Main St.

Being Christmas morning we got to watch the kiddos open their presents before heading out for a run. The goal this morning was to have Meagan run 30k on tired legs at a good clip. The hills of Annadel has both us feeling like hobby joggers. Our route would take us from the house, run 2 kilometers to the bike path along the American River, out to the 15k mark and then back. Hopefully, the pace would gradually pick up and we would be running between 3:55 and 4:10 per kilometer. That's not crazy fast, but certainly an honest effort given where Meagan is at with her training.

Splits:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	2:06:13.9	30.03	4:12
1	5:06.3	1.00	5:06
2	4:38.8	1.00	4:39
3	4:39.2	1.00	4:39
4	4:14.4	1.00	4:14
5	4:14.3	1.00	4:14
6	4:09.4	1.00	4:09
7	4:09.9	1.00	4:10
8	4:06.8	1.00	4:07
9	4:05.3	1.00	4:05
10	4:05.5	1.00	4:05
11	4:05.4	1.00	4:05
12	3:59.0	1.00	3:59
13	3:59.6	1.00	4:00
14	4:03.5	1.00	4:04
15	4:09.9	1.00	4:10
16	4:08.4	1.00	4:08
17	3:57.7	1.00	3:58
18	4:02.4	1.00	4:02
19	4:06.7	1.00	4:07
20	4:02.6	1.00	4:03
21	4:06.8	1.00	4:07
22	4:04.6	1.00	4:05
23	4:05.4	1.00	4:05
24	4:01.9	1.00	4:02
25	4:06.8	1.00	4:07
26	4:02.6	1.00	4:03
27	4:01.4	1.00	4:01
28	4:39.0	1.00	4:39
29	4:26.2	1.00	4:26
30	4:25.6	1.00	4:26
31	:08.7	0.03	4:11

As you can see, the pace dropped gradually and was pretty much locked in at 5k. The splits from 6k until 27k ranged from 3:58 to 4:10 with most being about 4:05. The terrain dictated the pace as some sections had brief inclines. Meagan was working at about 20 kilometers, but I think it was more due to a hot spot developing in her right foot.

It was good to accomplish this workout in the morning as we were able to enjoy a great Christmas with family the rest of the afternoon. Let's just say I won't have to curtail my Starbucks' coffee habit anytime soon.

A Run and Some Needles

Time: 61:47
Distance: 8.6 miles

I ran with Meagan this morning on the same loop as yesterday. Felt good, but not great. Healing is taking place each day which is all I can ask for.

This evening I had the opportunity to have Dr. Scott Greenapple of Greenapple Sports & Wellness take a look at my achilles. Everybody in Charlotte who is a runner knows Dr. G and many of the Charlotte Panthers do too. He asked me if it was the attachment or the area just above the achilles (the fleshy part) because treatment is very different. Greenapple performed a fews tests, did laser and then brought me into the eastern medicine room.

Me eagerly and patiently waiting for Dr. Greenapple to bring the healing... and needles.

I think Dr. Greenapple took joy in "threading" my achilles.

Close up shot of the achilles threading and my gross foot.

This was the first time I've ever had acupuncture and I immediately took a liking. The doc said he was using bigger needles than normal because I wasn't flinching much when he inserted them. Who's tough? This guy. What I found most interesting was that I asked Greenapple if he had hooked me up to the electrodes yet (which he hadn't) because I was already feeling some sort of sensation. It was similar to the electric response you feel in the early stages of being hooked up to a stim machine, that little tingling and vibrating. He said the Chinese call that "daichi" or "dachi" (I can't find the actual term now that I'm looking on the interwebs. My Chinese spelling isn't the greatest and all I can find is a video to a really good beatboxer named Daichi or a karate pose that is Dachi). Anyway, I had a great response to the needles being inserted and thought favorably of the treatment. My hope is that a lot of blood flowed to the achilles and sparked some an increased level of healing.