Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

I made a tough one this morning.

The lungs aren't quite there yet...still working way too hard to move air when my effort increases. I ran a hilly route this morning and my HR shouldn't be in the high 160s at the pace I was at, even running uphill.

So, not wanting to totally crash and burn Saturday, I'll be running with T trying to help her finish in what could be a huge PR.

Time to shift my focus to the fall now.

Not Encouraging In The Least

The last entry I mentioned the run on Saturday that ended up being much harder than it should have due to me suffering from a cold. Remember that one?

Well, even though I'm feeling mucho better and am on my second day sudafed free the way I felt on my run today is not giving me a lot of encouragement for Saturday.

Now, granted it was hot/humid out - my own fault, I violated Summer Running Rule #1 today but it should not have felt like it did. My legs were okay, but my lungs were not up to it, plus my heart rate shouldn't be hitting 170. Nope, not encouraging.

I'm going to get out there much earlier tomorrow and see how it goes, and if that run ends up the same as today's then most likely Saturday's goal race becomes a long run that I get a t-shirt for finishing. Not ideal, but is looking more and more like the intelligent move.

Damn that person who passed on the cold to T.

The Thing I Dread The Most

Having a cold in the summer. It seems like that is the only time of year I get sick anymore. Okay, also having a cold 5 days before a goal race.

I don't advise doing hard effort running while on sudafed (and I don't be the PE shit) or on a day when there is a 98% humidity level. That was Saturday. Completely wore me out.

I think I've turned a corner though...just hope the progress continues.

As Promised: 5/3 Riverbank Run Race Report

The 5/3 Riverbank Run is a tradition here in Grand Rapids. 2010 was the 33rd running of the race, and the race serves as the US Track & Field 25k Road Race National Championship which means there's a good chance of catching a glimpse of recognizable elite athletes. Every year we've been in Michigan I've been asked: are you running Riverbank? by anyone that knows I'm a runner.

In the past I've run the 5k and the 10k they hold in conjunction with the 25k but until this year I'd shied away from the big boy.

With the half marathon at Bayshore being my goal race this spring (Memorial Day weekend) I thought the 25k (which by the way for the metric challenged equals 15.5 miles, 2.4 miles longer than a HM) would give me a great chance to run a bunch of goal pace miles to gauge my fitness level and do it with a bunch of people and support along the course. Plus registration was only $30. That's right, $30, and that was up until about a week before the race. Bargain.

Race day started out perfect. Weather was cool, some rain in the forecast - which held off, and the only thing not working in our favor was the wind. 20-30 mph predicted, not ideal for running in.

We did have a nice moment of hilarity on the walk to the start line. The race course starts and finishes in downtown Grand Rapids, so the city's finest were out directing traffic and closing off roads. We pass an intersection with two, that's right two police vehicles blocking the street and two police officers standing there...as we're walking across the street a young woman swerves and zooms past the officers, goes under a bridge and stops at a red light to make a left turn (her left turn would have put her right on the 5k course). One of the police officers throws his hands up, looks at all of us crossing the street with a "you've got to be kidding me" look and proceeds to walk up to her car and knock on the window. No idea what was said to her, but the fact the police officer was pissed and she was on her cell phone it probably wasn't causal pleasantries.

The goal for the race was to run the first 2.4 miles easy, around 10:30-10:45 pace as a warm-up and then hit the lap button on my garmin and "race" the last 13.1 miles in an attempt to see how long I could hold my goal pace of 9:30/mile.

First miles went by with out incident - except for a bathroom break due to cold diuresis - and as we hit the 2.4 mile mark I wished T good luck (she was also running the 25k and trying to execute the same type of plan I was), hit the lap button and took off.

It was a pretty good feeling passing folks, because that's pretty much what I did for the next two hours. I walked a few water stops, but for the most part I held a pace between 9:30 and 9:45 until I hit 3.1 miles to go when I tried to push a bit. I had to take a walk break right about 1 mile to go, hit the lap button as I crossed the sign telling us 1 mile to go and took off for the finish running a 8:45 pace for that mile.

Chip time: 2:34:29

Using my garmin (which auto paused when I stopped to pee and retie my shoe) times and taking out the first 2.4 miles it worked out that I ran a 2:06:21 HM. Not great but not shabby either.

I was very pleased how the day went. Loved the course - a significant portion of the course is also used for the GR Marathon in the fall, just in reverse - and can definitely say I'll be running this race again.

The End is Finally Here

Due to a craptastic weather forecast last Friday evening (the weather reality was not of the Minnow wreaking proportions predicted) the conference track meet was postponed until today.

Starting at 4 pm. That's right, 4 pm. Which means the meet will end approximately sometime around 10:00 pm.

BUT, it is the last home event to be covered. So that is a positive.

Also, there are only 11 work days left. That, is also a positive.

Long Weekend

We had a long weekend, not in the sense of an extra day or two included in the weekend, but a jam packed weekend of fun and frivolity.

Saturday was the first goal race of the spring for me - the 5/3 Riverbank Run 25k. More on that in an upcoming post.

T and I planned to see Iron Man 2 on Sunday, so that took up a good chunk of the late morning/early afternoon. Good movie by the way. Excellent sequel that avoided the usual traps that befall sequels to big budget blockbusters. Then we had tickets to see the Goo Goo Dolls Sunday night.

Great show - second time I've seen 'em - that capped off an exceptional weekend.

The weekend set the tone for the upcoming week, and really for the rest of May as things slowly wind down for me at work. God, it's nice to see the calendar turn to May.

Nature vs Nurture

It's an age old debate, nature vs. nurture, with some convincing arguments on both sides.

Read The Talent Code. It's not a lot of pages, easy to read, but there is a wealth of information there to be mined. If you're in any profession where you teach or coach you need to read this book.

Something To Think About

Mental Toughness

Yet another great post by Vern Gambetta that makes me think not only about the athletes I have worked with in the past but also the ones I see everyday, plus it makes me think about my own current fluctuations in training.

It certainly feels like I've lost a bit of the edge when it comes to training I had a few short years ago. Yes, I'm logging miles but I'll have a great week followed by a week that I take 2-3 days off. The uncertainty of my work schedule plays a role but I think a big portion of it is simply that I'm letting myself off the hook too much. I'm not bringing my "A" game.

I don't want to just go through the motions so as things wind down at work over the next 10 days or so my goal is to figure out exactly what my "A" game is and working on making my mental discipline a bit better.

Treading Water

I have a love/hate relationship with the spring.

Love: the weather, cool and crisp mornings that turn into beautiful days with the temps in the 60s, nights with no bugs, general rebirth of the frozen wasteland that this place becomes in the winter

Hate: the spring sport schedules. All of them are weather dependent, have no time limits, and take on average 5-6 hours to complete on a daily basis.

So that's why I've been scarce with the posting, I'm trying to tread water and not drown in the chaos that is my spring. Life will return to normal (for the most part) in two weeks. A fortnight. I can make it through that! Can't I?

Must Watch

"Only One Way Out Of The World"

Interesting title huh? Comes from the song "Why I Am" by the Dave Matthews Band and is extremely fitting for a blog post where I sum up the events of the last 6 weeks or so....

We said good-bye to my Mom on Tuesday. Her battle with cancer ended on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at approximately 11:05 a.m. The latest rounds of the battle were fought over the last 12 months or so, and while she fought valiantly, ultimately that bastard of a disease won. Her chemotherapy treatments really took their toll on her since about August or September and six weeks ago she received her last treatment. After that it was just a matter of time, since there is only one way out of this life...

So you can understand that things sort of fell by the wayside as my family began to adjust to, and cope with the reality of her final days. I was able to have a great visit with about two weeks before she passed, and I am grateful I took advantage of that visit to tell her how much I loved and appreciated her efforts into helping make me the person I am today.

She celebrated her 72nd birthday last Thursday. Late that afternoon her condition warranted moving to the hospice care facility where she would spend her last hours surrounded by her friends and family. She left this world the way she had expressed to me that she wanted to: she went to sleep and didn't wake up.

I'm still coming to grips with the gravity of the situation, and I miss her dearly, but I am very thankful that her ordeal is over.

The event that resonates the most with me from Tuesday: Over the last few years my mother gather with a group of women that she attended elementary school with, that's correct, elementary school, for lunch on a regular basis. I had a great conversation with one of those women who related to me how much she admired my mother's strength as she confronted the disease. That meant so much to me...that and she told me that my Mom was extremely proud of me. What more could a person want?

She leaves behind a husband of 48 years, three children, and three grandchildren. She touched many lives. She will be remembered by many.

I will miss her. I will try to carry her spirit with me and demonstrate it in my daily life. What better memorial could there be than that?

Priorites

Learned a valuable lesson yesterday.

This time of the year, spring sports seasons, I have very little control over my schedule due to a variety of factors: weather, spur of the moment scheduling changes, events that have no time limits, etc, etc.

The lesson? I've got to make my stuff a priority when I can. No putting of a run until the afternoon because the afternoon while clear on my calendar might be spent at the baseball field. No putting off that phone call, or paperwork because I might have to be at a softball game. You get the idea.

I'm fortunate that my work day typically doesn't start until mid-morning, so I've got the time. I just need to spend that time more judiciously.

I need to be a bit selfish. Me first. Because if I take care of me first, then I'll be in a better frame of mind to tackle the events of the rest of my day. Then everyone wins.

Apologies

I need to go on the record with an apology.

I haven't been able to update this as frequent as of late due to circumstances beyond my control. My family is dealing with some end of life issues right now, and while I will at some point talk about all the stuff bouncing around my head right now because of that I'm unsure of how to do so without airing familial dirty laundry and violating privacy.

Right now it's hard to put things into words, so I'm going to refrain for the time being.

I'm still alive and kicking and trying to get ready for my two goal races this spring, and I'm updating the reading list over there on the right just so all 4 of you don't think I've fallen into a giant hole and can't get out.

I promise there will be an update this weekend - excellent chance there will be great news to share after a 5k on Saturday.

Grading Scale

In the classes I teach the grading scale says that 87-89.9% is a B+, 90-92.9 is a B, and 93-100 is an A. (Don't get me started on +/- grading scales...still haven't been able to get anyone to tell me why there isn't an A+ and if there really is a big enough difference between an 86.9 and a 87 to warrant that little "+", and no it's the grading scale the Athletic Training Education Program uses so no, I can't change it.)

Sorry for the diatribe.

87%. A solid, above average (no matter what scale you use) effort we would all agree? Good.

Then I had a solid, above average week of running last week. Schedule called for 32 miles and I ran 87% of that amount, or 27.8. Most importantly though, I learned some things, most of which fall under the I'm not doing all that I can to give myself a chance to succeed category:

• I need to get more consistent sleep.
• I'm not eating good enough throughout the day
• I'm definitely not refueling correctly after runs, especially after hard, quality runs that are on my schedule now.
• I'm not doing enough ancillary work (foam roller, strengthening, etc).
• I've totally abandoned any other form of workout besides running.

So what am I going to do with all of this knowledge you ask? I've already made on small change to re-incorporate some general hip/leg strengthening back into my regimen and I'm working on adding back in some of the other things that have fallen to the wayside - slowly. I'm trying to avoid throwing so much stuff at myself that I can't get it all done. Add one thing each week and then build on it.

One thing I'm working on this week? Lights out at 10 pm. I'll let you know how it goes.

Gaps

I realize that some time has passed since my last post here...not for the lack of anything to say, just not enough time to say it, and not sure how to say it.

But I'm not giving up on this, just waiting for things to settle down a bit.

So check back in a day or two.

What We Need

I'm not really a fan of sports.

Okay, I am, but I don't buy into the cliches people like to banter about regards sports. You know things like "sports build character", "sports teaches life lessons", "sports show us that if you work hard you can be a champion". Makes. Me. Want. To. Puke.

Sports do teach us lessons, except they are things like this: if you're talented people will fawn over you, if you're talented the rules don't apply to you, if you're talented you can be lazy and not have to work and still be successful, if you're talented people will make excuses for you, and most importantly if you're bigger/faster/stronger than your opponent 7.5-8 times out of 1o you'll win.

Why this post?

Because of this post.

That's the problem with sports. The inmates are running the asylum.

Ponder This

Lots of not-so-fun-but-part-of-being-an-adult-so-get-your-big-boy-pants-on-and-deal-with-it stuff going on in my world as of late.

I'm a regular listener to the Phedippidations podcast and last week's episode talked about this essay by Dr. George Sheehan, "Is Running A Religion?"

We all deal with things differently, seek solace in different places, but take a few minutes to read that essay. I know running has been, and continues to be, a place that I find renewal. Well, that is when I'm able to do it.

Then ask yourself, what is that place of renewal for you.

A Return

So after spending the first two weeks of 2010 in a boot (self imposed) and the first three weeks of 2010 not running my ankle/foot/shin finally responded.

Yesterday was my first official day back in training - okay, so I ran a whopping 2.57 miles last week over three days to see how it would respond - and I actually got to run outside. You can only guess what happened then. That's right, it snowed last night. Have I mentioned how much I love the winters here in west Michigan? So back to the hamster wheel it is for me. Sort of reminds me of Punxsutaweny Phil, see the white stuff scurry back inside. Boring yes, but infinitely less likely to be injured.

The goal this week is about 20-25 miles. Yes, I've had to totally redo my training plan to accommodate a lower peak training mileage (still not pleased about that, but that's what injury forces you to do) but still have the same goal for the HM at Bayshore.

The one positive from all this? I've actually used my portion of the YMCA membership! That and I've gotten in the habit of getting up and getting my workouts done...well, that is until today.

Off The Recent Topics, But of Vital Importance

I saw this link on a friend's blog. Clicked it and after reading it, I've got to post it here. No idea if anyone will follow it and read. I hope they do because it is simply the most cogent defense of gay marriage I've ever read.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/229957

No matter what your stance on the subject, or how you came to your opinion, take the 5-7 minutes it took me to read it and at least be open to hearing the argument.

Progress? Maybe...

Well at least I don't have an x-ray or a MRI in my future...yet.

Had a great conversation with our team doc (and personal physician) today after the basketball game. After a thorough evaluation she agrees with me that while we can't ignore the bony tenderness she thinks it's a soft-tissue issue that has irritated the bone.

I'm supposed to continue to wear the boot and I can cross train, and we will re-evaluate the situation on Wednesday (another home basketball game) and decide if diagnostic testing it warranted.

I also sat down an looked at the calendar: I want at least 16 weeks of training leading into my spring goal race Memorial Day weekend, which means I could push back the re-start of training until Feb 8. So I have some time to let this heal properly, BUT I need to get my ass to the YMCA and try to maintain my fitness.

Setbacks, Nothing But Setbacks

I'm really beginning to develop a loathing for the month of January.

Second year in a row that the ice/snow of West Michigan has thrown me an injury curveball for a called third strike.

I'm officially on the shelf. Well I've been on the shelf since 12/29/09 and tried an easy run yesterday (on the TM of course) that did not go well, so not only am I back on the no running plan for another week but I'm also in a boot. Desperate times call for drastic measures!

Last year it was a run on Jan 8. This year I go into January with an injury. I think I narrowed it down though - all the pain started after I ran outside on 12/23 and 12/24 - so what does that mean? As much as I might not like it, I'm inside until the ground is clear enough to run. So maybe March? April?

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been

I've had a great day. Spent the morning at work/practice - okay maybe that part wasn't great - and then the rest of the day with T. Our original intentions were to see Sherlock Holmes at the 3:30 showing. When we arrived at the theater the parking lot looked like it was Dec 23. The amount of people inside waiting to buy tickets reminded me of a Friday night at 10:00 p.m. when I was in high school so we decided that waiting in line and missing the first 10 minutes of the movie was something we could do without.

Neither one of us wanted to head home, so a trip to the new Barnes & Noble at the fancy mall was in order. Both of us are people that could spend hours in a bookstore - PNW people: goddamn do I miss trips to Portland and Powell's. We managed to kill most of the afternoon there before coming home and fixing a nice dinner and just spending the rest of the night like old, boring people.

But here's the thing: I absolutely loved it.

Then in wanting to kill some time before I headed to bed I went back and read the first year of this thing...1) I can't believe I've got 3.5 years worth of entries on here, 2) people still read the thing...and I realized just how much things have changed, but are still the same: I'm still trying to relate mundane things of my life in a funny way and Erin is still reading! Thanks, big guy.

In all seriousness, 2010 is here and it may still be the hangover of 2009 lingering but I'm not sure it's going to be a good year. I'm going to do my best to make it one, but some things in life are beyond our control, as 2009 reinforced for me. My hopes are high, so you'd better not kick me in the teeth 2010.

What's Old Is New Again

At the beginning of this decade I was someone who utilized a Franklin (now Franklin Covey) planner to stay organized. I was working outside of Nashville, TN, and trying to keep all the responsibilities that went into my job; including but not limited to football, men's basketball, men's/women's tennis, supervising graduate assistants, and teaching class, so I used the planner.

Then technology took over. I've gone from a PDA, to a smartphone, to an iPhone now. Love it. I was able to shed the bulky paper planner and streamline everything into one place. Or two if you count the iMac at home.

But after much contemplation too many things were still falling through the cracks - I've felt I was behind the eight ball for most of 2009 and always felt like I was playing catch up - I'm going back to organizing at least work stuff (still a large number of sports and teaching responsibilities) with a new, thinner, less bulky version of the Franklin planner. I'll let you know how it pans out...

But, the to me the thing that hits home the most? It's a decade later and I still haven't managed to get organized.

Damn you snow!!!!

Yeah, I'm shaking my fist at the snow/ice on the ground like an old crazy man. It's done it to me again this year. Ever since my run outside last Thursday my right ankle has been sore and after my run on the TM yesterday it was even more swollen and pissed off so I have officially put myself on the three day disabled list. Which means I'm done running for 2009. I'm actually going to follow the advice/treatment regimen I would give one of my athletes suffering from the same condition. So there ya have it. Great way to end 2009. At least I hit my mileage goal before I had to pull the plug.

That's A Wrap

Second week of my spring race training schedule in the books. I didn't do as well this week as I did the first, but then I was derailed a bit by the winter storm that hit the 24th into the 25th. Even I'm not crazy enough to run when there is between .1-.2" of ice on the ground, plus it's been snowing constantly since about 7 pm yesterday so the majority of my miles were inside.

Still managed to hit 27 miles for the week, and more importantly I hit my goal mileage for 2009 this week. So I've got that going for me.

One week left in 2009, here's hoping it will be a good one!

What Makes A Runner?

That's a question I've mulled and pondered for a while now, and a question that T and I have debated on many a run together and finally I think I've come up with a answer that I'm comfortable with...well, maybe I'm taking too much credit. Follow the link below and then come back:

John Bingham's Final Column For Runners World

I think that essay says it succinctly and elegantly.

Being a runner isn't about how many miles you run, PRs, or if you've run a marathon or not (or how long it took you). It's not about how many days a week you run, or how many days in a row - you just have to run, and I'm not criticizing the people those things are important to because being a runner is about making running a healthy part of your life. Yeah, we all have goals: some want to BQ, some want to break 20:00 for a 5k, some want to run a sub 4 hour marathon, some want to run ultras, and some just want to escape into their head on their daily 6 miler and may never sign up for a race. All of those are runners because running is part of who they are.

So you can argue jogger vs runner, real runner vs someone who Gallowalks, but I'm not going to participate in those anymore. I've found my answer: if you've made running a part of you then you're one of us. Welcome to the club and the more the merrier.

Spring 2010 Goal Race

After much contemplation and double and triple checking spring sports schedules a spring goal race has been determined:

The Bayshore Half Marathon in Traverse City, MI.

This will kill multiple birds with one stone: spring goal race for both T, me, and it will give us the excuse to spend the weekend and explore northern Michigan (something we have yet to do in 3+ years of living here).

Race day is Saturday, May 29, which means there are 24 weeks to train starting yesterday. Let the fun begin!

Hometown Fan

I'm a big fan of the city of Cincinnati. Well, not a big enough fan of it to live there but that's another blog post in and of itself, but it's where I grew up. I've been a Bengals fan ever since the summer that I worked training camp (1992 for those keeping track of how old I am), cheer on the Reds, love Skyline Chili, etc, etc, etc.

But that's where it stops. I am not a fan of the University of Cincinnati, or Xavier University (okay, I can tolerate Xavier doing well) for one reason and one reason only...and here it is for all those people who look at me with that incredulous look when I tell 'em I'm not a fan:

I went to Miami. Miami and sUCks participate in the oldest football rivalry west of the Allegheny mountains and play every year for the Victory Bell. No, Miami hasn't done well in the rivalry recently but we hold the edge 59-48-7 in the series. In my four years on campus we were 2-1-1 in the rivalry and I got to see the bell up close in the football locker room.

I'm a Redskin (not a RedHawk). I would no more cheer on sUCks than I would cheer on that school from Tuscaloosa - War Eagle!!! - or a Red Sox fan would like to see the Yankees do well in a year when the Sox had pitching issues so stop asking if I'm happy that sUCks is in the BCS. As much as it pains me to say this...I hope Florida wins the game.

Another Recommended Read

An Honorable Run by Matt McCue

If you've read Lear's Running With the Buffaloes you need to read this book.

If you've ever had someone take an interest in you're well being and growth as a person, you need to read this book.

You don't have to be a runner, or an athlete at all, to appreciate this book.

Three Is A Magic Number

I can vividly remember spending Saturday mornings watching cartoons, especially the cartoons on ABC because they had The Superfriends (the others escape me in my old age). I can also remember in between programs they would show School House Rock.

You know, "I'm Just A Bill", "Conjunction Junction", "Unpack Your Adjectives", and one of my personal favorites, "Three Is A Magic Number" [an aside: if you're a fan of these then I highly suggest buying this album if for no other reason than the version of Conjunction Junction by Better Than Ezra and Blind Melon's Three Is A Magic Number]

So why the title and all this talk about educational cartoons from 30 years ago? Well, because three is a magic number. It takes three weeks to form a new habit, or to bring back a habit that you've been missing like an old friend from college you haven't spoken to in months (or maybe years). Three weeks to run consistently so that you can see improvements in fitness. THREE weeks of not missing a single run.

That's right, you read that right: for the last THREE weeks I've completed every training run on my schedule. I had to get up early some days to do it. I had to run on the treadmill some days after coming home from work to do it. I had really long days because of a crazy work schedule combined with my running, but I did it. For THREE weeks in a row.

For the last three weeks I've been kind to running, and now running is starting to be kind to me again. Welcome back old friend.

Two Good Weeks

The last two weeks, well actually the entire month of November, have been pretty damn good.

I finally sat down and planned out a training cycle for the upcoming months and some potential spring races (one definite, other options - more on those later). However, planning is the easy part. Executing the plan is where things tend to go askew.

Not this time though. I've completed every scheduled run and completed it within the parameters/goal for each run. Two weeks down, one to go, because it takes 21 days to make a new habit and I'm almost back into my one-run-a-day habit.

The Band From San Francisco

Finally got my chance to see Metallica last night. I've been a fan, oh, since I was about 15 (and still have all of their early stuff on cassette) but this was the first time I've actually been able to see 'em live.

Was. Not. Disappointed.

Here is the setlist:

Marking the Occassion

A friend in Eugene, OR, did this back in July when our friend Joe passed away. Today would have been his 38th birthday.

Another Great Read

I just finished Jon Krakauer's new book, Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman.

Highly recommend it. Highly.

Really?

If North Carolina, where tobacco was king, can pass an indoor smoking ban (including bars and restaurants) then any state can do the same.

Uh, Michigan?

Why, you ask, am I blogging about this?

Well, Friday night I went out to a small (about as big as our living room), quaint neighborhood bar to help a friend celebrate their birthday. To say it was smoke filled would be an understatement of epic proportions. It was so bad that when I got home I took my clothes to the basement and T requested that I shower.

Woke up Saturday morning with a cough. A cough that is lingering and now I'm feeling less than 100% - no, it's not the flu, or even a cold really, just a cough.

Fucking smokers.

Week #3 Update

Did so-so this last week. Logged 58% of my miles (didn't run Saturday or Sunday - work and not feeling 100%) so that's a big thumbs down, however I did a much better job of doing my core/general strength stuff so I'll give myself a thumbs up on that part.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend and the end of Daylight Savings, finally. It's not the easiest thing to get my runs in the morning when it's not safe enough (read light enough) to run until well past 8:00. I know, I know, I could get a reflective vest, and I have a headlamp, but still too much traffic (in my opinion) to risk it and I'm not ready to log that many of my miles on the TM just yet.

Just need to beat back this "off" feeling and I'll be okay. I mean I'm only 4.3 miles off pace to reach my year mileage goal.

And the Grand Total Is

11.

Read 11 books this summer. Not bad, but that really wouldn't have put me a top the leader board at the public library when I was a kid.

The End of Summer Reading

I know it's October and summer has officially been over for a bit, but I'm just now getting to this post to wrap up the books I finished this summer.

Columbine - Dave Cullen

Lance: The Making of the World's Greatest Champion - John Wilcockson

The Devil's Punchbowl - Greg Iles

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

and I'm currently about 1/2-way through the new Jon Krakauer book on Pat Tillman and I'm slowly but surely making progress through Turning the Mind Into an Ally by Sakyon Mipham.

Much Better

I completed 108% of my scheduled mileage this week.

Plan called for 28 miles and I ran an extra 2 miles so that I would hit 30 miles for the week (I may have mentioned it earlier on here and I'm too lazy to look through the archives, so I'll risk repeating myself in a future post but at least for me nice things happen when I'm consistently over 30 miles/week).

So week #2 of my base building phase went much better than the first.

Detailed race report from yesterday coming later.

The Results Are In

2:10:02 for today's race. That works out to a 9:56 pace.

I am very pleased.

Twas The Night Before....

A 13.1 mile "race".

I put the " " around the word race simply because I am drastically under prepared for the Grand Rapids Half Marathon tomorrow.

I ran an easy 6 miles this morning. I checked my log: today's run was the longest I've run since Sept. 6. That day I only did 9.8 miles. For my last run in double digits I have to go back to Aug 23. If you look at a calendar, that's 8 weeks ago.

Can I run 13.1 miles tomorrow? Yes.

Can I race 13.1 miles tomorrow? Probably.

Can I have a time that is comparable to my best efforts in a half marathon? Most likely not.

So what is my goal for tomorrow?

I would like to finish with a time under 2:15:00. Why? Because besides the aborted Glass City Marathon in April (a DNF at the halfway point with a time of 2:22:18) my first attempt at a half marathon here in 2006 was 2:15:06 (a 10:19 pace). I think I can do better than that tomorrow and I'll find out in about 12-13 hours from now.

53%

53%. That's a failing grade on 100% of all grading scales (or if it isn't, dear god how hard is the class that there's that big of a curve?!).

53%. That's the how much of my plan I completed last week - no excuses here, things got in the way but I didn't do a good job of prioritizing my runs.

Schedule called for 28 miles and I ran 14.9. Must do better this week.

A Plan Is In Place

So, while I was watching the Bengals try and lose to the Browns today (thank god they finally made a field goal as the overtime was ending :rolleyes:) I mapped out the weeks until I need to be on an official training plan for a spring race - I have a couple of options I'm exploring and not sure which one will win out, hell maybe I'll run both who knows! - and created a base building schedule (or a return to regular running for KP schedule) for the next 11 weeks. Incorporated some principles from Dr. Daniels and Hudson:

Even put together a core/general strength plan, but only planned that out for the next 3 weeks (21 day training cycle, will write out the progression for the next 3 week cycle when I see how well I complete this one)!

Keeping my fingers crossed.

10/2

I'm a big fan of the person who is probably the most famous cancer survivor on the planet.

I've supported the foundation he created to mobilize the fight against the disease that recently took a family member and has another loved one fighting as hard as she can.

I've worn yellow every day for the last 5 years.

So, today is for all the people out there suffering from this terrible fucking disease.

LiveStrong.

Hello? Hello? Is This Thing On?

Just to set the record straight, no I have not fallen off the face of the earth.

Yet.

Without going into the gory details, I will just say that the last two weeks of September have not been smooth, easy sailing. Everything, including running, was put on the back burner. But, things seem to be settling down a bit and it feels like I'm starting to get a better grip on things now.

It's the start of a new month. And it's hard to believe that there are only three months left in 2009 (but I gotta admit, after this summer/fall I'm really looking forward to 2010)! My goal this month, and beyond, is to blog more, get my running mojo/consistency back, and be firing on all cylinders as 2010 gets here.

I will admit one thing now: the HM in 17 days? Most likely will not be a race effort/shooting for a PR. See the above statement about not running for two weeks and you'll understand. I'm still running, but I've thrown 99% of the goals for that day out and I'm just going for bettering my time the first time I ran GR in 2006: 2:15.

So here is to a good fall, taking control of things, and a good end to 2009.

MUST READ

This editorial.

No matter what your political affiliation and you stance on the health care debate the opinion in the link really ties together two of the major issues facing our country.

Responses?

Need An Opinion

All runners who read this, I have a question:

If I was looking to start a consecutive days running streak, what would the minimum amount of miles be I would need to run each day for that day to count towards the streak?

One?

Two?

Three?

The End Is In Sight...

July 12, 2009

Not feeling my best (thank you summer cold...in a state where it is damn near impossible to buy real sudafed) and the most of the gang feeling the effects of the wineries the day before it was a slow morning. A good friend of ours (T and I) drove down from Portland to spend the day with us and to get to spend some time on the Oregon coast. It was the perfect day for a trip to the coast too - cool, cloudy with some rain thrown in! Breakfast was here, then we made our way west.

Destination? The Sea Lion Caves. Not often you get to say you've been to the world's largest sea cave, and get to see whales! That's right, you heard me right...whales. Besides Gail (friend from PDX) it was everyone's first time there...again, you heard me right: T and I drove by there countless times on the way to other things (hikes, camping, wine festivals) on the coast and never stopped!

Then we stopped at a beach so people who needed to reconnect with the ocean could get their fix. It's T's thing. The water, even in July was freakin' cold.

After that we made our way back to Eugene for a lovely dinner here with an influential person from T's academic career at the U of O. Great food, great wine and even better company.

Photos

July 13, 2009

Time to say good-bye to Oregon, after a quick stop at Pre's Rock, and head back to Seattle. Well, with one small detour that is...Mt. St. Helen's.

Beautiful, awe-inspiring scenery. Right up to the point where the mountain was socked in by clouds so you really couldn't see it. T and I had been there previously on a gorgeous day but didn't have a camera. This time we're prepared for photographs and what's left of the mountain wouldn't co-operate! Bastards!

Photos (some nice ones of the clouds)

July 14, 2009

Last day. A bit more site seeing, including the Boeing factory in Everett, WA. I'd love to be able to show you some pictures but you'd think that they were protecting secret technology there or something! We did get to see the DreamLifter land though.

One last phenomenal meal - sushi that was awesome - before the arduous task of stuffing 10 pounds of shit into a 5 pound bag, or packing, began. I may have not mentioned earlier, but on the winery tour day some of the travelers procured 12 bottles of wine to take home. That's not a typo, 12. One case. Anyone who has traveled in the last 8 years or so knows that you can't carry that shit on anymore! Not to mention a 50 pound limit per suitcase. Hilarity would ensue later. Took one last chance to catch a beautiful sunset over the pacific...gotta savor it 'cause you never know when you'll be back in shangri-la, I mean the PNW.

Photos

July 15, 2009

At the airport finally. Never mind the near death experience when the cabby almost ran the mini-van off the road (nice driving T!) and I'm not going to mention almost having to spend the night in the Chicago airport but I'm going to direct your attention to check-in. Remember the wine?

While we're waiting in line D, who is with us but bought his ticket later so he's traveling on his own, comes by and says his suitcase was under the limit and he's good. He then disappeared into the security line.

V, his companion in the wine buying, plopped her suitcase up on the scale and it weighed in a whopping 75 pounds. OVER THE 50 POUND LIMIT. I nearly pissed myself trying not to laugh at the expression on the face of the person checking us in that day. The wonderful person behind the counter pointed out that if she split up the bag into two, there would only be a $50 charge for the second bag as opposed to the $125 extra-weight fee. No dice, no extra bag. Cha-ching for the airline. The woman did do V a solid though...she only charged her the over-weight fee, not the fee for just checking a bag.

Things were fairly uneventful the rest of the day, right up until we evidently lost an engine as we approached GR. Even got a warning from the flight deck not to be alarmed by the fire trucks/etc on the ground when we landed.

So there you have it - 2009 PNW Summer Tour. All in all it was a great trip. We got to spend some much needed time back home and we got to show that home off to friends. It was just what I needed after the last three years and the years to come until we end up back there.

Survival

Thank god classes start tomorrow. It means that yet another preseason is behind me. It doesn't mean things will be less hectic/crazy overall, just that I won't be spending 12+ hours at work and I'll get to see the lovely Mrs. much more. At least until she starts back to school on the 31st.

Oh, and the end of August? Yeah, that means only 9 more months until schools out!

Back To It...

July 9, 2009

Lovely day spent in the minivan driving to Eugene. Some of the travelers got to spend some quality time (and quality money - I'm sure the state of Oregon appreciated their efforts in stimulating the local economy) at the Woodburn Outlet Stores while T and I made a slight detour for reasons that will not be revealed here.

We had a great dinner that night at a new local brewpub Hop Valley Brewing with a great friend. It was nice getting caught up on all the gossip from the last three years. Thanks Haas!

July 10....

What an experience. T and I got to spend our third day at a local institution while the folks with us got to experience not only Oregon Country Fair, but the 40th edition. Much fun was had people watching. Surprisingly we managed to see about 4-5 people that we knew there...best line was from one of them when they recognized us - "You don't live here!"

I saw some things there that I had a hard time forgetting...not sure if there is a picture below, but the old dude painted up like a fairy (completely painted save for his g-string pouch holding his junk) was a show stopper. Oh, and there's a video in the gallery of the drum circle.

Photos

Then we had a great night of more local friends and local beers.

July 11

The area around Eugene is known as the Willamette Valley, and is home to some great local vineyards (the climate is perfect for growing Pinot Noir grapes...if you can find an Oregon Pinot you won't be disappointed) so we as a group decided to hit a few of the tasting rooms in the valley. But first we had a stop or two to make....first for what I think is the best coffee in the city. Full City Coffee. Hit the small stand for the best white chocolate mocha and then made our way across the street to stop #2: Saturday Market. Walked the shops - T was looking for a souvenir for a friend and we were looking for something we weren't able to get before we left: a hand made cutting board in the shape of the state of Oregon. Okay, we're weirdos. Live with it.

Then after a quick lunch (we continued with the local only eating) we headed out to the first of three wineries. Now, I'm driving because I'd started to come down with a cold and wasn't feeling quite 100% so that freed up everyone else to imbibe freely...and imbibe they did! Between the tastings (uhm, folks? when you taste 7-8 different wines at each place that adds up) and the full glasses of wine at each place you might say that I was chauffeuring around a bunch of drunks! Much wine was consumed, and much wine was purchased - more about that in the next installment - and some tired, and drunk, people called it a night

Photos

I Know, I Know

I suck. I know.

I'm still planning on the rest of the vacation recap, but now that I'm back in the middle of soccer and cross country preseason I'm having trouble finding time to get it done while spending 12 hours each day at work.

It's coming. I promise.

Difficulty Finding Words

Just found out I lost a friend. A truly wonderful person who enjoyed life no matter what was thrown at him.

You will be sorely missed Voo.

We Now Return To Our Regularly Scheduled Program

June 7, 2009. Travel Day. Need I say more?

Ok, how about this - flying from the middle of nowhere, I mean GR to Seattle requires at least two different airplanes and many hours. Fortunate for us, our 6:40 a.m. departure time would allow for plenty time left in the day once we arrived in Seattle. Nothing extraordinary happened, no funny stories, just an ungodly wake-up time that morning. Well, technically it was morning but most people would still consider that the middle of the night.

Arrived in Seattle, nice scenic ride from the airport. In heavy traffic on 405. With someone who suffers from motion sickness. Nope, they didn't reverse gears, but they were happy to get out of the car.

The most exciting thing from that day was dinner. Interesting little pub in Mukilteo we went to that added an interesting twist to dinner. We're on vacation! So I order a steak, everyone else sort of splurges as well. Mine is the first to come out. Raw. On a 750F stone. For me to cook. In front of me. Was advised twice not to touch the stone that hit 750F on the thermometer. Wasn't bad food actually, just wasn't prepared to cook it myself.

June 8. Seattle Touristy Day.

I've failed to mention that three friends joined us in this adventure. One British citizen and two native mitten-ites. While T and I had been to Seattle quite a few times, the Brit had just been in Seattle at the end of May for a professional conference and the other two had never been to the Pacific Northwest (no, having a layover in the Seattle airport does not count as having been there) so we set out to do touristy things: walked through the sculpture park along the water, Pike Place Market to see the dudes throwing fish, and the Seattle Center (where the Space Needle is along with the weird looking building that houses the Experience Music Project (EMP)).

The EMP was awesome...in addition to the history of music in Seattle and in general the building also houses the Science Fiction Museum. Ten-year-old nerd me was heaven. And the best? The special Jim Henson exhibit. Yep. That's right. Got to see the history of The Muppets.

We had dinner with a friend who lives there in Seattle, so it was great food (horrible service from the chick at the BluWater Bistro in Lake Union) and great conversation with someone T and I only get to see whenever we're in Seattle.

So there you go...the first two days of the trip. Since it spanned 8 days I'm trying to break 'em up into manageable chunks so it's easier for me and easier on your eyes.

Oh, and here's some photos.

July 7

We Interrupt Regularly Scheduled Programming

I know the next update on here was supposed to be about the glorious vacation we had in WA and OR but I wanted to get this out there instead.

Anyone who reads this blog that is a runner (I know at least maybe 5 that check in regularly, but there might be more that I don't know about) you must stop what you are doing and either proceed to your local bookstore (the best option), the closest Barnes & Noble, or click on Amazon and get the following book:

Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

It will make you think about running in ways you've never imagined. It's sparked the desire to see if I can change things in my own running form and those changes have so far been weird feeling, but very fruitful.

Read it. Please.

I promise a vacation update by the end of the week.

Back...Reluctantly

Once again in GR.

The trip was phenomenal. Details and pictures to follow, right now we're off to see the new Harry Potter movie!

Summer Reading Update

For the month of June:

The End of Over Eating - David Kessler, MD

In Defense of Food - Michael Pollan

A slow month, but things will pick up on Tuesday since I'll be spending some time on an airplane!

Curious...

Okay, I gotta ask - whoever it is that is frequently visiting the ol' blog from Harrison Township, MI, leave a comment so I might know who it is! Please!

The State of the Runner

Since it's the start of the second half of 2009, and I'm starting another cycle of training I thought it would be the perfect time to sit down and look at the last two years and see if it would tell me anything.

So I'm looking at July through June 2007-2008 compared with the same time frame for 2008-2009. Why? Well that time period of 2007-2008 I was on top of my running game. I ran two half marathons in 2007 (2:14:57 in Cincy at the Flying Pig and 1:57:08 in Grand Rapids - still my current PR) and cut 17:49 off my PR. Then in May of 2008 I ran a 50:35 10k and ran my first marathon (Grandma's) in 4:39:41. Not too shabby of a year.

Now, turn and look at the same period in 2008-2009 and it's a whole different story. I got sick last summer then proceeded to deal with injury after setback after injury. Attempted to run two more marathons that resulted in a horrible performance in Chicago and the DNF in Toledo and that is a pretty good statement on that year.

Now to look at some numbers comparing the training for those time periods.

First up is a graph showing my monthly totals.

Big differences there over the time frame. December and January I did okay, but everything looks like I fell off a cliff.

Big drop off there no? That's a 318 mile difference from one year to the next (1433 to 1115) and going back to the graph above where did that take place? October-December and January to now.

Now if you look at my monthly and weekly averages:

A drop off of 26.5 miles from 2007-2008 to 2008-2009 or as the next graph illustrates

just where the difference is - miles per week. That's a difference there of just about 5 miles per week. It doesn't sound like much, but it adds up.

So what's the purpose of all this? To illustrate that consistency is king. In order to get myself back to where I was in 2007-2008 with my running (and fitness wise and other physical components like weight, and mentally, and etc, etc) I need to do one thing and one thing only:

RUN.

The thing is I'm doing a better job of that recently. Out of 30 days, and 26 scheduled runs I ran 22 times in June. Two of those four extra off days were at my physician's orders so I really only skipped two runs. If I can keep that up along with just completing the mileage on my training plan each day and week I'll be back to that 2007-2008 version of me before I know it.

Yet Again

I am officially back in training. I think I've finally gotten all that ailed me under control as I've been logging miles pretty damn consistently in June (in fact this month has been my best month running in the last year - more on that in a post in a few days).

So, what is it I'm training for? The Grand Rapids Half Marathon, Oct 18. I've had great success with this race in the past, and it can't be beat sleeping in your own bed the night before a race. Word has it they are changing the course this year as well, so I'm pretty excited. Plus it fits nicely into the work schedule and the grand running plan (also more on that in a few days).

This time around I'm following this plan from Brad Hudson's book:

I've got my fingers crossed that this summer is going to be a good one as far as running and everything else goes.

The Green Monster

Doesn't that just look yummy? What is it you ask? It's a green smoothie, aka a green monster.

What's in it? Standard smoothie fare: fruit such as pineapple, banana, strawberry, and/or blueberries. Soy milk (or regular moo-milk if you like), maybe some peanut or almond butter, and some sugar.

What makes it green? Spinach. Or Kale, or chard, but spinach is the best.

I know, I know you're probably thinking: WTF? You drink that? We do, and in fact they've become a morning staple. They don't taste any different than a regular smoothie, provide just about your daily recommendation of fruits and veggies and seem to stick with ya in a good way. Just another way to eat a little cleaner and put all the yummy greens from our CSA to a good use.

New Addition

On Friday, June 5, 2009, I bid farewell to a constant in my life. I mentioned here that I gave my Saturn to my niece as a graduation gift and with that gift I gave her the only car I've ever owned - bought it right after I finished grad school and it's been with me the last 12 years. Those 12 years included a cross country move (me, Tonya, our cat, and enough stuff to make it a few months) that provided good memories and some really good stories. It had license plates from Tennessee, Oregon, and Michigan and now it's probably in the hands of it's last driver - I'm thinking she'll get at least 5-6 more good years out of it.

So that left us with the dilemma of what to replace it with....'cause as much as we'd like to, us being a one car family isn't quite as easy as it sounds on paper.

Drum roll please.....here it is:

yep, a 2009 Ford Escape, so I guess that officially makes us a Ford family considering we already have the Explorer.

Not That Long Left

21 days until the PNW...and yes, the excitement is starting to build!

Weekend Recap

1. I forgot how much it sucks to spend 5.5 hours in a car driving to Ohio by yourself.

2. I forgot just how cramped my Saturn was.

3. I got to make my niece very, very, very happy.

4. Spent some time with my parents - always a plus.

5. I got to see some people from high school that I haven't seen in a long time. Fun time.

6. T and I are a one car family for awhile.

There ya go, that was the weekend in a nutshell. Bottom line is this: we sold my Saturn to my sister and then proceeded to give it to my niece, who is starting college in the fall - man, do I feel old now. The look of surprise/joy/freedom on her face Friday when she opened the box with the keys in it was phenomenal and worth every minute of the boring, uncomfortable drive on Thursday afternoon.

Road Trip!!!!

Heading to Cincinnati in about an hour.  Get to see all the family while helping my niece celebrate her high school graduation.

Then we get to hang out with some people from high school (most of which I haven't seen in oh, 8-18 years) which could go either way.  No, it will be a fun time.

Okay...the road is calling.  Check back in on Monday or Tuesday.

Not All Fun and Games

Erin - just so you don't feel bad, I'm also currently making my way through these:

The Association of Scapular Kinematics and Glenohumeral Joint Pathologies, JOSPT

Current Concepts in the Scientific and Clinical Rationale Behind Exercises for the Glenohumeral and Scapulothoracic Musculature, JOSPT

Acute Management of the Cervical Spine-Injured Athlete, JAT (the newly updated NATA position statement)

Clinical Examination of the Hip Joint in Athletes, Journal of Sport Rehab

Hip-Muscle Activation During the Lunge, Single-Leg Squat, and Step-Up-and-Over Exercises, Journal of Sport Rehab

Ballistic Abdominal Exercises:  Muscle Activation Patterns During Three Activities Along the Stability/Mobility Continuum, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

Summer Reading

I can remember when I was kid (probably age 10-14 or so) the public library sponsoring a summer reading program.  You know what I'm talking about - you would keep track of the books you read over the summer and not that it was a competition, but you'd see who would read the most during your summer vacation.

Yes, first and foremost I must admit that I was one of those kids who actively read during summer vacation.

Well, I'm doing it on my own this summer.  I'm going to keep track of all the books I read (or re-read) this summer and keep a running total here on my blog.

So far this summer I've read (and this is really just the month of May):

Once A Runner - John L. Parker

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University - Kevin Roose

Marathon Woman:  Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports - Kathrine Switzer

Personal Record:  A Love Affair with Running - Rachel Toor

Okay, yeah there's a theme there, but that's four and counting.

Three more are in the queue, but I'm trying to save one of those for the trip out west.  Not sure if it will happen.

And I'd love to see what, and how much, those 2-3 people who check in here are reading.

Finished Product

Here it is...finished. Finally.


A close-up that hopefully shows off the fine details he added on the face/hands at the end.


Hopefully the scale of her comes through in this photo. The most frequent comment I've gotten from people who have only seen pictures is that the scale is hard to pick up on in photos.

Milestones

I ran 4 miles on Saturday with Tonya.  Felt great.  My hip is about 90% now, so all the pain of ART was worth it.

Those 4 miles were pretty important though for another reason.

I started taking running seriously in the summer of 2004, July to be exact, after I ran the Butte To Butte 10k in Eugene.  I also started logging miles run then and just under 4 years later I hit 4000 miles on Saturday.  I'm still way behind my mileage goal for this year, but that's what injury and setback after setback will do to you.

Then I ran 6 miles yesterday.  First time I've run back-to-back days in since March.  So that's milestone #2.  Just hoping the string continues today when I head out in a few minutes.

Uh, I May Have a Problem

I've been told I'm not allowed to criticize/poke fun at/mention T ever having a lot shoes anymore.

Why?  Because of this photo...

These are my current running shoes.

From the left I have:

Nike Air Pegasus 25 - 447 miles (purchased July 2008)

Nike LunarTrainer - 374 miles (purchased July 2008)

Nike LunarTrainer - 106 miles (purchased Feb 2009)

Nike Air Pegasus 25 - 5 miles (purchased April 2009)

Not pictured are all of the dead running shoes that in the garage for cutting the grass, etc.

Like I said, I may have a problem.

Two Months

Two months.

61 days.

Just a blink of an eye until we get the chance to feel at home.

Miracles of Medicine?

I had a grueling ART session on my right hip yesterday...it's a really good thing that treatment technique works because good lord it hurts.  The hip does feel better - not a 100% yet but definitely improved.

However, I think I finally figured out what the underlying cause of my hip problem is last night.  My right foot.  I think I've mentioned it before on here but it's been bothering me pretty consistently since about February.  I talked to my live-in-health-care-provider last night and she and I agreed that my cuboid might be displaced.  So she mobilized it.  I think it was the second attempt that I felt a nice little "click-pop" as it went back to where it was supposed to be.  Since then, no pain/discomfort/locking feeling/anything in my foot.

4.17 miles this morning in 44:08 (10:36 avg/mile, 148 avg HR, 163 peak HR).  I ran the flat as a pancake 4 mile route.  Again I plan on using this week to just see where I'm at fitness wise, but today's run was really enjoyable.  No discomfort/pain in my foot and significantly less in my hip.

Is that the on-ramp for the road to recovery I see ahead?

Benchmark

4.15 miles today on the normal hilly route, 43:50, 156 avg HR, 174 peak HR, 10:34 pace.  I used today as a baseline run - no pushing the pace at all, just running easy - so that I can use the data as a way to gauge my progress over the next few weeks.  I also used today's run as a chance to get elevation data on said hills so I can choose the appropriate one for the hill sprints that I'll be incorporating this next training cycle (thanks to the Hudson book).

Then I came home and finished the workout with about 15 minutes of core/general strength and some stretching.  Oh, and I did a nice 10 minute warm-up before I headed out for my run.  Same stuff I've got some of my injured-nicked-athletes doing.

Now I'm off to work the last baseball game of the year.

ctl-alt-del...Vulcan Death Grip...Reboot

Today was a fresh start.  I ran 4 wonderful miles with T this morning.  Okay, wonderful psychologically, the hip was a bit achy, but I'm working on that, more later, but the weather was perfect, I was running with my favorite person in the world and we were out in the world before the world really started it's day.

No more worrying about the last race or how far I'm behind my mileage goal for the year (okay I'm still thinking about that a little) I'm looking forward.  I've plotted out a running/race schedule for the summer/fall and I'm addressing some supplemental things like core, general strength, flexibility as I get everything healthy and ready to go to start that training plan.

So, I'm hoping to be posting a bit more regularly on here just how my runs/workouts pan out.

Today's stats:  4.14 miles in 46:55 (11:21 avg pace).

Better Late Than Never

Glass City Marathon...the marathon that wasn't.

Short Version - DNF.  Did.  Not.  Finish.

Longer Version:

In October I made a commitment to this marathon because a friend was planning on running her second marathon.  Just happens that she lives 3 blocks from mile 21-ish of the course for the Glass City Marathon.  It would be perfect for her (she has some real life things to deal with that complicates undertaking such an endeavor) and since she's someone I like running with I told her that I'd run with her - she could pick the distance, half or full.

T and I spent the weekend with her, the rest of her family, and a host of friends.  Best pre-race dinner I've ever had (thanks again Kath and Brian!!!!) at her house the night before.  It was nice not to have to rush and get ready to only stand around for 45-60 minutes at the start line.

T, and another friend were running the half so they were dropped off at the start of that race (at the 13.1 point of the full course) and Kath and I made our way downtown, parked and started towards the start line...okay, so we were running a few minutes late but still I wasn't expecting what happened next.

We arrived at the hotel (the starting line was directly outside of it) to meet some friends...went up to their room and she wasn't there...went back to the front desk and retrieved the key she left.  Dropped off some stuff for after the race, used the bathroom one last time.  Arrived in the lobby, hooked back up with Kath, dropped the key off at the front desk and headed out to the start.  Neglected to notice that the door I tried to exit through wasn't a door, but a window.  Loud thump as the window stopped my progress.  I saw some heads turn, and heard some laughs, but hell I deserved it.

Made it outside only to discover that we missed the start.  Head to what we thought was the start only to find out it was behind us.  Turned around and headed to the start.  By the time we "started" the race we were 9 minutes behind everyone.

Hit the starting line on the street, started my garmin and we were on our way.  Only we had to make it through the people that were running the 5k.  Up on the sidewalk, past the motorcycle escort and continued on our way.  We got some interesting looks from the police holding traffic back, yeah we knew we were behind everyone.  About 5-6 minutes later all the 5k people started passing us.  Finally made it to the point were we turned and left the 5k folks behind.  We think the police (or someone) radioed ahead to let the people know there were two more marathoners coming because as soon as we got to the high level bridge in town and turned on it, the sag wagon fell in behind us and they opened the bridge to traffic.  Great photo of this below.

It was on the bridge that we finally saw some other marathoners.  Made it over the bridge and as we turned onto the road by the Maumee River it felt like someone turned the fan blowing hot air on in our faces.  Did I mention that the time of day was 8:45 a.m. and the temp was 80F?  Yeah.  Fun.

Passed our first runner around mile 7 (he was running the relay) and we were finally able to ditch the sag wagon.  It was about this point that I started to think "I'm not having a lot of fun right now" and started to slow down.  Kath moved ahead of me sometime around mile 9 but I managed to catch up with her at the 2nd relay zone - she was talking to a couple friends of ours - and we set off again.

Did I mention it was really hot?  I had some stomach issues between mile 10-12, nothing too serious but I felt like I was gonna throw up (which has never happened on run/race).  We stopped right around mile 12 because Kath's sister was waiting for us with some water and food for Kath.  I think it was at this point that we both started thinking "today ain't our day".  I noticed Kath seemed a bit "off" but didn't say anything.  Hell I probably seemed "off" too.  Had my second bout of I'm-gonna-throw-up right after stopping.  But we kept going.

Hit a water stop right before the halfway point and I knew things weren't good when Kath went to thank the young man for the water and some gibberishy words came out.  We both sort of looked at each other and knew the day was done.  So we stepped off the course and walked about 1.5 miles up on the course where her husband was waiting for us and went home.

And I don't regret it at all.

Now, keep in mind what my profession is (for those of you who know):  I'm convinced had we kept going there was a trip to the med tent and possibly the hospital for one or both of us.

We did the smart thing.  Thing is, a friend of ours was also running the full.  She stepped off the course at mile 15.5 for the same reasons.

So that's how it became the marathon that wasn't.

On the bright side of things:  T ran a 2:25:something HM, which was only about 1-2 minutes off her PR.  On a really hot, shitty day she ran well, and I'm proud of her.

Soundtrack

I've been purchasing random music from the iTunes store lately.  Some upbeat, some slow, some in between but they all hit me in a unique and different way.

Here's some of the most recent to move me:

Watchmen Soundtrack - loved the movie, and the mix of songs...especially The Times They Are A-Changin'

River of Deceit - Layne Staley's voice is incredible and unmistakeable.  Another creative force lost.

Lullaby - Shawn Mullins...another voice that just hits ya between the eyes.

Hallelujah - previously had the Leonard Cohen version and got it a second time with Watchmen, but today purchased probably the best version I've ever heard of it, by Jeff Buckley.  Haunting.

So why post this?  Things like this upcoming weekend get me thinking a little more, how should I put it?  I'm compiling the soundtrack for my life.  One song, one artist at a time.

The Hay's In The Barn

Big day coming up on Sunday.  Running marathon #3.  Of the three that I've trained for, this one is by far the one that I feel the most under-prepared for going in to it.  But, like the title of this post says, not much I can do about that now.  Just gotta learn from this experience and hope I don't do damage to myself along the way.

The problems this time around have been varied:  lack of motivation, poor weather conditions to run in, lingering, nagging injuries (that I think I finally have beaten into submission), an inability to stop shoveling food into my gob, and work stress just to mention a few.

No matter what though Sunday will be a learning experience.  I just hope it doesn't hurt too much while it is imparting that knowledge to me.

Progress

Not quite done yet - still some fine details around her face to finish, but all of her has been colored.

Randomness

Here are some things that were bouncing around my head on my run this morning, in no particular order of appearance or importance:

• The citizens of Grand Rapids are lazy arses. We have choices as to what garbage pick-up service we use, private companies or the city. T and I use the city. What we don't have to pay for is recycling. All you have to do is go by the sanitation department and pick up the recycling bins. Free 'o charge recycling service. I ran by a house today that used a company besides the city for their trash. 80%+ of the stuff at the curb was easily recyclable. I don't care what your political affiliation is, get off your lazy ass and recycle.
• Why is there such a dislike (almost used the word hatred but thought better of it) of Nike in the running community? See this thread on runnersworld.com's forum. Talk about snark-central. Maybe I'm biased the other way (I wear nikes. They feet my feet really well because they're built on a low volume last and my foot is low volume.) but it seems to me that you're not a real runner unless you wear asics, or mizuno, or something else. I think it's a personal preference and we're all free to choose, but stop running down a company for trying to be innovative. And stop bashing a company that helped introduce running to the general population. If you know the history of the company you know that it was through Blue Ribbon Sports that asics got their foot in the door of the running shoe market.
• It was beautiful out today. No wind. Why can't it be like that when I have a baseball game to work.
• I'm feeling under prepared for the marathon.

The most important thing about today's run? I almost didn't run. I was sitting on the couch watching old episodes of "The West Wing" on bravo and came very close to not running. But I got up, got dressed and headed out the door. About .25 of a mile into my run I realized that I wanted to run today. I wanted to run not because I felt obligated due to a goal race quickly approaching or because I'm beholden to a training plan. I wanted to run because I wanted to be outside and I wanted to run. It was that feeling that made today's run great, the fact that the run felt good and the weather was nice was just icing on the cake.

Bogged Down

Work is just sucking the energy right out of me these days. Seven hours on your feet at a baseball doubleheader is draining (and we're playing at the 2-3 days a week at home) plus with only a month left in all the spring sport seasons anxiety/tension is high for all the injured kids and coaches. And it's taking a toll on me unlike it has the last 2 years and the area that is suffering?

My running. I'm having trouble mustering up the energy to run in the morning because it seems like no matter how many hours of sleep I get I wake up tired. I'm having trouble finding the motivation and energy to run when I get home from work (around 6 pm on a good day).

I'm hoping to make some progress this week though. I'm not focusing on when I get my miles in, and to some extent during the week not worrying about how many miles each day since I have my last 20 miler on Sunday, I'm just focusing on running.

I'm going back to a philosophy/mantra that worked for me in the past, and I'm not sure why I abandoned it, that came from a simple phrase a friend said to me: run your plan. So this week my plan is to run 4-5 days and get my 20 miler in on Sunday. I'm not gonna be concerned about paces, number of miles, what days I run during the week, my only focus is 4-5 (probably 4 at this point) days of running, run 20 on Sunday. The statistics will be what they will be because I'm bogged down right now and I need to do what ever it takes to find some traction.

Well That's Not Gonna Happen

Considering that I just got up and moving about an hour ago, 17 miles ain't happening today since I have to be somewhere at 1:30 pm today.

I'll get some miles in and depending on what the weather does (forecast calls for 1-3" of snow overnight tonight and in to tomorrow probably preventing the baseball games from being played) might be able to get my long run in tomorrow.

Really Living Life

Here's my spectacular Friday night plans:

Fix appropriate pre-long run dinner - check
Struggle to stay awake to watch the basketball games - check
Get everything ready for long run (17 miles) tomorrow - check

Fun times, eh?

Jealous

I dropped T off at the airport early this morning. She is traveling to speak at a conference. The Northwest Athletic Trainers' Association meeting.

In Seaside, OR.

Damn baseball home games preventing me from going.

Morning

I'm happy to report that I was able to watch the sun peek over the rooftops of the houses on my run this morning. That means that I was out the door on my run around 8:00-8:15 this morning. I've always enjoyed running in the morning. It's too easy for me to come up with excuses to not run at the end of my day, so my goal this week is to get all of my runs done before I have to be at work.

So one day down.

Now, keep in mind that today I don't have to be at work until noon, so getting up and being out there at 8 is pretty good. Not as early as Maria, but still an accomplishment.