Category Archives: running

Wise Like Yoda

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Life has happened over the past few months and free time is becoming pretty non-existent.(Not that it really was there beforehand but ….)  Since Chicago my posts have been few and far between.  So whats up??  Well work, kids, the normal stuff… but the training schedule has been a little different.  Back in the summer it was crazy but I was pretty much making it up as I went along.  If I wanted to run 8 miles great… if I wanted to run 4 miles.. whatever… swimming was in the afternoon after work, I biked on Tuesdays and on the weekends as I felt like it.  All in all… I was just winging it based upon what I thought I could handle on any given day.  Did that work??  Dunno… I guess it got me through the triathlons and even got me through the Half Ironman.  However this was a huge departure for me from what I have felt comfortable with in the past.  Normally I want a plan with specifics and those have always been ones that I downloaded as free plans.

So what is different now?  Well after Chicago and the whole broken/injured toe deal and missing my goal of a sub 4 hour marathon I felt like I was missing something.  I felt like I should be progressing more and more predictably.  The true “Aha moment” came after I starting looking back at my swimming.  I started this past spring with pretty much ZERO swimming experience, and ZERO comfort level and on my first triathlon I freaked out in the open water and after taking 18 minutes to finish a 500 yard swim I said I would never do one of those again.  Fast forward to September after I had worked with a swim coach.  I had gone from completely being freaked out in the water to completing a 1.2 mile swim and the difference was a coach.

So the thoughts started weighing on me then… would I be better off working with someone to help me improve all of the three activities?  Did I really need a coach to help me run??  I mean really… all you do is just put one foot in front of the other and repeat right?  But… this next year I have some lofty goals… I am attempting my first 50 miler in February, and I am planning on attempting my first full Iron Distance triathlon next summer, and ultimately I would like to get my marathon times where qualifying for Boston is not a hour out of my grasp.  So… maybe working with someone would be beneficial.

A couple of my friends David Murphy and Jon Wilson were both working with a coach and seeing results.  If these two guys could see results from working with someone… then maybe there was something to it.  These were already good ultra distance runners and ones that I wouldn’t have really thought about using a coach.  So after checking with David, I finally decided I would give it a shot and see what it was all about.  I reached out to PRSFit and had about a 30 minute conversation with Coach Jeff where he and I talked about everything from what my past activities and results looked like to what my goals were going forward.  Where he really got my attention is when he said that at my age there was still options for dramatic improvements and that I was a pretty good candidate.  So we agreed to start working together within a week or so to make sure my toe was at a point where I could start training.

The premise that coach Jeff and PRSFit work on is based on heart rate training.  I had seen lots of cyclist using heart rate monitors when we would leave for group rides… but I really had no idea what it all meant.  I however had not really heard of runners utilizing it.

The first week that coach put together a training plan was interesting.  The first day I had a max heart rate test that consisted on running one mile as hard as I could(not necessarily as fast as I could) with the heart rate monitor.  That was it…. not run one mile as hard as you can followed up by a 5 miler afterwards … that seemed weird.  Then two days later I had a Aerobic Threshold run which consisted of 30 minute run at a 5K pace with a push the last 3 minutes of the run.  This seemed a little more like a real run.  However this felll on our Thursday club run day so I ended up running 5 miles first with the group and then after we got back, I went back out and did the Aerobic Threshold run.  As Coach Jeff and I were reviewing the results, the subject of two runs being completed on that day was discussed.  I made mention that I figured that the workouts he had scheduled for me were the minimums and that as long as I got those in I was free to add to them as well.  Coach patiently explained to me that I was incorrect and that it would be best for me to follow the plan.  After pleading my case that I was used to running 5-6 days a week over the past 6 months, Coach explained that I was probably over-training and not effectively using my workouts to improve but rather just adding empty miles to the week.  Ok … Ok… fine I will stick to the plan and nothing else… grrrr…

So the next run I had scheduled was a Zone 2 run(there are 5 heart rate zones in the training, with zone 1 being the lowest and zone 5 being the highest).  I started worrying about that run after looking at my performance from the aerobic threshold run.  Based upon my estimation a zone 2 run would put me running almost a 10 minute mile.  That just seemed like it was completely incorrect.  I checked with some of the others in the PRSFit Facebook group and everyone kinda chuckled at my question… apparently that is a very common concern when getting started in the program.  Turns out my zone 2 on the next run was actually in the 9:15 – 9:30 range.

The next couple of weeks were tough.  I mostly had all zone 2 runs.  This sounds OK from a high level … I mean you get to run slower and easier so it should be better right?  Well the downside is that the group that I had been doing just about every one of my runs with were completely gone after about 5 minutes after we started running.  I was stuck staring at my Garmin almost constantly and watching them pull farther and farther away.  This was a little concerning at first.  I confided in Jon that I wasn’t sure things were going the way they were supposed to.  He assured me that if I stuck with it, I would see how it worked and that it would indeed work.  So… I ran pretty much by myself the next couple of weeks.  I would at times, start with the group or meet the group part of the way through the run, but they would always end up going on ahead.

I ran the Bass Pro Marathon a few weeks after this with the goal of again breaking 4 hours.  I started out way too fast and never slowed down.  At mile 23 it all came apart on me and I finished at 4:11.  Afterwards Coach Jeff reviewed my results and told me that I pretty much ran the whole marathon in Zone 4 and that I would not be able to improve much with that type of strategy and effort.  After thinking about it – it started to make sense.  If I am keeping my heart rate in a manageable place, it uses less energy, places less stress on the body, and is more efficient overall than going all out for as long as I can.

Since then I have really tried heard to make sure the workouts match exactly what Coach is asking for.  I have noticed that my zone 2 runs are now in the 8:40 8:45 range now.  So  my pace is starting to improve without increasing the heart rate.  Coach has also added several “Build” or progressive runs where I start at zone 2 and gradually build up to a zone 4 effort.  What I am finding now is that zone 4 is really hard.  Not necessarily hard to get to zone 4… that is the easy part.  Getting into zone 4 and keeping it at zone 4 is TOUGH.  The paces I am seeing are some that I really didn’t think I was capable of doing just a few months ago.  I have had several runs that my zone 4 puts me in a 7:50 pace – completely new territory for me!

Coach has also been working a swim workout into the schedule for me once a week for now until triathlon season comes back around.  After I get through Rocky Raccoon 50 miler in February I will start working on cycling and improving all three sports.

Coach has also put strenght workouts in my schedule…. I hate strength workouts!!  I would rather just go run than be bored to death working out with weights and some of the crazy stuff that is on the schedule.  Heck I have to google just about all of the strength training schedule just to understand what I am supposed to be doing.  I need it simple like  – do pushups, do situps… etc.  But I can tell a difference on the strength training too… so maybe he does know what he is talking about….

So will it make a difference?  I don’t know for sure just yet – it is still too early to say.  However it is already if nothing else, helping me believe I can improve.  So for now… I will trust in the program and believe that Coach Jeff is “Wise Like Yoda” as David Murphy likes to put it :)

Crunch Time

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3 Days, 13 Hours, 47 minutes, and 11 seconds…. that’s it… that’s all I have left until I toe the line for my second time around at the Chicago Marathon.  Well actually a little longer since I am officially in the second wave of starters since I didn’t get into a decent starting corral.

Am I ready?  Not sure….but I hope so.  I have put in some decent training over the past few months.  At this time last year Chicago was this super huge event that had a lot of uncertainty around it from it being my first marathon to ongoing issues with the torn meniscus.  This year it almost seems like it got pushed back to second place behind the Ironman a couple of weeks ago.  That’s not at all to say that I am not excited about running Chicago again! I am extremely excited – it is a phenomenal race!!  It just comes in the middle of a string of events and the Ironman was kind of a big unknown for me and it had me focusing on getting through it up until two weeks ago.

I completed my first marathon(and yes I am going to buy this photo)

So whats different this year for Chicago? Well obviously I know what to expect in terms of the marathon distance as well as what to expect from the Chicago course.  It was funny to hear some of the comments last year about the hill on the Chicago course from some of the other runners.  I kept expecting “a hill”… but I never came to anything that I saw as an inkling of a hill… especially compared to our hills and the hills at the Little Rock Marathon.  So I should be a little more comfortable with the actual race this year.

Secondly I should be able to maintain a much better pace and time for this year.  Last year I had been maintaining paces around the 9:30-9:45 range during my training up until I had the meniscus issue.  This year has been great for me in that I have been able to work my average paces down around the 8:30 time-frames.  So my goal this year would be to hopefully break 4 hours.

Another change is that the family and I are flying to Chicago this year instead of driving.  Last year we drove up and made a fun trip out of it and stopped at the Lincoln Library in Springfield IL.  The kids had a great time and it broke the trip up into manageable drives.  This year we got a great deal on airline tickets so we are flying.  The kids are super excited since this will be the first flight for them.  That brings some anxiety for me and my wife simply because we hope they do OK with it and even more anxiety about getting around Chicago without a car.  Luckily it is only an hour and a half direct flight so that should help as well.

One of the biggest pluses this year is the weather forecast!  Last year it started out in the 10 day forecast with lows supposed to be in the 50s and highs in the upper 60s.  By race day that had changed to lows in the 60s with highs in the mid 80s.  I distinctly remember running by a bank towards mile 20-21 that showed 81 degrees.  I much prefer running in the cooler temps(like the upper 40s and low 50s).  This year the weather couldn’t be much more perfect if it holds to the forecast.  The lows are forecasted to be in the upper 30s with highs in the mid 50s.  If it holds – this will be fantastic weather!

So are there any negatives to the differences this year?  Unfortunately yes.  I am not sure if it is due to the stress I have been under with training or work but I have come down with another cold to make it 2 within the last month.  This time it seems to be more focused on my chest.  I started getting congested about 2 days ago and really started coughing yesterday.  I woke up around 4am this morning with a dry hacking cough and a tight feeling in the chest.  Normally I would just take a few days off and let it run it’s course(no pun intended).  However with Chicago just a little over 3 1/2 days away, I decided to get into the doctor today preemptively.  He was nice and understood the concern and agreed to give me a prescription to try to help.  Hopefully I can kick this and feel better by Sunday morning.  It would really stink to get the perfect weather they are forecasting and not be at least 90% on race day.  I think I can get there… hopefully!

So for now… I just need to count it it being an awesome race, enjoying the cool temps, and enjoy the trip and excitement with my family.  That is really one of the coolest things I have come to appreciate about these type of events – it provides our entire family an excuse to do things together.  We fly out in the morning and I hope to be able to update things as it progresses closer to Sunday.

Sad Day and Diagnosis of My Ankle Issue

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I had originally planned on updating the blog last night after I got answers from the sports doc on my ankle.  However as things normally go, plans change.  The last 48 hours have been just an amplification of how the past week and a half have been.

Tuesday evening I went on my normal bike ride and had a great ride on the new Scott Sportser S10.  I really love the bike and the gearing and light weight made a huge difference!  Climbing the hills actually was kinda fun on this bike.

After getting home things took a different turn though.  Our dog Dasher(whom Santa brought my daughter when she was 3) greeted us as normal by barking as we came in the door and then wiggling and wagging his tail uncontrollably after he saw it was us.  We had dinner and he acted normal and was begging for food.  However at about 9:30 he acted like he needed to go out, and my son let him out.  After about 20 minutes of him not returning I knew that something was odd.  I found him a little bit later out in the yard just turning in circles, stumbling, and running into the walls and trees.  He had huge amounts of drool coming out of his mouth and was pretty unresponsive to my voice and even me petting him.  My wife and I immediately agreed we needed to get him to the emergency vet in Springfield(about an hour away).  I had to pick him up to get him in the van and by the time I got to the vet’s office around midnight he wouldn’t stand up or move.  Long story short – within about 45 minutes of being at the vets, he was gone.  His heart stopped and they tried to resuscitate him unsuccessfully.   I really couldn’t even absorb what was happening.  Just 3 hours earlier he was running around acting normally and now I was loading him up to take him home to bury him.  I normally put up a good front of being a tough guy and cover up any emotions but the ride home that night was tough.  I cried most of the way home talking to my wife and wondering how we were going to be able to break the news to the kids and how our life was going to be different waking up the next morning.

I finally got to bed around 3am and slept until our kids started coming in around 7.  I had a meeting to get ready for and planned on taking care of the meeting and getting back home to bury him.  My daughter ended up sleeping late that morning and it was a good thing because it allowed me to get back home before she was up and around so that I could break the news to all the kids at the same time.  That was easily one of the toughest things I have had to tell them.  They were all heartbroken and bawling.  The bright spot in it was that my 9 year old daughter reminded us that he was in a better place and that he was happy.  What an amazing girl!!

We will miss you much Dasher!!

I didn’t have much time afterward before I had my doctors appointment to find out what the diagnosis of my knee and the outlook for getting back to running.  They took X-Rays as soon as I got there.  Dr. Talley came in shortly after and greeted me and asked how things had been since the last time I was in.  I was really relieved when he told me that there were no fractures on the X-Rays.  After poking and prodding for about 5 minutes he pointed to their diagram of the foot on the wall and confirmed exactly what I had thought – Peroneal Tendonitis.  Amazing what Google can do now days in terms of self diagnosis.  One of my running buddies has suggested I give up this whole technology gig and hang a shingle out for running injury diagnosis.  Dr. Talley indicated that I should be OK within a couple of weeks as long as I don’t push it and run through any pain.  If within a couple of weeks I still have issues, he will want to put a boot on it to help settle things down.  But as soon as I feel OK I can try to run a few miles and see how it feels.

The red areas are the tendons that are inflamed

All in all – good news I guess considering I could have been told I was out of running for much longer.  And by this point in the day I was ready for any good news I could get.  So for now, I am going to plan on biking more and really concentrating on swimming to help get ready for the Sharkfest Tri in July.  At least it is not the dead of winter where biking would be out and swimming wouldn’t be as appealing.

Tough couple of days but hopefully some rest and a little calm is in store for the long weekend!

Pictures of Dasher

 

You Gotta Have The Right Ankle

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This past week was a killer week – not in terms of training but in terms of just sheer volume of commitments and activities.  I had my 84 year grandfather in town, my mom in town, my 5 year old’s preschool graduation, my 3 year old’s preschool orientation, my daughters normal 8 hours of dance each week, dance pictures, a dance recital, and to top it all off the last soccer game for my son to coach.  So you might expect that I was not able to get in a normal week of training due to the schedule but you would be wrong.  I didn’t get in a normal week of training but it really had nothing to do with all the other activities.  As much as it pains me to say – I think I am going to have to admit that I am injured again.

As of tomorrow it will have been one week since I last ran.  That may not seem like a big deal but that is the longest I have gone without running since last Thanksgiving.  A week ago last Saturday I met the normal group for a quick trail run before I had the soccer games and the rest of the crazy weekend schedule.  This is a trail we have all ran multiple times before. However Tim went down within the first mile and was able to just roll, and then Kendall went down right after we crossed the first mile and fell hard on a rock.  His wrist immediately swelled up pretty badly.  Needless to say we were all a little more cognizant of the rocks at this point.  Within the last mile of the run though, I was on a quick little downhill and rolled my ankle pretty good… not badly enough that I fell, but enough that I turned the air blue when it happened.  I kept running and finished up the run without much complaint, especially after seeing Kendall’s wrist after we got back… it was getting much bigger.  It turns out Kendall actually broke his wrist when he caught himself on the rock.

The rest of the day I was limping around thinking it was just a simple ankle roll.  Sunday and Monday I still was walking with a limp, but by Tuesday I was able to walk without noticing it much and I was itching to go for a run so I asked Devra if she could meet on Wednesday morning for a run.  Turns out I should have probably waited another few days.  I started out limping on the run but fully expected it to loosen up after I got going.  By the 2 1/2 mile mark it was aching with every step I took and the limp was much more noticeable.  At this point I even thought I might just walk back but since I had talked Devra into meeting me there I didn’t want to bail out.  I ended up finishing up the 5 1/2 mile loop but by the time I got back I could hardly walk on my right foot.

For the rest of last week it didn’t seem to get any better.  The weird thing is that when I get up in the mornings, it does seem to feel somewhat better,  but after I get to walking on it it starts swelling on the outside ankle and just behind the ankle.  By mid-afternoon it is starting to ache and by bedtime it is throbbing and hurting along the outside edge of the bottom of my foot as well.  So I figured it must just be that I didn’t give myself time to heal from the ankle roll and needed a few days off again.  That was last Wednesday and I haven’t ran since then.  The frustrating and concerning thing is that it doesn’t seem to be getting any better in the past week with no running.

So now I am starting to worry.  It is not swelling like an ankle sprain/roll has in the past and there is no bruising around it.  The area right behind the ankle bone has a very noticeable knot that is sensitive to the touch and swells throughout the day.  I had told myself that if it wasn’t better by yesterday morning I would make an appointment with the sports doc.  As luck with have it, he couldn’t get me in yesterday and I had to wait until tomorrow to get in.

My lovely ankle

At this point I have no idea what is wrong.  I have googled everything I can think of around this subject and get all kinds of issues that might be the culprit. None of them are anything I want to mess with since they all say that I would need to be off of it several weeks.  The closest thing I can see that matches up is Peroneal Tendinitis.  There are apparently a couple of tendons that run right behind the ankle that connect to the bottom of the foot and it is somewhat common after an ankle sprain for these to be come inflamed.  I don’t know… sounds like it might be it but who knows.  The only thing I know for sure is that I am going batty without being able to run.  I know it has only been a week but it seems like I have totally given up running.  My major concern is that I don’t want to lose any of the progress I have gained in terms of distances and pace over the past 5 months.  It finally seemed like I was really making progress and actually running without any issues or pains.

At this point, as I mentioned before on my post before seeing the doc on my meniscus issue – all I can do is wait and hold my breath hoping for good news.  Hopefully I will have a post tomorrow evening that outlines just that – a plan for a quick recovery and to be back out running in the next week or so.  Until then I will just mope and feel sorry for myself.

More Than Just Miles

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It has been almost 2 weeks since my last post.  Mainly due to a pretty hectic schedule the last few weeks but also because I have been in a little post-race funk.  The Ouachita Trail 50K was something that had been in the back of my mind since the first of the year and even with the Little Rock Marathon in March, I still had my eyes on the 50K.  Since then, it has kinda left me in a bit of a funk.  I still have the Tour de Cure bike ride in June to look forward to, my first Sprint Triathlon in July, and the Chicago Marathon in October.  However for whatever reason I kinda feel like I did after I did when I completed Chicago last year as my first… just kinda in a funk.

I really think it is also has a lot to do with the fact that my running schedule seems to have been out of whack the past 2 weeks as well.  The normal running group is in a little hiatus right now.  Tim took a new job that takes him out of the early morning runs, Devra is recovering from a serious back issue and shin splints, David is taking a break from running because of Plantar Fasciitus, and Kendall and Dathan have switched to adventure race and Ironman training.  So my reliable 5-6 running days a week schedule is at a hit or miss 3-4 days a week now.  I know I just need to suck it up and get out a bed and run even if that means solo runs for a while.

All of this has me thinking though that I need more than just a race on the calendar or a goal to hit in terms of mileage.  Over the past year I have found a great resource in the social media aspect of the running community and through that have met some great new running friends.  David Murphy is one of those friends I have met and quite honestly has been a great inspiration for me in terms of running and more importantly – what you can do with running that is more than just the miles.  Don’t get me wrong – David has some crazy talent in just the miles department as well -  sub 24 hour 100 mile ultras and stuff like that!  However one of the areas that David has really made a difference with running is his dedication to fighting cancer.  David has raised I believe over $15,000 towards the fight against cancer just through his running activities.  He has been able to use his passion of running to do more than just satisfy the internal drive for more miles.  He has made a difference in the lives of those facing an unbelievable fight and hopefully gotten us all closer to a point where cancer can one day be a thing that you just read about in the history books.  His last post that outlines his efforts can be read here.

So over the last two weeks I have really been wondering if I need more than just another race or mileage goal to go after.  Those are still important and a very driving force for me.  But I just wonder if I may be missing the point.  I mean as a runner I think we can all take for granted our ability to lace up and go out and hit the road or trails.  There are men, women, and children that as I write, are in the battle of their lives just to beat cancer and survive.  Over the last month I have had a past employee pass away from cancer and a friend of ours 3 year old little girl diagnosed with Leukemia.

So maybe I am missing the point.  Miles are miles – but I wonder if I can be doing something more than just logging the miles.  My family has been extremely lucky in that we have not had to face cancer directly.  When you hear of a 3 year old fighting it, it makes you hug your little ones a little tighter and a little longer.  And … it makes me want to do more than just log miles.

Kids are a blessing to anyone and the most incredible gift I have ever received.  As such I want to make sure I help in a way that particularly helps kids affected by cancer.  St. Judes, as most people are aware, focuses on children fighting cancer and other life threatening diseases. They have been instrumental in cancer research over the past 50 years and have taken survival rates for children affected by cancer from 20% in the early 1960s to over 80% as of now.  This is an organization I want to help!!  I want to help stamp out cancer and particularly help children that are fighting it.

So thanks to David Murphy I have signed up to help St. Judes through the silly act of just running.  I have no idea if I will be able to raise $10 or $10,000.  However even if it is just $10 – it will mean that me logging miles has done more than just added a number to a chart that use to track my mileage each month.  If this is something that hits home with you and you for some reason feel compelled to help – sign on with me.  My goals are are simple – see if I can get a few people to commit $.10 per mile I run each month.  My average mileage this year is anywhere from 130-150 miles per month with a goal of getting to 200 miles each month.  So that would equate to $13-$20 each month.  For what ever I get from you guys each month – we will also match up to $100.  I would love to raise $1200 and match $1200 over the next year to equal $2400 over 12 months.

I have set up a Google Docs form for you to pledge through.  At the end of each month I will email out my total mileage and a link for you to donate securely through my St. Judes fundraising page.  If you can’t donate monthly – there is also a one time donation option or if you can’t donate on a particular month – just let me know.  Any dollars raised – is going to a great cause and greatly appreciated!

My miles will be more important from here on out.  No longer is it about filling in a spot on the chart for each month.  No longer is is just about me and the number of miles I will complete.  Each mile will hopefully mean that I am doing something for a child that can’t get up and lace up for a run.  I still will keep races and goals on the calendar as that is just a part of what drives me.  But hopefully this puts it all in a different perspective with a greater cause.

If you can’t donate or already supporting other great causes – help by just posting a link to this blog post or directly to the form and or fundraising page.

A Mid-Life Crisis

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Apparently a few folks have mentioned that they think I must be going through a mid-life crisis with all of this crazy running junk I am doing.  I mean, I get up at 5:30 to run, and run for hours at a time, just keep adding more and more running events to my calendar, and to top it off this next weekend I am going to run my longest distance to date a 50K THROUGH THE WOODS. – Those are all the things I have heard in justification that I must be going through a mid-life crisis.

Quite honestly, I like to give my wife a hard time about it since she has had a couple of her friends say they think that must be the case.  It really doesn’t bother me that much but it has made me wonder – am I going through a mid-life crisis??  To better answer that question I looked it up in Websters Dictionary.  The following is the actual definition of mid-life crisis -

midlife crisis

noun

a period of psychological stress occurring in middle age, thought to be triggered by a physical, occupational, or domestic event, as menopause, diminution of physical prowess, job loss, or departure of children from the home.
So… I am not really going through a period of any of that….. (especially the departure of the children from the home… just look at my DVR list of 7089 hours of Dora and you will get that one).  So … is there anything else that would indicate that I am going through a mid-life crisis?  Fancy sports car??  Nope – Honda CRV(pretty sexy huh).  Change in appearance or dress??  Nope – same haircut and clothing style for the last 9 years… which oddly enough is when our first child was born – can’t afford any new clothes and barely can afford a haircut.  Girlfriend on the side??  Nope – seems like waaay more work to an already chaotic life.. and I am happily married(hoping to get brownie points from the wife on this one so I can buy more running gear).  So… really the only thing that is causing any discussion of a mid-life crisis is my passion for all things running.
Now if you were to look back at when I first started running it would take you back to 1987 when I started running track in high school.(yes that is a REALLY long time ago).  Then throughout college I ran off and on – if I could fit it in between fraternity parties, and the 3 jobs I had, to keep eating.  Then I took a hiatus from running for about for about 12 years.  Then about 4 years ago I decided I would get back into it for a bit.  That lasted all of about 6 runs since I couldn’t run more than a half a mile without feeling like my lungs were cutting of the supply of oxygen to my brain.  Then my brother-in-law gave me a book – 50/50 – that outlined Dean Karnazes’ completion of 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days.  From there I was completely obsessed at finding out just how far you could push your body.  I read all of Dean’s other books right after that and from there I was hooked.  It didn’t happen overnight – it took about 6 months before I could get in the swing of running on a regular schedule and for longer distances.
Over the past 18 months though I ratcheted it up a bit though. After setting my sights on, and completing my first full marathon – I was completely hooked and it has only gotten better.  I read Born to Run about a year ago and from there the idea of how far you could push the body to run was extended even farther.  Add in the aspect of the social running community as well as the in-person running community and this has really been an awesome habit/hobby/obsession I have adopted.
So am I obsessed with running? YES – ABSOLUTELY!!  But, I think it is a great obsession and a great outlet for stress relief, building friendships, and more importantly – getting into better health.  Is it a mid-life crisis??  I can’t really see that it is… a mid-life crisis is a temporary change that does nothing to enhance your long term happiness(at least that is my opinion).  Running as I see it is my outlet for long term happiness as well as a healthier and hopefully longer life.
I have recently added biking into the mix now that it is getting warmer and it is another great outlet and a huge source of enjoyment.  I have also biked off and on since college(or 3rd grade if you want to count my “Black Widow” custom bike that I painted myself).  So – be warned… I may become obsessed with another source of physical exertion – so get your concerns about the new mid-life crisis warning signs ready.
As I get ready to run the Ouachita Trail 50K in just 2 1/2 days – I am more confident that I have ever been in my abilities to set my sights on something and tackle it and accomplish it.  I am still scared outta my mind about the actual task at hand this weekend – but I am still more confident than I have ever been.  Watching the Boston Marathon this past Monday and seeing a buddy run in it has even pushed me further.  I now want to, not only continue running more marathons – but I want to get faster and run farther… and who knows… maybe get to run Boston one day and run a 100 miler…..
Get prepared – you may have more things to worry about and to talk about how I must be going through a mid-life crisis.  But… plan for the long-haul… I intend to make this a mid/rest-of-life crisis!

Running is BAD for you!

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Did you know that running was bad for you??  At least that is what every non-runner loves to tell you.  So if you are reading this and you are a runner – you may want to skip this one because you know exactly what this post is about(or maybe you should read it and chime in and help support the cause).  If you are NOT a runner – then this post is just for you :)

It is humorous to see and hear all of the times that, we as runners get the statement that “Running is bad for you” or “Running will destroy your knees”.  Almost every single time we hear that it is coming from someone that has never had the desire to run and is almost irritated that, we as runners don’t quite see things their way.  Now I believe that in a lot of the cases, these comments are coming from very well intentioned and loving friends and family.  Nonetheless – there is probably nothing that can irk a runner more than having someone smugly tell you “Running is bad for you” – especially if they are not and have not been a runner.

Several of the folks that I run with on a pretty regular basis have been injured at some point over the past few months.  It has almost been a game to watch and listen to how many times I see a Facebook post or overhear someone lecturing them about the dangers of running.  Each time, the runner will typically just smile and ignore the comment but any runner will tell you – our internal reaction isn’t all smiles. Top that off by the fact that if we are injured we probably don’t even want to admit it in the first place because we might have to stop running for a few days aaaaannnd this all just make us more grouchy because we have not been able to run!

So why is there the need for a non-runner to always jump on that bandwagon.  I have yet to see a single runner respond with – “Holy cow… are you sure… wow.. THANK YOU!”.  Maybe I am just hanging out with the wrong crowd and there are some very appreciative individuals that like this type of unsolicited,(and most of the time baseless) advice.  Ever wonder why runners don’t respond to those comments positively?  Well consider this;

  • Runners that are passionate about their sport, will run anywhere between 3-6 days a week and can average anywhere from 20-100 miles per week(or more).
  • Runners that are passionate about their sport, will set alarm clocks for 4:30am to make sure they can get a run in before work or run after the kids are in bed at night to make sure they get their run in.
  • Runners that are passionate about their sport, will spend hours each week reading and researching the latest shoes, clothes, running technique, breathing techniques, routes, times, miles, – you get the picture?
  • Runners that are passionate about their sport, connect daily with other runners that are equally as passionate about the sport and share information, stories, etc.

The point here is that most runners spend huge amounts of time on a daily basis either running, planning running, thinking about running, and/or the gear and techniques of running.  So there is A LOT of research that we do on a daily basis about our sport.  Contrast that with the individual that has just smugly told you – “Maybe you should give up that running stuff and do something more sensible… I told you it was bad for you”.  How many hours have they spent researching what running form is best?  Ok … maybe not that topic… how about “Is barefoot running better for you than shod running?”. NO??? – well surely they at least know whether or not a motion control shoe is needed to correct a pronation in gait.  Still striking out here huh?  The fact is – most of the people that give that look and suggest that you should have listened to their advice before… have NO IDEA whether running is good for you or bad for you… they are just chiming in unsolicited.(Disclaimer – I know I can not blanket every possible scenario and that there might be one person that used to run across the Sahara twice each day to get food from the market to their remote location that you feel has some reliable input… I will exclude them from this statement)

Fact is – there are some studies(like the linked article here) that dispute the notion that running is bad for you and even go so far as to say it has NO IMPACT on your joint health and is a huge health advantage.  I also believe that you can find a study to support any position you want to take – so take that for what its worth.

I am not sure what drives people to want to get on the soapbox about running and their thought on how it affects health.  However I do know that between a runner and a non-runner – I will take the advice of a runner 10 out of 10 times in regards to whether running is good or bad for your health!  Just if for no other reason – the amount of time we put into our sport and learning more about it.

So the next time you have a friend or family member that is a runner who is passionate about their sport and is injured…. please don’t get that look on your face and tell them about how many times in the past you have told them running is bad for you.  Instead, try this out – “Man that really sucks!!  I know it has to be driving you crazy to have to take some time off… hope you can get back out there soon!”

I promise you – you will be amazed at the response you get from the runner and they will truly appreciate your concern!

*** Final Disclaimer – this post is made in good fun and we as runners do know that there are those that truly care about our health and are not just jumping on the bandwagon

Supplemental Outcome

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Courtesy of Cherryflex.com

Don’t you mean supplemental income?? No – I mean supplemental outcome. Is that really even a valid use of the words… I don’t know… but if not I will submit it to Websters. Supplements… that’s what I am talkin bout!! And the hope that the outcome of using them will benefit me from a health perspective in the long run(pun intended).

I was recently talking to a good friend and we were both laughing about the fact that it seems that we feel like old men with the handful of pills we take each day. Not because we need medication to treat a health issue but because we want to to make sure we are doing everything we can to help our bodies stay healthy.

This is a fairly recent addition for me. After I tore my meniscus last August the sports doctor suggested that I might consider taking some Glucosamine/Chondrointin to help strengthen the joints and that it might help with the pain I was experiencing in my knee. I was skeptical at first but when the pain continued past a few weeks I thought I had nothing to lose and bought a bottle. Over the next few weeks I noticed a decrease in pain in the knee(not total elimination but a reduction). After I finished my marathon in October, the skeptic in me took over and I thought – this is ridiculous and the only thing it is reducing is my bank account. So I stopped taking it. After about a week and a half, my knee pain returned. So, maybe there was something to this after all. Once I started taking it again, within a week my knee was feeling a lot better.

So over the past 3 months I have been researching everything I could find on what I could include in my daily intake that would help keep me performing at my best but yet keep everything a natural supplement. The second thing I ended up adding was a product called CherryFlex. My mom had been trying to get me to take this for months and swore by it’s benefits for natural pain relief and joint support. The product is made from all natural cherry paste and has been featured in Men’s Health and Shape Magazine. After taking this for about 2 weeks I noticed a big difference in pain after long runs or tough workouts. So much so, that I went from taking Ibuprofen before and after every long run to only having to take it once in the past month total(and that was for a headache more than anything).

A secondary benefit of the CherryFlex is that it also helps with cardiovascular health. So after reading up on that I decided that I wanted to focus on this as well since a good cardiovascular system should definitely return great rewards in term of running. What I found when researching this was that the number one recommendation in terms of a supplement was fish oil and/or krill oil. Since we already had some fish oil from when my wife was pregnant – I could easily add this. However after researching, it appears that krill oil may actually even pack more punch than fish oil so I may give it a try after I run out. The next supplement I found was a product called Beta-sistosterol which is made from plant sterols. Plant Sterols have been shown to increase heart function, lower total cholesterol and LDL, as well as help improve recovery in endurance athletes. Again – all good things to help with running as well as overall health.

So what does my daily dosage look like?

  • 2 CherryFlex capsules
  • 2 Glucosamine/chondroitin capsules
  • 2 Beta-Sitosterol capsules
  • 2 Fish Oil capsules
  • 1 Daily Multivitamin
  • 1 Prilosec OTC(to address my long term Acid Reflux)

So after taking all of these on a daily basis it can very much seem like I need to get one of those pill boxes that my grandmother had to keep track of what pills have been taken(but I am not going to do that!). I also respect the fact that you shouldn’t just add these type of things to your daily intake without first checking with a doctor. In fact after researching all of this, I found several supplements that would be good to add at first glance but after checking with the doctor found there were interactions with the others so – make sure you check with your doctor FIRST!

Do all of these work as promised? I can not say with any scientific degree of certainty. However, at this point they do not appear to be hurting anything other than just being a chore to take all of them and the expense of them. So I figure I don’t have anything to lose and may just be helping my overall health and performance in running.

But… each night when I take the handful of pills… it’s hard not to feel like I am 80.

Pacing Back and Forth

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With Little Rock just 3 weeks away now, the nerves are starting to set in.  Specifically – I have been stressing about pacing.  With the Chicago Marathon being my first, I told myself and everyone else, that as long as I finished I would be happy.  Well as you might expect – that wasn’t really the case.  I had it in my head that I wanted to finish in 4:30 or better.  After Chicago, while I was proud to have completed it, I definitely was disappointed in my time.  So much so that on the drive home I was even contemplating trying to run another marathon within the next month afterwards to prove to myself that I could beat that time.

Needless to say, my body convinced me otherwise and so Little Rock is now the new target.  Since starting back with a serious training program, I have felt good for the most part and been very consistent sticking to the plan and weekly mileage.  One of the benefits is that I have noticed that I am able to run a bit faster throughout this training.  In fact this week I posted my all time fastest pace of 8:22 over an 8 miler.  Compare that to an average 8 mile run over the past year and I was about 1:15 faster per mile on that run.

Now I have no grand ideas that I could hold that pace for much longer than I did on the 8 miler, but nonetheless – it has me thinking.  When I started training for Little Rock, my goal was just to finish faster than I did in Chicago.  Since that was a miserable 5:18, I felt comfortable in my training to be able to do that.  That progressed to – “Hey I am just going to shoot for 4:30 again and hopefully it all works out”.  Then to “Well, I might be able to push myself to 4:15 if everything goes well”.  Now there have been some dreams of……maybe 4:00??  To do that, I would have to maintain an average pace of 9:10 per mile.  I have maintained that pace over a couple of half-marathons and close to that on some longer distances.  The question is – can I do that over the full 26.2?

The good thing is that I have some good running friends that push me and are all going to Little Rock as well.  So my hope is that I can use them to help pace me through.  But again – having never held that pace for that long – I am just not sure.  I have my last 20 miler this Saturday, so I think I am going to see how close I can get to that pace for the full distance and see where I end up.  That is about as close as I am going to get to being able to get any sense of comfort with that goal.

In the end however – I also keep telling myself that I am not going to be qualifying for Boston in this race, so is it really all that important to worry about pace to begin with?  I mean as long as I run it and enjoy the experience – shouldn’t that be enough?  Truth is, I think all runners, whether we admit it or not – have a goal to always try to beat the previous time, or distance, or elevation gain.  That’s what drives us!

So for now, I will just keep stressing over what pace, whether I can maintain a pace from start to finish or plan on starting slow and picking it up, or whether I should just forget about pace and run.  The numbers are addictive to think about, and plan with.  I guess hopefully after my 20 this weekend I will have a better idea and feel a little more confident.

Hope everyone has a great long run this weekend!

The Ice Bath

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One of the things I really appreciate is being able to research something and get input from someone that has done the same thing, purchased the same thing, or has specific input surrounding the item I am researching.  That’s what leads me to the topic of this post – Ice Baths.

When going through my training for Chicago, I had read several articles that touted the advantages of ice baths in the recovery from long runs.  At first I didn’t seriously think about incorporating it into my recovery.  However after I hit the 15 mile mark and I ended up being pretty sore the rest of the day and the next day afterwards, I started considering it as an option to try.

The question I had though was – how do I go about it?  I had read plenty of articles on why ice baths were good for your recovery but had trouble finding a lot of information in regards to the best way to go about it.  I fumbled my way through it the first time and since then have found some tips to help the overall experience.

Normally after my long runs I am tired and sweaty and really just want to grab a shower.  So the ice bath is not on the top of the list of things I am wanting to figure out after the run so I always like to plan it out prior to going for the run.

  • Lay out a couple of towels. – 1 to dry off with and 1 to help dry the floor from the ice dripping
  • Plan for where you are going to get the ice – bagged or from the freezer
  • Plan for any clothing to help in the process

Especially now that it is colder, I want to have all of those things figured out because I am normally soaked with sweat(even in the sub freezing temperatures) just from the 3+ hours of running and it is easy to talk yourself out of the ice bath after you get inside and warm up a bit.  So with all of the above figured out early, I normally come straight in and start by filling the tub up with all a mix of luke-warm water mixed with straight cold water.  This helps A LOT, because I normally will get into the tub while the water is running and BEFORE adding the ice.  As I become more accustomed the temperature of the water I slowly start moving the water temp to all cold water and fill it up just to the point that it is at waist level when sitting down.

Once the water is at the right level, I slowly add the ice.  It is important to plan for enough ice.  If you are depending on just using the ice out of your freezer, it may not be enough to sufficiently cool the water and you may need to add additional ice.  Bagged ice works best but that also involves planning ahead and having a place to keep the ice until you are back from running.  In either case you want enough ice to completely cover the surface of the water if not just a little more.

The other tip I have picked up after doing this several times is that clothing can be your friend.  I normally go straight to the ice bath in my running shorts.  Beyond that I had a friend suggest using a sweatshirt or light jacket that you don’t mind getting wet.  This makes a big difference!  The overall goal is not to make yourself cold, but to allow the cold water to decrease any inflammation of the joints and muscles.  So by adding a jacket or sweatshirt you can at least keep your upper body warmer.

The other thing I have noticed is that after sitting in the ice water for a few minutes the water immediately surrounding your legs warms a bit from the heat of your body.  To maximize the effectiveness of the ice bath, move your legs around a bit.  This does two things,

  • 1. It keeps you from having the pocket of warmer water around your legs, and
  • 2. it keeps your muscles moving to help you from getting stiff sitting in the cold water.

Normally 10 minutes is plenty of time after you have the ice in the water.  By that point my feet normally are hurting from the cold and I am more than ready to get out.

I am not going to lie and say that is is easy or fun even.  In fact it can be pretty tough to get yourself convinced that you can really do it after you get in the cold water.  However, the difference between the times that I have used an ice bath after my long run versus the times I haven’t are amazing.  The last 20 miler I ran, I wasn’t able to get in an ice bath due to my kids having basketball games scheduled that morning and I was incredibly sore and tired the next day.  Compare that with the days I am able to get an ice bath and I am hardly ever sore or tired the day after.  In fact the last two times that I have added an ice bath after a long run, the next day I was actually able to get in a great shorter recovery run.

Give it a shot and see if it works.  Worst case scenario, you can tell your friends that you are hardcore enough to have taken an ice bath …. or just that you decided to wash your running clothes in cold water instead of hot :)