Tag Archives: marathon training

Enjoy The Miles

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GrannyGranddaddy

Granny and Granddaddy at their house several years ago

This past weekend as we were traveling through where I was born and spent the first few years of my life, I had a a chance to reflect on my childhood, the major events of my life, the bits and pieces of what makes me who I am.  My granny passed away about two and half years ago and for the first time in 50 years my Granddaddy has been alone after having her by his side each and every day for the last 50 years.  Since then he has had a tough time adjusting to life on his own, the reality of being by himself, and ongoing health issues.  So when he said that he was moving to live in Colorado with my uncle, I was not surprised and actually feel like it is the best thing for him.  However that means he is leaving his home of the last 50 years and all the things that made it his “Home” with my granny.  We knew that this would be a visit that we could not miss on our way through.  What I didn’t really realize was how tough it would be for him as well as me.

We spent the day with Granddaddy and my Aunt Dianne and went to my Great Grandparents home in Oakman AL.  This was the first time I had been to their house since my Great Grandmother died over 22 years ago.  Theirs was a grand southern home on a hillside in the country.  The house actually served as the post office back in the civil war and held years and year of memories to more people than can be counted.  For me it was the basis for every Christmas morning memory as a child.  I can vividly remember the hardwood floors and the creaks they would make as you walked on them, the upstairs bedrooms that had the sloped ceilings that you would hit your head on if you sat up to quickly in bed and the magic of coming down the stairs on Christmas morning to see what Santa had left.  I also remember great summers in the house with cousins, staying up playing spoons, and sitting out on the front porch with my Great Granddaddy talking for what seemed like hours.

CorryHouse

Old Corry Home in Oakman AL

The old house is now in bad shape.  No one has lived in it in over 20 years and looking at it with the broken window panes, and deteriorating foundation is sad.  It solidifies that the grandeur of the house is gone and is nothing but memories now.

As we made our way back to my Granddaddy’s house I realized that I was most likely spending the last few hours in his house since the plan is to sell it once he moves to Colorado.  I was very close with my grandparents as a kid.  I spent several summers with them and in that very house.  I have very good memories of both of them and the time we spent there.  I know the house like it was my own.  That evening I found myself walking through with my aunt to see if there was anything I wanted out of the house before they sold it and the enormity of the change hit me squarely in the gut.  The finality of it was closing in and what I had really just taken for granted as a pillar of stability in my younger years was closing the book on those times as memories of the past.

With each running event or triathlon that I train for and complete, there is a period immediately in the days after when the finality of the event hits me.  The race is over, the medal is hung on the wall, the race report is finished and then there is a void.  This was particularly true with the 50 miler I wrapped up last month and it lasted longer than normal.  I guess it was a bigger event – or a larger milestone or whatever.  I normally bounce back pretty quickly and get another goal on the calendar or shift focus to one that is already on the calendar but inevitably there still tends to be a void even if for a short period.  The realization that all of the early morning swims, the long runs in the rain, the bike rides in the heat all have peaked for that event and are done and the event is over and now just a memory.  Oftentimes during the training, I get bored with the long runs, or the swims are tough on a tired body or the bike up all the hills of SW Missouri get really tough and I tell myself I can’t wait to have these out of the way and just get to the race.  Then the race is over and I miss the training.  It’s kind of an endless self-feeding cycle.

As a husband and father, I also tend to get stressed out with the schedule of never ending places to be or low on patience when the kids are tired and whiny or fighting with each other.  I tell myself – I really just want to get through this week and make it to the weekend so that we can have a day off.  Then the weekend comes and there are games to go to, dance practice to hurry off to, church to get up early for and we breathe a sigh of relief on Sunday evening and think … man I am glad that weekend is over.

What I hope to try to keep in mind(at least with a focused effort) is that I need to stop and enjoy this!  Soon it will be over and I will be saying that I really miss it.  And while I can always add something else to focus on to the calendar or schedule… it will not be the same.  With each week, with each ball game, with each swim, run, bike and race… it moves each of those into the memory category.

I will miss my Great Grandparent’s home as well as my Grandparents home even more now as the years go by. I will miss spending time at both of these and the people that shared them with me.  Ultimately the houses just are the container of the memories of the experiences with the people there.  I will miss the people the most… the houses just are a finalization of the time periods held within them.

I hope I can stop and slow down in all of the aspects of my life and realize I need to enjoy the miles – and realize the race is just the point where the miles turn into memories.

Brownie Points

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Forewarning – this post may earn some brownie points but that however is not the intended goal. 

Over the past 18 months, a lot has changed for me in terms of work, schedule, priorities and what I do for fun.  Back in January of 2011 I was a typical “close to 40″ guy that used his “free time” to watch TV shows that had my DVR overflowing with episodes in my playlists.  My level of physical activity was pretty much relegated to mowing the lawn on the weekends and running the weed-eater.  My eating habits were poor at best and my weight hit an all-time high of 183lbs.  For a guy that is only 5’7” – that is way out of whack!  My answer to this was to go in spurts of eating based on the Atkins diet for a couple of months, loose some weight, and then sink back into old habits and gain it back within 6 month.  To make matters worse, I had it in my mind that as long as I was eating mainly protein and the weight was coming off – it didn’t matter what I ate.  So I ate steak several times a week, and bacon was a common addition.  Finally after going to the doctor for an ear infection and subsequent follow up I was told my blood pressure was borderline high – I decided I had to make a change.  I didn’t want to be the dad that had a heart attack and left his wife and young kids to try to survive without him.

I started back running in March of 2011 on a regular basis, trying to get at least 3 runs per week in.  It was tough to begin with.  I used work as an excuse to skip workouts a lot, the weather was too hot, or too cold, or I felt like I was coming down with something quite a few times.  But – I stuck with it.  After I committed in June of 2011 to running the Chicago Marathon in October – there was no turning back.  The summer was brutal last year(and again this year) with morning lows only dropping down into the upper 70s and low 80s at times.  But – I stuck with it and kept a regular schedule or running.  Excuses slowly became non-existent and I actually started looking forward to running.  By the time I ran the Chicago Marathon, I was hooked.  I changed from looking to find excuses why I couldn’t run to never letting an excuse stop me from running.

Through that process, I have become healthier – Mentally healthier and physically healthier.  I have dropped 30lbs to date, my blood pressure is excellent now, my resting heart-rate is 58, and my eating has changed completely(another post to come on that subject).  All in all – I am a much healthier and happier person now than I was 2 years ago.

All of these changes are a great thing right?  In the big picture – absolutely!  However I know that there are trade-offs for everything.  The real intent of this post is not at all on what I have changed – but more importantly what my family has allowed me to do.  Having people around you that are supportive is HUGE in determining the overall success in changing your life to become healthier.  Having a support system that understands your goals, the process required and most importantly the willingness to make some sacrifices with you, ultimately can determine whether or not you are successful.

I am extremely lucky that my family has been that support!  While I do try to schedule as much of my workouts in the early mornings before anyone else is awake – it still takes some flexibility on their part as well.  I normally am worn out and tired by 9:30 or so in the evenings and ready for bed at 10:30 at the latest.  My long runs are normally on the weekend and even if I start at 6am they can still eat into some family time by the time I get 15-20 miles in.  On Tuesday evenings we have our normal bike night and that requires a couple of hours out of pocket to participate in that.  Recently adding triathlons to the mix has added even more time out of the schedule to get in swim time during the lap times at the pool or in the lake after the morning runs.  Trying to get brick workouts in to accommodate bike rides, and runs takes a couple of hours at a time.  Our weekly schedules, weekend schedule, trips, and even vacations now all have some sort of training schedule built into and around them.  My diet has changed dramatically over the past 12 months.  Lastly – the expense of all of this is a whole new aspect.  While running is one of the cheapest sports in terms of gear required – a new set of shoes every couple of months adds up.  Bike gear adds up quickly, as does swim and triathlon kits and gear.  All in all – A LOT of change over the past 18 months.  The end result is positive, but I wonder if I would be as accepting of this if the shoe was on the other foot.  I hope that I would… but I am not sure I am as good of a person when it comes to that as my wife is.

My wife is extremely supportive and fully committed to help me in any way she can.  But I do know that it takes a toll on her as well.  Having 3 kids and the youngest being 3 years old can be a struggle at times especially when I am out on a 4 hour bike ride.  My kids even get factored in as well.  I know there are things I miss out on when I am not at home with them.  My hope is that they see the things I am doing and it helps them believe in themselves no matter what path they decide they want to pursue.  My daughter recently told me that she wanted to start doing triathlons soon and it made me beam from ear to ear.  I don’t want to push my kids into doing anything they don’t truly want to do but hearing her say that was awesome!

Over the past year and a half I know there are people that think I have completely lost it.  I know that it can get old for my wife waking up every day and me being gone for either a run, a bike ride or a swim.  I know that having so much of my focus being on getting ready for a specific event or competition can be tiring for those that don’t share the same passion.  I know that constantly hearing me talk about the sports that I love to take part in can become annoying very quickly.  I also know that having me spend so much time training with other people and throw into the mix that some of those are females can be hard to be understanding of.

For all of that – I truly appreciate my family for allowing me to take this journey and hope that they realize how much enjoyment it has brought me, and that it has allowed me to get back into a healthy state for them for years to come! THANK YOU!!

And… yes those are brownie points you hear in the background… whether intended or not…

Little Rock Marathon Recap

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Finally getting around to the Little Rock Marathon Recap - FAIR WARNING – post will be a little longer than normal for a full recap.

We drove down to Little Rock on Saturday and got in mid-afternoon and over to the expo.  I wasn’t too sure of what to expect since the expo in Chicago was so huge.  The expo was actually very easy to get in and get around but still had enough vendors to offer gear.  I mainly had 2 missions – get my race packet and meet up with Terri Ayers – Chair of the Little Rockers Kids Marathon.  I really want to highlight how great the staff of the Little Rock Marathon program is!  My kids wanted to run the Little Rockers Kids Marathon, but due to typical winter sickness they were not able to get all of their miles in before we went down.  After checking with the staff, Terri was very kind and let me meet her at the expo and get the kids medals so that once they complete their miles at home, we can present them to them.  They have no idea that we did this and it is going to be a great surprise to them once they get to that point.  The staff went above and beyond for us on this and I can’t say enough how much that means and it is just a example of how great the staff of the Little Rock Marathon are!

Picking up the race packet was pretty uneventful and painless.  The only issue I had was that I ended up with the wrong size on the race shirt which was promptly exchanged without any issue.  I did pick up a t-shirt as well and was pleasantly surprised that they dropped the price by the time we got there around 4pm.  The only thing I would liked to see more of is a little more selection in terms of short sleeve t-shirts but – that’s just being nick-picky now.

So after picking up the race packet and heading back up to the room we chilled out and waited until time to go find something to eat.  A lot of the running group from Branson got together for dinner but we missed them because they were meeting at 4pm for dinner and we had just gotten to the expo then.  We had thought we would try to eat at Loco Luna based upon a recommendation from a friend that had lived in Little Rock but after not even being able to find a parking space we opted to look elsewhere and after trying 3 different restaurants found a place to try to get some carbs.(Note to self – get reservations ahead of time if we plan on running this again next year!)

Devra and Vickie before the start. Tim was in the restroom :)

On Sunday I had my alarm set for 6:30 which actually allowed me to sleep in a bit from my normal running days.  I had planned on meeting Devra, Vicki and Tim in the lobby at 7:25.  After meeting up we all headed down the street to the start.  It was 39 degrees out when we left and I was just in a pair of shorts and my IRC(Idiots Running Club) short sleeved shirt so it was a little chilly waiting on the start but once in the crowd it cut down the wind considerably.  The energy of the crowd was great and getting in place was pretty uneventful.  I also spotted another “Idiot” in the crowd who sought me out based on the shirt.  Turns out it was Charley Hogue, who I later found out was one of the founders in the Idiots Running club.  David said he was FREAKISHLY fast(he finished LR in 3:00!)

I ended up lining up with Vickie and we were back behind the 5:10 pacers which was quite a bit further back than I would have liked but Vickie and I talked and decided it wasn’t really worth trying to fight to get up further.  Once the race started it only took us a little more than 4 minutes to get across the start mats and my second marathon was underway.

Lined up and ready to go!

The first couple of miles were a little frustrating since I started further back than I wanted mainly due to the fact of blindly running up on folks that were walking and having to try to navigate around them(but that was my fault).  With the slow start and weaving in and out of traffic I figured my time would be really slow starting out.  Turns out I was averaging around a 9 minute pace and on target.  Miles 3-5 were pretty easy with just a small uphill over the bridges and the supporters were great.  By this point the crowd was easing up a bit to allow for pretty clear running.

I had thought I might see Sharena and the kids around mile 6 after we went back over the bridge and back towards the hotel.  However I didn’t see them and figured since the roads were closed it was a little too much to navigate through for them.  I kept looking at my Garmin to see how my pace was tracking and to my surprise I was getting faster and keeping around and 8:45- 8:50 pace.  This worried me a bit since I was wanting to track around a 9:10 pace with hopes of getting under a 4:15 finish with a optimistic goal of 4:00.  However I figured that since I had some uphills in the race that it might actually work to my favor to be a little fast on the flat sections.

I had hoped to catch a glimpse of the family again at mile 8 since it looped back around a few blocks from the hotel again but still didn’t see them.  However it was somewhere in this area that we ran by the state capital and that was pretty cool to experience during a race.  And again – the supporters were great!  It was right around the 9-10 mile mark when we had the first incline with was about a 70 foot incline and my pace didn’t drop a bit so that was encouraging.  We were running through neighborhoods at this point and it was awesome to see the people out on their porches playing music through loud speakers and several out playing instruments.

Around the 11 mile mark I caught up with Daphne who was running her second half marathon and judging by her pace at that point I knew she was going to get a new PR.  I told her she was doing awesome and to keep it up and shortly thereafter the half marathon folks split off from the full.

When I hit the half marathon point, I checked my Garmin and I had held a pretty darn good pace.  In fact if I were running the half I would have gotten a new PR on the half by more than 2 minutes.  So at this point – I am still feeling good and not tired at all.  That was all about to change and change QUICKLY!

At the 13.5 mile mark is where the real uphill started.  At first we climbed for maybe half a mile and up about 120 foot and leveled off.  I slowed a bit to about a 9:30 pace and was feeling the climb in my quads but thought that when it leveled off that I had this beat!  I really thought that was all of the climbs!  Then turning the corner, we started climbing again and it stretched out for the next 2.5 miles – ALL UPHILL.  It seemed like I would never get to the top of that stupid hill!  My quads were on fire and my pace had slowed to about a 9:50 pace.  Finally I got to the point where there was no more climbing and it turned to the right and leveled off before heading down.  At this point, I was ecstatic to not be going up anymore and a little bummed that my pace dropped so much but still thinking that I was feeling pretty good considering.

The next 9/10 of a mile was where my pace for the race went in the toilet.  During that 9/10 of a mile we lost all of the elevation that we spent the last 3 miles gaining.  Meaning – it was a fast downhill!  The thing I was not really prepared for was the effect it would have on my knee.  It was a killer on the torn meniscus and by mile 19 there was a shooting pain with every step on my right leg.

At least by this point we were at the flat, out and back section so I thought I could make up some time.  I had planned for this race to do a better job of maintaining my intake of water and calories with GU.  I had packed 9 GUs in my SPI Belt and had been pretty consistent with water and GU every 30-40 minutes.  However with the pain in my knee it still slowed my pace to around a 11 minute pace.  By the 20 mile mark I had to stop and walk a bit to try to get a little relief on my knee.

From this point forward it was pretty painful both physically and mentally.  With the on and off walking that I was forced to do, I had to admit to myself that a 4:00 time was no longer in the cards – and that SUCKED!  My last 20 miler leading up to Little Rock was right on target for a 4:00 finish so I had it in my head that it was a reality.  I just didn’t plan for the effect the hills would have.

Miles 21 through 24 were pretty much a blur.  My knee felt like a knife was stuck in the joint with every step, and mentally I was beat up.  However I did enjoy getting several runners recognizing the IRC shirt and got several “What’s up Idiot!” and many comments about the shirt and the club – so even through the pain it was nice to be recognized as an Idiot.  Vickie caught up with me around  this point and helped encourage me and got me back in a better place – THANKS VICKIE!  So we ran together for mile 25 and I finally told her to go on around the 25.5 mile mark because I knew I was holding her back.  She went on and I kept my head down and pushing.  I did finally see the family about 1/10 of a mile from the finish line and it was AWESOME to see their faces.  I didn’t get to stop like I did in Chicago because I still was hoping to break a 4:30.

I ended up crossing the finish line at 4:31:18 which was a 47 minute PR over Chicago.  So while it was a little disappointing to not hit the time goal I had in the back of my mind – a PR is nothing to be disappointed with.  The medals from Little Rock are HUGE so walking with that around my neck was almost work at this point but a proud badge of determination.

All in all the Little Rock Marathon was a great experience and a very neat race.  The course was very challenging for me but yet very scenic and enjoyable.  Next year if it fits on my schedule I will just have to do MUCH MORE hill work.  I definitely recommend the race if you have not done it – great job on the organization and a fun race!

So whats next….?  Well I wanted to wait and see how I felt after a few post runs to make any decisions … but I think I have another race picked out… stay tuned!

The Final Countdown

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Ok – I couldn’t help it…. with the title being “The Final Countdown” – I couldn’t work on this post without the song playing in my head – aaah the wonders of YouTube!

So I am not just about 36 hours out from my second marathon and I am officially in panic mode.  I mean there is the whole “running 26.2 miles” thing – but more so from the aspect that it has been a crazy week here and trying to get packed up and ready to go out of town has been a huge task.  Our hope is to be on the road by 10am tomorrow so that we can be in Little Rock by 2pm and over to the expo by no later than 3- 3:30.  Thats if all goes well.

So what are the differences between this marathon and my first?  Well for starters I have been able to keep my full training schedule.  Last marathon the torn meniscus interrupted my training with 5 weeks left and even though I did get to run some before Chicago, I definitely did not feel fully ready when I toed the line.  I actually feel like I am about as ready as I am going to be for this marathon.  I wont really know until Sunday but I feel like I have given it a pretty good shot at keeping the schedule and level of training up through this point.

Secondly the big difference will be the weather.  I have been stalking the weather for Little Rock for about the last two weeks now(even before the 10 day forecast was out).  As of right now it appears that Sunday will start in the upper 30s and there should be a high in the upper 60s.  That has gone back and forth a couple of times.  While my perfect temperature would be highs in the mid 50s, the upper 60s are a huge improvement over the low 80s that I finished in during Chicago.  I plan on running in shorts and a short sleeve shirt(even making a debut of the IRC shirt!)

The course itself is a big change as well.  Chicago was just about as flat as you can get and Little Rock is, from what I can tell from the elevation map – moderately hilly.  I am most worried about the big hill that is shown to be around the 14 mile mark that has about a 200 foot climb and then immediately loses all of that gain in a very short distance.  The route I run from my house is moderately hilly so I am hoping that I will be sufficiently ready for the hills.

Finally the group of runners I had planned on running with has drastically changed for Little Rock.  In Chicago, I wasn’t sure what kind of pace I would be able to keep and was relatively new to the running group so I kinda shied away from running with anyone I knew.  For Little Rock, there are quite a few local runners that are making the trip down.  So I had originally thought I would have at least 2 or 3 others that I could lean on to help me maintain a pace.  Injuries seem to have been a major issue over the past month or so.  In fact there are 3 of the 6 of us that trained together that will either run a different pace than planned in the beginning or not run at all.

So this should pan out to be a pretty different race.  At least I really hope so – the wheels came off for me in Chicago and I would really like to make a marked improvement over my first marathon.  In any case – it is going to be fun and it should be a great day for the race.  Now – I have just got to get everything packed and ready to go… more to come later!

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.

Fortunate

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I just wrapped up my last 20 miler before Little Rock and this week begins “the taper”.  Last Saturday was a challenge to get the 20 miles in.  First of all we have had a really mild winter so far, but for whatever reason last Saturday was the coldest day of the year so far(at least prior to Sunday).  I knew it was going to be rough getting out early to get my run in before the kids basketball games.  I had originally thought my son’s basketball game started at 11am, so my plan was that I needed to start my run by 6:30am to get my distance in and have time to get a shower and to the game on time.  However I realized Friday night that I had read the schedule wrong and it actually started at 10am.  So my start time got pushed up to 5:30am.

Since I had to start so early, I ended up running solo for the first 8 miles.  It was pretty tough to get out of the car at 5:30 with the temperature at 12 degrees and a stiff North breeze to make it worse.  At that time of the morning I got some pretty strange looks from the delivery trucks coming in staring at me in my full face mask and headlamp on.  I imagine they couldn’t figure out if I was going to rob a convenience store or if I was just an idiot.(I showed them!)

Starting out solo was pretty nice actually despite the cold temps.  It gave me a change to really focus on my pace and listening to the feedback my body was giving me.  My goal for Saturday was to try to maintain a 9:10 pace for the full 20 miles, with the hopes that it would give me a good idea of whether I could come close to a 4:00 – 4:15 finish in Little Rock.  I ended up getting a 9:12 pace so I will take that and be happy.

At 7am, the rest of the group joined up with me and they were jealous that I had 40% of my run out of the way.  Tim, one of my regular running buddies was there after sitting out for a week due to an injury so it was nice to have him back with the group.  However after about 6 miles he had to stop because his hamstring was really not much better and he was hurting pretty badly.  Another one of the guys who is hoping to qualify for Boston this race was also missing as well due to a back injury.

By the time I finished up my last mile to round out my 20, my knee was really starting to hurt.  In fact for the rest of Saturday, I could hardly bend it and even with Ibuprofen the whole meniscus issue was at the top of my thoughts.  I talked to one of the other runners that normally runs on the weekends with us who was supposed to run the Jacksonville Marathon on Sunday.  He ended up having to drop back and run the Half Marathon due to a worsening case of Plantar Fasciitis.

By the end of the weekend, my thoughts were pretty much consumed with all of the injuries that seemed to have happened in the past few weeks.  Now all of these runners are not newbies by any means.  In fact all of them are pretty seasoned runners with multiple marathons under their belt and even a few ultra-marathons.  So this was not an issue of over-training or not knowing how to train.  These were just straight bad luck injuries.

This caused me to reflect a bit and realize that I am indeed fortunate to be able to run.  To a non-runner, the idea that you have to stop running for a few weeks to heal or recuperate seems miniscule – but to someone who is passionate about running – it plays massive head games with you.  I can remember right after I tore my meniscus the feeling that all I wanted to do was be able to run again.  Then I remember after having some time off and getting the steroid shot that I just wanted to be able to run pain free again.  Gradually over the past 5 months I have been able to get to the point of running relatively pain free.  I mean there are always the recurrent pains and issues but nothing so far as to be a show-stopper for me.

This has led to me to forget how fortunate I am to be running relatively pain free.  My focus has been completely on how fast, how far, and what will be my next challenge after Little Rock.  That’s not to say those are bad thoughts and plans.  Just that I need to remind myself each and every time I run that I am fortunate.  Fortunate to have found this sport, and fortunate to be able to participate in it.  Fortunate to have a supportive family that puts up with the craziness of all of it.  Fortunate to have a job that allows me to travel to these races.  Fortunate to have the drive to continue even when I am tired and don’t feel like getting out of bed, or finishing that last mile of the 20 miler.  Truth is – there is a lot in my life that I can overlook in the hectic schedule and forget that I am fortunate.

As I go into the taper phase of training there will be all kinds of mind tricks that will happen after having to cut back the training and rely on the hope that I am ready.  Again – to a non-runner,  this is not something you can really explain.  However I am going to make it a point to try to remember how fortunate I am to be at this point and still running.  Here’s to hoping that Tim, Dathan, and David have a speedy recovery and can again feel like they can run pain free.

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 :)

Turn down that music!!

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So one of the more interesting things(well interesting at least to me) that has happened with my running since Chicago is that I have not had a single run with my iPod in tow.  The weird part is that it really wasn’t intentional.  When I ran in Chicago I had my iPod loaded up and ready to go with a full playlist of songs to get me through however many hours it took me to plod along through it.  It was just a given that I would run with my iPod.

To illustrate just how tied to my iPod my running was before, consider this;   I went to a Cisco conference in Las Vegas in July of last year and on the flight back I inadvertently left my iPhone in the cab getting out at the airport at 5am that morning. Now up until this point, every run I made included my armband, my iPhone and MapMyRun.  I did not own a Garmin at the time so I was sold on the iPhone and the related apps.  After getting off the plane without my iPhone the biggest fear I had wasn’t what if someone calls me(even though email was really the biggest issue without it) – but what really worried me was – How am I going to run now without having my iPhone and the integrated iPod?  In fact once I got home it only took about a month before I ended up replacing MapMyRun with a Garmin since I was relegated to using an older and much slower iPhone that kept crashing while trying to use MapMyRun. Eventually I replaced the armband and iPhone all together by using an iPod shuffle.  All the way through the Chicago Marathon I kept my iPod on.

Then after getting back from Chicago I started reading ChiRunning.  One of the things it really pushes is being in tune with your body and aware of every aspect of your form while running.  Music tends to distract you from listening to your body by having you listen to well….music.  So for the first few runs after Chicago since I was only going 3-5 miles I decided I would ditch the extra gadget and run without it. Then as I started back training for Little Rock and running with our running group I didn’t end up using an iPod either(because that would be rude to put on earbuds after meeting friends to run).

This past week I ended up running an 8 miler by myself because rain cancelled the group run(well not completely but I can’t stand the treadmill and opted out of the group treadmill run).  About 4 miles in I found myself really engrossed in the hills and woods by the local route I run and was amazed at all of the sounds I was hearing.  I kept telling myself, it has really been a long time since you have ran this route because I can’t remember hearing those things.  Then I realized – it was because I was running without the distraction of music.  I hadn’t really started out with the intention of ditching music, but the habit of running with the group left me running without it.  What I realized was that where in the past I was totally numbed by the playlist, now I felt every movement and step as well as the environment around me.  It finally made sense… without the distraction of the music I could focus on running and the feedback my body was giving me.  I immediately tried to think of the last time I ran with music and it was in Chicago – which I consequently left with a good case of Plantar Fasciitis.

When I got back and analyzed my Garmin data(I love looking at the data!!), what I found was that I had ran my fastest pace ever on that 8 mile route.  Now back when I was training for Chicago by myself I was running that route 5 days a week.  So to have just ran it for the first time in months and for the first time without music and to have ran it faster than I ever had – was an eye opener.

Now I am not saying that running without music will prevent injuries or will make you faster.  I am just noticing a correlation between focusing fully on the feedback from your body while running and the overall performance.  And I am sure at some point or another I will probably end up with earbuds in again while running but I do think that there is some legitimacy to the notion that running with music causes you to block out what your body is telling you.  The biggest benefit I saw was that I really enjoyed experiencing the run and the route. Sure there were the cars that passed by distracting me but it was an awesome run along the hills.

So who knows… give it a shot… run without your iPod for a run or two.  Pay attention to your body and see what you think.  It may not be a fit for everyone – but then again it may really make a difference!