Month: February 2013

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Running is cheaper than therapy (part II)

Yesterday was not a fun day.

Work was piling up.  My family has been sick.  It seemed all the world wanted something from me.

I love my work, but somedays are frustrating.  I thought of running after I got home, even though it was my off day.  Then my son was sick, so I took him to the doctor and didn’t get home until 4:00.  By then I was not in a good mood, even tough my lovely wife tried to cheer me up.

So I ran.  It was only 3 miles since it was my off day, but I ran an 8:09 pace which is good for me.

I wrote a post a while back about a bumper sticker that I saw that said, “Running is cheaper than therapy”.  Really, to be totally honest, running has become therapy to me.  Yes, I want to run races and to do well in them.  Yes, I want to run a marathon as my dad did in his 70’s.  But I realize that running helps me deal with life.  It helps me at work to be more efficient and productive.  It helps me at home to be less frustrated at normal circumstances.  It just helps.

Here is an article that says that running increases dopamine.

Health newstand says this about dopamine:

Dopamine is widespread in the brain as well as the rest of the nervous system. This neurotransmitter plays a critical role in the control of movement. It has a stimulating effect on the heart, the circulation, the rate of metabolism, and is able to mobilize many of the body’s energy reserves. It helps to modulate brain activity, control coordination and movement, and regulate the flow of information to different areas of the brain.  Dopamine is believed to release chemicals that allow us to feel pleasure (e.g., endorphins).

I’m not sure why I went in this direction with this post.  I guess I realize that my days are better when I run.  Is it chemical (dopamine, endorphins) or just the fact I am finally getting in shape and feel better about myself?  I don’t know.

This is what I do know…

I love running.

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Back in the saddle

Or, back in running shoes!

We had our practice run for the Mercedes half marathon yesterday.  Running 9 miles through the streets of Birmingham at 6:30 am.  I felt great.  TJ and RS ran also and we ran together for the most part.  It was a lot of fun and makes me look forward the the race that much more.

Taking a day off from running was really difficult for me.  I have taken time off in the past, and one day leads to another and the next thing you know, the “habit” of running is gone.  I know, one day won’t kill a habit, but it really was hard.

It was worth it.

My knee is a little sore, but no pain while running yesterday and I feel even better today.  I really think the hill runs are messing with me some.  I didn’t have such problems – or not as many – as I have had while running up mountains.  On the other hand, my speed and endurance has gotten a lot better.  I cut 30 seconds off my pace between December and January!

This week we begin to taper some to prepare for our race.  TJ and I are going to run together one day so I can get in a steady state run.  He has a great feel for pace and it will be helpful to run a longer run and faster pace with him.

That’s it for now.  On to another day.

I love running… again.

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I didn’t run…

I didn’t run yesterday.

Let me say that again, I didn’t run yesterday.

I decided it would be best not to run since I was in pain from the day before. It was the first day in a long time that I didn’t run my plan. Sometimes wisdom is more important than running the plan.

This morning is our practice run for our half marathon. TJ, RS and I will all run at 6:30 this morning.

I love running?

🙂

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Ouch, that run hurt

I learned something yesterday…  Don’t run hard the day after a hill run!

I over did it and it started with a warning.  I was less than a quarter mile into my run when I had such a horrible knee pain that it stopped me in my tracks.  I stood there for a minute thinking about hobbling home, but then thought I would try running slowly and see if it still hurt.  I was fine.  In fact after about another half mile I picked up my pace and had a decent run.

Then I finished.

It hurt.

My knee was not in good shape.  I have been running for 10 months, only missing a day or two because of injury, and now 15 days before my first half marathon I am hurting.  My knee, my legs and my hip.  So I went home after my run and put ice on my knee immediately.  After about 20 minutes, I did what all runners do after such a horrible run. I went to Dominos and got 4 pizzas for the kids and me while my lovely wife was sleeping off a migraine.

This morning, things aren’t much better.  I may miss my run today, just to play it safe.  I definitely don’t want to miss this race.  I will wait until this afternoon to make up my mind.

Tomorrow is a practice run for the marathon/half marathon.  It starts at 6:30 – ugh.  The bad thing is that those of us running the half marathon only run an 8.6 mile course and my goal tomorrow is 12 miles and TJ I am sure wants to run 20.  We will see how it goes.  We may just continue to run afterwards.

One last mention.  RS is back on track.  He ran 5 miles yesterday in an 8:30 pace. He was been out with sickness, wisdom teeth extraction and a knee injury, so it was rough getting back into the game. He’s back and I am so excited for him.

I love running.

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Running up Mountains

Okay, not “mountains”, but a really steep hill.

Yesterday was my hill run day.  Everyone I talk to says hill runs are the best for increasing your endurance and speed in a race.  So, the last day of January I go out for my second week of running this hill/mountain.  Last week I ran it twice and ran some other routes in between each hill run.  This week, I changed it up.  I ran about 1.8 miles before I got to the hill to get warmed up some.  Of course it was also the first time in 10 months that I forgot my phone, so I don’t know how fast I was running, but when I reached the hill, I was breathing a bit hard.

Up I went – up the hill.  It was a rough run.  I got to the top and it levels out for a bit before I turn to go back down the hill.  By the time I got to the bottom (which was hard in and of itself since it was so steep), I was ready to go up again.  Without a break I went for it.  Back up the hill to the top.  This time it didn’t seem as hard and as I went back down, I felt pretty good.  My goal was three times, so I went back up.  Not bad.  It seemed that each time I went up I felt a little easier than the last.  My legs were tired and running down the hill was harder, but I was shocked that I was able to make it three times without much fatigue.  I then ran a couple more miles to make sure I made 5 miles and went home to take my son to a doctor appt.

What an end to a month.  It was close to record mileage, but since I forgot my phone, I am not 100% sure.  But for two months in a row now I have been able to run over 150 miles.  Wow, it wasn’t but early fall that I could barely break 100.  Also, I am on pace to make my third 40 mile week in a row.

Do you want to know why I love running?  The activity is rather boring and takes a lot of time, however I love running because I can run faster and farther with little skill.  Running just works best if you do it.  Also it doesn’t really cost too much, except for shoes that can be found rather cheaply on sale.   I work with technology all day long.  I have computers and phones and tablets and gadgets blinding my eyes.  When I run, it is just me, outside with the sound of my feet on the pavement.  I’m alone..  I work through problems in my head.  I pray.  I get out my frustrations.  It really is better than therapy.  No pills, just nature, neighbors and running shoes.  Wet, cold, hot, sunny, cloudy.  Any and all weather.  Whatever the weather is like at 2:00, that is what weather I am going to run in.

Ultimately, running up mountains is a good name for this post.  I named it that for the hill run, but every run is a run up mountains.  It is primal.  It is therapeutic.  It is just nature and me, alone, together.

I love running.