Month: July 2013

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Pre-race hangin with the dog

Heading out to the Retro Run 5K. Hot, humid and fun. The Dog is excited.

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27 years!

My Lovely Wife and I are celebrating our 27th anniversary today.

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This picture was taken of us last winter in our local mall. JR took it on a Saturday with a lot of people all around. It is an amazing picture in as there are no people in it other than us.

My running would not happen without a supportive wife. It takes a lot of time away from her and the kids and yet they support me completely.

Over the 27 years, we’ve had ups and we’ve had downs. I wouldn’t want to have a great day without sharing it with her or a bad day without her help.

We are going to Church today to renew our vows. Just us and our 5 kids. Nothing formal. I can’t wait.

So, to my lovely wife… We played this song at our wedding in 1986 and it is still true today. I love you and look forward to the next 27 years!

I could never promise you on just my strength alone
That all my life I’d care for you, and love you as my own
I’ve never known the future, I only see today
Words that last a lifetime would be more than I could say

But the love inside my heart today is more than mine alone
It never changes, it never fails, never seeks it’s own
And by the God who gives it, and who lives in me and you
I know the words I speak today(tonight) are words I’m going to do

(Chorus)
And so I stand before you now for all to hear and see
I promise you in Jesus’ name the love He’s given me
And through the years on earth and as eternity goes by
The life and love He’s given us are never going to die.

Don Francisco

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My running “adjustment”

A quick update as I need to get to work and didn’t get a chance to write this last night…

The Chiropractor went really well.  He took x-rays and said that everything looked great.  He did an adjustment that really did seem to help, but I was sore afterwards.  He then gave me some exercises to do and said that if I get my muscular issues taken care of, he thinks my pace will improve quite a bit.  I hope so!

One interesting thing.  This morning was the first morning in a LONG TIME that I walked down the steps after I woke up and had almost no pain!  Don’t get me wrong, my hip is still hurting a little, but my body wasn’t sore and my legs felt good.  That could the be the Chiropractor or the fact I’ve had 3 days off from running.  Either way, I’ll take it!!!

So he told me to take yesterday off and that I could run again today.  He then called me last night to see how I was doing.  I go back tomorrow morning for another round of adjustments.

Today, after work I’ll be running for the first time since Sunday.  I really thing this has been a good thing.  I felt like my body fell apart Sunday and I hope seeing this Chiropractor will begin getting me back in the running mode for the marathon.

BTW, I forgot to mention we have signed up for a 5K this weekend.  It is a fun race at 6:00 in the evening.  Summer evening, 5K, in the South – I can’t wait.  If I have too, I’ll walk the course; but I don’t think that will happen.  🙂

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Successful running – create a habit

Running on hold…

My hip is better, but I still have pain.  I figured out that a light slow jog is less painful than walking, but I am not going to take any chances.  I have a Chiropractor appointment later today, so hopefully that will help.  This all comes from the time I jammed my hip while running on a sidewalk.  Lesson:  When running on a sidewalk, don’t get distracted.

So yesterday I went for a 2 mile walk.  The main reason is to keep my “running habit” going for when I am better, which I hope is soon.  My theory from 16 months of running is that in order to be a consistent runner, it must become a habit.  Habit is the key to most success in life.  If you can create a habit, you can be consistent and succeed where others fail.

I used to run 3 days a week.  I did this for a month or two and then it stopped.  16 months ago I started running 6 days a week.  I’m still running.  I’ve learned that in order to create a habit, one must do the same thing at the same time of the day.  Don’t hear me wrong.  I didn’t mean to say the same time, as in 2:00.  I mean the same time as in after an event that happens every day.

Let me explain.

I run after work, which works well for the winter and lousy for the summer.  Because of what I do for a living I get home at various times, but for me it is usually between 2:00 – 4:00.  As soon as I get home I run.  Everyone know this and even the dog leaves me alone.  I go upstairs, get changed, say goodbye to my Lovely Wife and head out the door.  Everyday weekday.  This has created a habit that even if I want to stop, I really can’t.  Of course Mondays are my day off, but even then I go outside and walk a couple miles.  On the weekends I do have to adjust, so I run as soon as I get up and eat.  Every weekend I do the same thing.

So yesterday I decided to walk since I didn’t think I should take a chance on running and I didn’t want to break my habit.  I got home, got changed, said goodbye and walked for 2 miles.  I came home, played with the dog outside while I cooled down and then went upstairs and showed.

I don’t know why I went into this today, maybe because I didn’t have much to write about.  Suffice to say, habits are important to any success, whether exercise, work, family, even spending time with “the dog”.  Next time you want to be successful at something, just do it the same time everyday for 3 weeks and it will become a habit.  It might get boring, but no one said success was always exciting.

Do the same thing, the same time, everyday and you will succeed!

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Weight loss update – Running on hold

I haven’t posted much about my weight lately, mainly because there hasn’t been much to post about.  Yesterday was my off day from running, so I thought I’d take a moment to write about my weight.

When I was at my highest weight a couple of years ago, I weighed 278 lbs (thus the name of my blog).  My doctor told me to do some type of exercise and try to loose some weight.  Now, as of this morning, I weight 177 lbs.  That is a 101 lb (45.8 kg)  decrease over the past two years.  In fact it was July 2011 when I was in real trouble.

I am probably not like most people in many regards.  I didn’t just wake up one day and decide to loose weight.  I knew I had issues and was way over weight, but I didn’t believe in dieting and weighed too much to run.

My weight loss actually began with TMJ surgery.  After I had surgery on my jaw, I wasn’t allowed to eat anything I couldn’t cut with a plastic fork.  So, I stopped eating out at lunch and began bringing frozen entrees to work.  Just doing that I lost 25 lbs.  I then began seeing a doctor with my Lovely Wife for her back.  He put us both on a medical weight loss program.  I lost 35 lbs in 1 month.

Then I began running.

I didn’t run to loose weight. I lost weight, therefore I decided to see if I could run.

I could.

Anyway, there is a lot more that happened, but I wanted to just do a quick post about how I got to my 101 lb weight loss.  My Lovely Wife has lost 86 lbs and that has been done with a bad back that keeps her laid up most of the time.  That is honestly the most amazing story to me.  It is much easier to loose weight if you can run 5 miles a day than if you have to lie in bed a lot of the day.

So, I am excited to be below 178 lbs for the first time.  Hopefully this continues.  I have been hovering around 180 for a long time.  For my height, I should really be around 160, but I am not going to push it.  I am happy to be where I am and I will let my body decide for itself if it wants to let go of another 10-20 lbs.

A quick running update…  I don’t know if I will run today or not.  My hip woke me up last night with some pain, so I may have to take at least one more day off and hope for it to get better tomorrow.  I definitely don’t want to take a chance at being out long term because I didn’t give it enough time to get better.  Don’t worry though, I’ll write tomorrow and you will know what I decided.  🙂

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Long run lessons

It was a good run yesterday, for the most part.

I ran the first 11 miles at close to a 9:00 pace. I honestly didn’t feel like I was pushing it much, but I guess I was. I tired to keep with my app, but I kept going too fast by the end of each split.

So, 11 miles went great. Then I came to mile 12. I lost all strength. It hit me out of left field. I suddenly had very little strength left. I ended up walking some of the 12th and 13th mile. I decided that rather than pushing myself, I would be glad I had a good run and head home.

I realized a couple things after yesterday’s run.

First, I pushed it too hard for the first 11 miles. Even though my perceived effort was low and I felt great, it was more than my system could handle. I should not have crashed as I did. Had I tried to keep my pace a little slower, I could have finished the course. As it was I ran 13 out of the 15 miles planned.

Second, I need to work on keeping my energy level up by taking some type of energy gel during my run. I read an article the other day that said, if you wait until you feel tired before you take a gel or drink gatorade, it is too late. Made sense. It said to start taking a little gel about 30 minutes into your run and then take more ever 15 minutes. Obviously you wouldn’t want to take a full gel every 15 minutes, but about a quarter of one each 15 minuted will keep your energy up throughout the race.

Last, I hurt my hip yesterday. I knew it was aching during my run, but that has happened before and not been a problem. Yesterday though, I was in quite a lot of pain about an hour after my run. It still hurts today. Since today is my off day, I am going to see how it feels after a day of rest and go from there. Based on my research, it sounds like it is my hip flexor that is inflamed. I am sure it was caused several weeks ago when I tripped on the sidewalk running. I hope it will get better on its own, but if not, I’ll see some type of doctor this week. Not good timing as I was just getting back into running well again.

So the ups and downs of my long run. The encouraging thing to me was the fact I am getting back to my Spring pace and had an overall good run. I just hope my second wind isn’t too close to the marathon that I run out of time.

Saturday, the Retro Run in Birmingham. It is a fun 5K that we did last year. Hopefully I’ll be all better and ready to run! Going to see Neill (@bigbiggeek) there and about 5 other people I know (plus TJ and RS will run). Can’t wait.

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Pre-long run, hangin with the dog

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Getting myself ready to run my long run for the week. “The dog” is so excited!

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The Reinspired Runner

I have a goal for tomorrow that will change my run plan today.

I have to get to 15 miles tomorrow for my long run.

To be honest, a week ago I was thinking that I may never get back to a point where I could run 15, let alone 26 miles. But it has been a good week. I found out I had a sinus infection and got it taken care of. I ran 5 miles a day rather than my planned 7 miles a day. This was because of the heat and not wanting to feel overwhelmed each day since running had been difficult for a while. Finally, I ran negative splits every day this week. I started off slowly and each mile I ran faster than the previous mile.

Having our first marathon in 8 weeks (from tomorrow), I have to get the longer runs in and get up my confidence. I have gained great confidence from this week and now feel I can run 15 miles tomorrow and do it well.

Back to my opening sentence. I am taking today off from running to get me ready for tomorrow. My goal over the next 4-6 weeks is to get my long run up to 20+ miles and my hope is that I will feel good doing it. I now believe that is a possibility.

Confidence is huge and I lost my confidence over the past couple of months.

Now, however, you can call me the reinspired runner!

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Good runs + less pressure = more fun

I had another successful summer run yesterday.  Two great runs in a row.  Wow.

My app has really helped slow me down as it speaks to me, “Slower” when I run too fast for the preset pace.  This had enabled me to run like I used to before the summer heat hit.  I have cut my weekday runs to 5 miles for now and am working on rebooting my training for our marathon.

I am so encouraged by my runs this week.  Negative splits have changed my summer runs from dreadful to… maybe not exciting, but at least something to which I look forward.

As I ponder the Lehigh Valley Marathon in 8 weeks, I have come to realize (with TJ’s help) that the pressure of wanting to keep an 8:00 pace for 26.2 miles has really gotten to me.  It has made my running a burden and no longer fun.  So I have changed my attitude toward the marathon.  I would love to qualify for Boston in September and hope that I will, but I am no longer focusing on that as my primary objective.  It is an accomplishment in and of itself to finish my first marathon and I may surprise myself and run at my desired pace.  But I am going to relax, enjoy and make this an experience to remember.

So I feel that I am in a much better place now.  I have had a couple really good runs this week, even in the heat.  I have taken the pressure off of myself as to my expectations for the marathon.  I am more positive and enjoying the journey rather than obsessing about the destination.

Life is good!

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Finally… A good, hot summer run

Finally, finally, finally.  Yes, I am rather relieved and excited.

I had a good summer run yesterday.

I ran 5 miles in a heat index of somewhere between 97 and 106 (depending on the app).  But unlike Tuesday’s run, I ran negative splits.

As I wrote yesterday, I decided to use my iSmoothRun app and allow the interval coach tell me to speed up or slow down based on my pace and my preset goal.  In the past I did this to keep up a pace, but my goal yesterday was to SLOW down.  I wanted to run the first mile really slow and the second mile slow and then the next three at an average pace.

So I set my app to keep me at 10:30 for the first mile, 10:00 for the second and 9:30 for the next three.  I figured that 9:30 might be too fast as this summer my pace has deteriorated into the 10:00 range, but but I decided to give it a try and see how I would do.

Here are my splits:

Mile 1: 9:25
Mile 2: 9:20
Mile 3: 9:18
Mile 4: 9:14
Mile 5: 9:05
Mile 5.5: 8:49

I choose to keep at the 5 mile range so I would not feel overwhelmed and make the run a negative experience.  My run went so well that at 5 miles, rather than walking home, I ran harder for the last half mile!  I did walk a little during the run, but that was just at the top of a couple of hills and not for long.

So what made the difference?

I really believe that starting out slowly made the run much better.  I kept up my energy and I never had that mental moment of, “I can’t continue”.  The heat was really bad and it was still hard to breath, but starting out slowly really made the run like night and day.  Also I began my run at the top of my street so I wouldn’t begin by running up hill.  Finally the app I use is fantastic.  It doesn’t nag about pace, but gives good feedback and keeps my mind in the run.  In fact the last half mile I didn’t have the coaching going since it was only set up for 5 miles and I noticed my running getting more erratic, even though I was able to push myself.

So this is a major victory for my running this summer.  It has been so tough and tiring that I felt I wouldn’t have another good run until the Fall.

Hopefully today will go as well.  I’ll let you know tomorrow. 🙂

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5 mile summer run – back in the game

Yesterday was hot again.  Leave it to me to take time off running last week while it is 79 degrees outside and come back with a heat index near 100.  Anyway, my first regular run had good points and, let’s say, personal challenges.

Here are my splits:

Mile 1 – 8:48
Mile 2 – 8:39

I have not been having my app tell me my pace so as to not concentrate so much on pace but just on feel.  I specifically tried to start out slowly, but ended up at a faster pace than I have had in quite some time.  Not that I am complaining about the faster pace, but I know in the heat it is important not to start out too strong.

Mile 3 – 9:16

By the time I hit my third mile I realized I must have started too hard.  I felt fatigued and even walked for a short time at the top of a hill.  The heat was getting to me as I pushed along.  It was so humid and hot that it was getting hard to keep my breath.

Mile 4 – 11:52
Mile 5 – 11:51

By mile 4 I knew I must have started out way too fast.  I ended up walking about half the way and slowly running the rest.  At 4.5 miles I decided to head home knowing I’d make 5 total and not worry about the last two miles.

Talking with TJ afterwards I realized that I really need to do what I had originally planned and run negative splits.  I think I will go back to my iSmoothRun app telling me how fast I am running so I keep my pace slow in the beginning and pick up as the run progresses.  Running this way will not only help with the heat, but also is good practice for the Lehigh Valley Marathon in September.

So, overall I would say that my run went well.  I ran a 10:01 average pace which isn’t bad for running in the heat and honestly I was encouraged that I ran at least part of the run in the 8:00 – 9:00 range.  I also have decided to just try and do my runs as best I can and not worry about the marathon as much.  The marathon will happen and I will run it, but worrying about it won’t make me run it any faster.

Even with the hot summer, I’m glad to get back to running a normal schedule.