Month: September 2013

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I can’t run today, but…

Just sitting here with BZL and The Dog.

It is raining outside, but who cares.

I can’t run today.

No figuring out when to run.  No worrying if it would it be better to run in the rain this morning or wait until it clears up this afternoon.   No trying to figure out how to fit my run around football and family time.

I don’t have to take Ibuprofen today for my sore body since I’m not running.

I don’t have to decide which running shoe to wear.  My Saucony Fastwitch feel better, but really are too light for regular running.  My Saucony Mirage hold up better and give me more support, but are heavier and take more effort to run in.  Doesn’t matter today, because I’m not running.

Also I don’t have to decide where to run.  Do I run in my neighborhood (where I am bored of running) or drive out to the State Park and pay to run there?  Doesn’t matter, because I can’t run today.

There are so many great reasons to be happy that I can’t run today…

So why aren’t I happy?

I want to run today.  I want to run in the rain.  I want to figure out how to run around football and family time.  I want to feel my body hurt.  I want have to chose which shoes to wear.  I want to go run in the State Park.

I can’t run today, but at least I can give my body a rest, enjoy my family, hang with The Dog and take a walk.

I’m glad I’m alive and have such small problems.  🙂

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Bye bye running, for now

Okay when I said “for now”, I meant for now.

I had a small procedure done today that will prevent me from running until next Friday.  I can still walk, but nothing beyond that.

Sadly I didn’t get a final run in yesterday.  I got up at 3:30 AM and got home at 6:30 PM.  On top of that I had to be in town at 3:50 this morning, so as soon as I got home, I went to bed.

Any suggestions on what a running blogger should write while he can’t run?  I’ve had one suggestion already, but I am open to more.

Up until yesterday my running has been slowly improving since the big marathon day.  I got up to 4 miles on Wednesday and probably could have done more, but chose not to push it.  The heat has been getting to me again.  I haven’t run in 90+ degree weather for a couple of weeks and I can tell it has made a difference.  Of course it is supposed to be a high of 77 degrees tomorrow and I can’t run.  I guess I’ll have to sit and watch football.  Darn.

TJ has helped me map out my running plan for the next 6 months.  It is so nice to have him as a resource!  My goal for my next marathon is going to be three fold.

  1. Under 4:00
  2. 3:45
  3. 3:30 (BQ)

It is nice to have several options to push for and with cooler weather just a month away, I’m excited to have new goals.

I’m jealous of all you marathoners tapering and preparing for your Fall marathons.  I so enjoyed mine.  I hope I can keep healthy and keep running long distance races.  I really enjoy them.

Finally, a shout out to my running friend Neill (@BigBigGeek – bigbiggeek.wordpress.com) as he runs the Talladega Half Marathon Sunday.  I’m so excited for him.  If it weren’t for my current running situation (or lack thereof) I might think of running it myself – just for fun.  Good luck and God speed Neill (Isa. 40:31).

[I just got a tweet from him asking for advice for a newbie half marathoner – It would be awesome if you all could go to his blog (linked above) and give him some encouragement and support.  He is a great guy and really moving forward with his running!!!]

Sorry to be all over the place with this post.  Now what am I going to write tomorrow.  🙂

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Reflections of a running blogger

I love running!

I love the fact I’ve lost a lot of weight!

I’m excited every time I realize I ran a marathon!

I can’t believe how much my life has changed since I started running in March 2012.

I began this blog so that I could write about my running since people would get a glazed look on their face when I would try to tell them about the benefits and the joys of running.

I began writing this blog in January with 2 goals:

  1. Write everyday if possible.
  2. Respond to every comment because every comment deserves a response.

Now, 253 posts later, I have kept to my goals and have gotten a lot more in return.

  1. I have found a blogging community that is supportive, encouraging and inspirational.
  2. Although I have never been “into” social media relationships, I have found that there are great people and new friends I’ve made because of this blog.
  3. The amount of support I’ve received via this blog and all the awesome people who follow it has been amazing.  My marathon wouldn’t have been half as fun and successful if it weren’t for all of you!
  4. I’ve had a lot of fun.

I guess I am in a reflective mood today.  It has been a great 9 months on this blog and I hope to have many years with this blog.  One day I may even take my posts and turn them into a book about my journey.  That would be a lot of fun.  I guess I should get to Boston first – no need to get ahead of myself.

Have a wonderful day!!!

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Post marathon weight gain

While preparing for my first marathon I read a lot of articles.  Everything from strategy to tapering.  Training to resting.  But I realize I didn’t read much about issues after the marathon.

Specifically physical and mental issues that are consequences of training so hard for 4 months and then suddenly stopping.  Maybe I’m alone in this, but I wasn’t prepared.

In training for my marathon I had to eat.  I had to eat quite a lot.  That wasn’t a problem for me.  I love to eat!  That is probably the reason I weighed 278 lbs two years ago.  So marathon prep was a license to do what I wanted to without consequence… Or so I thought.

Now, 10 days removed from that once in a lifetime first marathon, I’m still eating.  Not a lot, but more than I should.  It is almost like all the bad habits I lost over the past couple of years are creeping back in my direction.

So 3 lbs isn’t a lot and I really am not that worried, but it is amazing how the things you need to do in preparing for a marathon are not necessarily good for you after it is all over.  On top of that, I really want to lose 10 – 15 more pounds now that I don’t need all those carbs for running.

Anyway, I just wanted to put this “out there” for other foodies that are training for a Fall marathon to be careful after it is over.

Another option is to start training for another marathon.  I may be doing this into old age just to stay thin.  🙂

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Johnny’s Rant on The VIA Lehigh Valley Marathon

I read the funniest post yesterday afternoon (at least to me).

I was reading using an app on my iPhone and hangin’ with my Lovely Wife and I saw this post on a website called, “Johnny’s Rant on The Via Lehigh Valley Marathon”.  Knowing all that TJ and I went through from the traffic jam before the race to waiting for hours for a bus to take us back to the starting line, I had to read and see what Johnny said.

He and I must have been in the same area much of the time.  He mentions the issue with traffic (at least he didn’t go to the wrong hospital for the start of the race).  He mentions the port potties.  He mentions the buses (or lack there of).  But he also mentioned other details that I forgot to mention or didn’t write about in detail.

It was so funny, because as I said, we must have been close together, especially waiting for the bus.

Oh and by the way, he said that like me, they offered him a complementary entry into next years race.

Anyway, I have never read a random article on the Internet that so closely paralleled my experience that took place somewhere 850 miles away from where I live.

Here is the link if you are interested.

http://www.believeintherun.com/index.php/2013/09/17/johnnys-rant-via-lehigh-valley-marathon/ 

Good writing Johnny.  It made my night.

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Walking then running – Why didn’t I think of this before?

Interesting run yesterday.

It began with my daughter JR and me walking for 2 miles.  She used to love to run and exercise.  Then she had a series of health issues that has kept her from doing much in the form of exercise for the past few years.  So, I thought I could walk a couple of miles with her each day after I get home from work and before my run.

I got home, put on my running clothes, said goodbye to my Lovely Wife and we headed out for our walk.  It was a very nice time of walking and talking.  It was in the low 90s, but the humidity was low, so it wasn’t too hot during our walk.

After we got home, I headed out for my run.  The interesting thing is that it was the first painless run since my marathon.  It was only 3 miles, but that is also the most miles I’ve run since Sunday.  Also I ran 9:16, 8:51 and 8:17 pace for an average pace of 8:48 for the three miles.

When deciding whether to walk with JR before or after my run, I decided to walk before to see if it would help warm my muscles up for my run.  That seems to be exactly what happened.  It was so nice to run without issues and run relatively fast for the heat of the day.

It was a great day, until…

I was heading out last night to get some milk and jammed my little toe into a wall on my way downstairs.  Needless to say it is hurting this morning and I don’t know if I will be able to run on it today or not.

Still I am thankful for the fun time with JR and my great run.  Life doesn’t get much better than that!

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Quick running update… Long walk home

Yesterday’s run was a bit tough.  I really am not 100% back yet.  I would say I am at 75% or a little less.

It was a nice morning yesterday.  Not as cool as Saturday, but still a nice day for a run.  I decided to do 3-4 miles in my neighborhood and I used my Saucony Mirage shoes that I haven’t used since I started training for my marathon.

All was well until about mile 1.5.  My left calf started hurting.  I never had issues with my left calf before, but it started cramping at the end of my marathon and I guess it isn’t better yet.  I stopped and stretched it out and then went on with my run.

At mile 2.2 my knee started hurting in the same place it did Saturday, so I called it a day and walked home.

I’m not too upset about my running as I know it can takes a couple of weeks to come back from a marathon.  My only issue is that on Friday I am having a minor procedure that will prevent me from running for a week, so I wanted to get a few runs in before then.

That is all my news for now.  Life it returning to normal.  I’m back at work and the kids are all back to their jobs.

It is strange not preparing for a race.  I guess I need to spend next week looking at the events and calendar and see what is on the horizon.

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Too soon for trail running

Alright.  I never said I was a smart runner.  Sometimes I do dumb things.

Yesterday, my second day back running after my marathon, I asked TJ if he wanted to go running with me at the State Park.  It was a beautiful day.  In fact, it was one of those days that if I was training for something, I would have really enjoyed my training day.  It was cool, low humidity, not a cloud in the sky.  It was awesome.

So we decided to go trail running a bit. I don’t trail run (except in marathons) and I am not 100% back from last Sunday’s race.  But I digress.

We drove to the park and went to the parking lot near the trails.  Low and behold we ran into my running buddy Neill (BigBigGeek) running his 12 mile long run (the last before his half marathon next week).  He looked great and was enjoying the weather.  By the way, he ended up with a 13.1 mile run and felt great doing it.  I am so excited for him.  A couple of weeks ago we ran an 11 mile run together in the heat and humidity and it was tough.

After a few minutes of talking we parted.  Neill went on to his record breaking run and TJ and I headed to the trails.

We had a fun run overall.  Neither of us run trails so we took it easy.  After about 1.5 miles the outside of my knee started to hurt.  It was annoying and steady, but I kept going.  After a while it became obvious that the pain was not going away and in fact was getting worse.  I had to start walking.  TJ showed me some stretches that helped, but the pain continued.  So we walked out to the main road and headed to our car without going back on the trail.

The good news is that within a half hour all pain was gone and I didn’t have any issues the rest of the day.  I imagine that my muscles are still repairing themselves and running a trail was too hard on them.  Oh well, live and learn.  It was only a 3 mile run/walk overall and it was probably good we stopped when we did.  I did enjoy the run and really enjoyed running trails with TJ.  It was a lot of fun.

Today is another cool morning but is going to get hot during the day.  I’m going to head out for an easy run and enjoy another day of just running for the fun of it!!!

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My 2 mile run

I ran yesterday!!!

First run since Sunday’s marathon and for a whole 2 miles!!!

The 2 mile run yesterday was the same 2 miles I used to run in March 2012 when I first started running.  That was pretty neat.  It has been a LONG time since I just ran 2 miles and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

No pressure.

No pace.

No long distances.

I could stop if I wanted and not feel badly.

IT WAS FUN.

I wondered what emotions I would feel after my my first marathon.  Would I feel a let down as I worked so hard toward a goal and now it was over?  Would I be upset if I didn’t make my goal?  How would I feel?

I feel great.

Not to relate this to pregnancy, but I will anyway.  It is sort of like after a woman has a baby.  All the pain of the pregnancy and labor is forgotten after she sees the baby (so I hear).  I look back on this race with joy.  I know it was hard and I was in a lot of pain, but I would so do it again.

So life goes on.  I’m out of pain.  I’m running again.  I’m looking forward to the next race (not quite sure what it will be yet).

I’m happy!

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Thank you!

Well we made it home safe and sound.  It wasn’t a fun ride (no 14 hour car ride is), but it was uneventful, so that is good.

The good news is that I am finally able to walk without much pain (other than my hip).  I could have run a little yesterday, but I was in the car for 14 hours.  🙂

So life is starting to get back to normal.  It was fun seeing my mom and celebrating her birthday a day late.  It was great seeing my brothers and just hanging around.  I got to visit my birthplace and see the house I was brought up in.  It doesn’t even look like the same house.  It is run down and all the work my dad put into a fish pond and Japanese gardens is gone.  Everything is grown over.  Rather sad.

It is great to be home though.  Back in Alabama with my kids and my LW (Thanks GetGoingGetRunning  getgoinggetrunning.wordpress.com for that one).  I thought that was some new type of foam roller, but my Lovely Wife figured out what that meant right away).  🙂

On our trip home yesterday we listened to an audio book BigBigGeek Neill gave to me for my trip.  It is about a guy who weighed around 260 lbs and when he turned 50 lost the weight and ran a marathon.  Sounds familiar.  It is a good story about his journey to running and his journey to Christianity.  Here is the link to his blog and his book.  All proceeds go to charity.  http://bhmatson.com.

Finally, I will never be able to thank you all for reading my blog and encouraging me on my journey.  That has been one of the most amazing parts of my running the marathon last Sunday.  When I started this blog I simply started writing daily about my running.  After a few weeks I had a few people following me.  Now, 8 months later, I have almost 200.  It really blows my mind that I have such great support and encouragement from runners, dieters and others who don’t do either.  Thank you again for being a part of my journey.  I couldn’t do it without you (okay I could and I would, but it would be much harder).

Have a great weekend.

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Homeward bound

Heading home from our “marathon” weekend. It was lots of fun with our race and visiting my family. But I can’t wait to see my Lovely Wife, BZL and JR. Of course there is also The Dog. Can’t wait to get home. Only a 14 hour drive and we are home!!!