Month: September 2013

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4 days and counting… @ViaLehighValley

Wow, only 4 days to go to the Lehigh Valley Marathon. I can’t believe that in 4 days we will be in PA and running our first marathon. TJ is doing great and I know he will run his best. As I told RS, no matter what happens, as long as I finish, it’s a PR. 🙂

Today I have a physical and then a Chiropractor appointment. Tomorrow is packing day and then we leave at 4:00 AM on Friday. We get to the hotel in a short 14 – 15 hours and get some rest. Saturday it will be time to explore the route, pick up our bibs and relax and watch football. I normally don’t like running the day before a race as I feel great after a day off. This time it depends on if I have run at all this week. I may run a couple of miles with TJ Saturday morning. I’ll play that by ear.

Sunday morning is the race. 7:00 Eastern time. Right now the weather is supposed to be 60 degrees at race time with 98% humidity. Hmmm. I don’t like that humidity part. I guess it could be worse. Also it is still a while away and weather will change. I am hoping for a lot less humidity.

On the blog front, I don’t know if I’ll post tomorrow. I am 99% sure I wont post Friday. Saturday is a “probably” and Sunday I might post some pictures before the race starts. After it is over TJ and I have to get back to the hotel, shower, pack and drive 3 hours to my mom’s home. So, assuming I make one of my kids drive (which I think I will), I may be able to post a quick recap via my phone during the drive.

So it will be a busy few days leading up to Saturday. I hope to sleep in Saturday and have a relaxing day.

I can’t believe it is only 4 days before the marathon.

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Running with memories

“Hello” I said after my Lovely Wife handed me the phone.

It was 11:30 at night.

“Hello, this is Bob, I work with your sister.”  The voice spoke back.  I didn’t know a Bob.

“Your sister died today in a scuba diving accident”.

SILENCE

There are many things that drive us in life.  Many memories that run us down.  Sometimes we have things to prove to the past, to those who went before us, to ourselves.

My sister had run several marathons with my dad and brothers.  She was always “on me” about exercising and taking better care of myself.  I remember one conversation where she asked if I would just walk the treadmill each day.  I didn’t.

My dad never recovered from my sisters death.  Although cancer took his life, I think somehow it would have been different if it weren’t for that night when Bob called.

It has been ten years since my sister passed away.  It has been 8 years since my dad passed away.  Why am I writing about this…?

I started running several times since 2003.  I would run and then stop for some reason.  I don’t know what made this time different.  The main difference is that I didn’t stop.  I kept running.  I know TJ and RS running helped keep me going.  The races have made running more fun.  My Lovely Wife has encouraged me more than anyone.  She has been great.

Ultimately though I think I am running with memories.  Memories of my dad running marathons from 55 years old into his 70s.  Memories of my sister and brothers running with him.  The lack of memories of me doing the same.  I did run a 5K with him once, but really nothing other than that.

As I approach my first marathon, I will be running in the memory of my dad and sister.  They never saw me run.  They saw me overweight and barely able to walk a mile, let alone run a marathon.

So I am running this race on Sunday for my Lovely Wife, for my kids, for my mom and brothers.  But most of all I am going to be running with memories and in memory of my dad and sister.  I think they would have been excited to see this day come.

I know I am.

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I choose not to run… maybe

What a month last month was for my running.  I needed that month to be able to go to the marathon next Sunday and not panic.

I had a PR in miles run in a month – 195.

I had two 20 mile runs.

I had two 28 – 30 mile weekends.

Overall is was a great month.  Except…

Okay, I’m beat up a bit.  My hip is feeling better today, but my achilles on my right foot is not good and the upper part of my left foot (where you tie your laces) is still hurting quite a bit.

I’ve decided that I am not running another step until I feel better.  Today I am working, but tonight I will soak my feet in ice water and heat my back (not at the same time 🙂 ).  My goal is to get to the starting line at the Lehigh Valley Marathon and know that I will “rock it”.  That doesn’t mean I won’t run all week, unless of course it takes all week to heal.

So just consider this tapering on steroids.  I have to get my body back in a good place.  I don’t want to be a person who says, “I worked out for 4 months and then got hurt”.

I’m 50 years old and have only been running 17 months.  Everything I do is new to me in running.  I’ve learned a lot and I have a lot to learn.

If anyone disagrees (or agrees) with me on this decision to not run and to heal, please feel free to let me know.  I don’t want to regret what I did or did not do the last week before the biggest challenge of my life.

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Hangin’ with “The Dog” and tryin’ to taper

Just hanin’ with the dog this morning and resting after my 5 mile run. I was able to get out and get my run in before it got too hot, but it was not a great run and the reason for that goes back to yesterday’s run with Neill…

"The Dog" hiding?

“The Dog” hiding?

First, my hangin’ with “The Dog” picture of the week. This is courtesy of my eldest son. “The Dog” loves to be under things and in tight places. TJ got her from the Humane Society and she had been abused as a puppy. She was 8 weeks old when we got her. She is a great dog and a great addition to our family, even when she hiding (or thinks she is hiding). 🙂

On to yesterday’s run. I really enjoy running with Neill. We have a great time talking and he is a strong Christian, which is always encouraging. Our run went well overall, but we both had problems to overcome.

My problem was with my left foot. The top of my foot where my laces tie started getting sore. I tired to just run through it, but it became more and more noticeable. Finally at a Gatorade stop, I loosened my shoelace and that seemed to help, but it was still sore. This is the issue I had today also. That muscle on the top of my foot seems just be aggravated, which is bothering since I hope to run 26.2 miles at this time next week.

I may, in my taper, just not run a couple of days and let my whole body heal. I know that just about everyone would agree with that plan, but my head says no. In the end, what a fellow runner at work told me was good advice. He said, “You want to get to the starting line feeling 100% and like you could run the best race of your life”. That is my new goal. Besides, there isn’t anything riding on this race and as long as I finish, it is a PR!

So on to the final week before my marathon. TJ and I are excited and hope to do well. We head to PA on Friday morning about 4:00 AM with HM and RS. RS wanted to run the marathon, but he is too young according to their rules.

I hope you all have a great week ahead and please, run some miles for me. 🙂