Not really, but on top of the mountain anyway. Great view from up here…
I’m on top of the world
Not really, but on top of the mountain anyway. Great view from up here…
Running
All is well in 278toBoston land
This has been a crazy week.
First, I had a great run on Monday. I felt on top of the world. I had strength, power and felt like I could run forever.
Tuesday… Not so good. I couldn’t sleep the night before, I felt tired and I ran poorly.
Wednesday… Worst – tired. Couldn’t sleep. I ran, but ran slowly and walked a bit. It was 40 degrees hotter than the same time last week. Not that it was hot, but 40 degrees is a lot of change in a week.
Thursday… The day started slowly in general. At work I dragged around. I felt blah. Then 11:00 happened. I don’t know what that means, but sometime around 11:00 I felt better. I wasn’t dragging . I felt so much better. It was like the past two days just went away and I was back to normal.
I got home from work and decided to walk.. or maybe run… just play it by feel. I didn’t want to overdue it, but also I was feeling so much better. So I left the house and walked about a quarter mile. I got to an intersection where a car was wanting to turn and I was in the way, so I jogged over to the other side… and kept going.
I ended up mostly running about 5 miles. I walked a couple of times for a few minutes. The run felt great. I actually had a good pace, even though I wasn’t trying to. I got home and I felt good, my hip didn’t hurt and it was a good time.
Last night I slept well for the first time in 3 days and I woke up before my alarm feeling fine.
So what did happen this week. It is interesting as I wasn’t the only one feeling down and out. I know several people who felt the same way. Maybe something in the air?
Either way, I am going to run my mountain tomorrow with TJ. Since I’ll be running with him, I’ll run harder then I would by myself. One day, my goal is to run it twice… Maybe next week.
Sunday will be my day of rest (as it should be).
So all is well in 278toBoston land.
Thank you all who showed concern and helped with your comments and posts.
I am sooooo thankful it is Friday.
Till next time…
Tom
Running as a habit… The good and the bad
Well… taking a break yesterday didn’t go as well as I had hoped.
I got home and decided to just run/walk slowly. You need to understand that my success in running is based on habit. I have developed a habit of running 5 – 6 days a week over the past two years. The good thing about habits is that they become automatic as long as you do the same thing at the same time each day (not time like a clock, but time as at the same point in your day – i.e.: after work). Everyday I get home from work and immediately get on my running clothes and head out to run… EVERYDAY during the week. From the time I get home to the time I am out running it is usually about 10 minutes. I have trained myself to do this. It is an ingrained habit that has worked well for me…
Except…
When I need rest, it is almost impossible to stop. I do rest by taking a day off a day a week, but usually walk on those days. A true rest day only occurs if I am sick or the day is so busy that I cannot get my run in (usually a Saturday).
So yesterday I planned on resting, but I ran. To be fair, I ran at a pace 1 to 2 minutes slower than normal and I walked from time to time (about a half mile of the five mile run). So it was a resting run. 🙂
I didn’t sleep well again last night. I’m not sure what is happening. No stress, no pressure, no caffeine or sugar. I fell asleep late (late for me anyway) and then kept waking up. I woke up at 3:00AM and just waited for the alarm to go off at 4:00 (and then didn’t want to get up). Although I feel fine, I wonder if I am not fighting some sickness or something. It has been a strange couple of days, but at least it hasn’t been more than that.
Finally, I had a hit on my blog yesterday where someone typed into Google, “278 to Boston Boston marathon 2014”. Ha. That was pretty neat to see. I assume someone wondering if I qualified yet or not. Well this runner will have to wait until at least 2015 and I probably won’t have a real chance a qualifying till 2016.
Goals. Habits. Life. All is good (now if I can just get some sleep).
Running tired and the “Other Dog”
I’m tired.
I’m not complaining though.
I just haven’t slept well the past couple of nights. Actually I did sleep well last night, but 3:45 came way too early for me this morning.
I noticed yesterday that my attitude before and during my run was not good due to being tired. I know that makes sense, but I run so much better when I get a good night sleep. During the week, that is almost impossible unless I go to bed at 7:00 (which I did yesterday).
I am still doing my 5 mile runs. I haven’t increased the amount this week. I think this is partly due to being tired and partly wanting to be careful with my hip. It does great early on in my run, but I have a long down hill about 3 miles in and it always hurts after that. Yesterday I slowed way down at that hill and it did seem to help some, but of course hurt my momentum some.
That is about it for today. Being that this wasn’t a very exciting post, I want to post a picture of TJ’s dog. He is so happy, cute and content (most of the time).
Happy running.
Tom
The “Other Dog”
Running from obesity
Are you as amazed at the human body as I am?
How is it that a person can go from 160 lbs to 278 lbs and survive. The amount of adjustment to the structure of the body during that time must be amazing. I’ve been told, it takes one mile of arteries and vessels to handle one lb of fat. Think of that infrastructure that God put into place to help us when we become obese. Not that obesity is a good thing, but even though I had gained over 100 lbs after college, I was still able to work, walk, sleep, eat and do everyday tasks. Crazy.
Now, I am just as amazed about how the human body can go from 278 lbs to 178 lbs and totally adjust. Where did all that fat go? Where did that infrastructure go? Where did the extra arteries and veins and… everything that had be be made to contain all that weight go? I’m sure scientists know and I am sure many of you smart runners know. I don’t know, but I am thankful that my body was created to adapt.
Another question. How can a human body go from 278 lbs to running a marathon in just over 2 years. I am not writing this post to get positive feedback. I was just thinking of these things yesterday as I was running my 5 mile route. I have not been running even 2 years yet and have already run almost 2,500 miles. My weight is up a little from the 178 which was my lowest. I now am in the upper 180’s, but I’ll get back down there one day.
I guess I am a bit philosophical today.
I am amazed that I have been given the gift of a second chance. I remember praying years ago that if I could just get my weight under control and get a good job, I would have accomplished more than I ever thought I could. Now I am a vice president of an awesome non-profit, my weight is in a good place and I am back to running 30+ miles a week. In fact yesterday my hip had no pain until that last 1.5 miles of my run. That was HUGE for me. Running without pain. Is it possible?
I replied to a comment from Pandora Viltis from my post on Friday when she asked how I could keep running without experiencing much of a “runner’s high”. My reply was an eye opener to me. I said, “I run to keep ahead of obesity”. That is true for me. That motivates me. That keeps me going when I hurt and when I am in such pain I have to walk rather than run. That gets me out 6 days a week, by myself, alone and sometimes wanting to do anything else other than run. I never want to get back to where I was. I have been given a gift, an answered prayer, and I do not ever want to lose what I have been given. It means too much to me.
So I run. If it rains, I run. If it snows, I run. If it is 100+ outside I run. If it is 10+ outside I run.
Maybe running from obesity isn’t everyones reason for running. Maybe I should have a better reason. But for me, that is my reason.
I never want to go back. I cannot go back. By the grace of God, I will never go back.
Tom
33 miles of running last week
It was a good weekend for me. It was bittersweet as I missed running the Mercedes half marathon this year. It happened yesterday, but because of my hip injury, I wasn’t able to get my training started soon enough to participate. I did think of all those runners as I was running up my mountain yesterday morning. Funny, I didn’t see one runner in the entire State park. Not one. I guess they were all in Birmingham. I wish I was.
My run yesterday consisted of running up the mountain that I now call “my mountain”. I figure since I conquered it 3 times now, I can call it mine. I went by myself yesterday as TJ was wanting to run a long run and RS was sick. RS did come with me to walk and take some pictures though.
The run itself was uneventful. It is about 1.5 miles to the road that leads up the mountain. Then a 2 mile climb (800 ft) and then I continued about a half mile so that I’d have 8 miles in by the time I got back to my car.
I really think this run is one of the best runs for getting me into shape. It is like a hill run and speed workout all in one. Also, once you run up and down and still have to run smaller hills for 1.5 miles, it really takes it out of you.
All in all I can feel the strength growing in my legs after each run. I feel less sore today than I did the first two times and my hip has almost no pain. I think I will keep this mountain run in my weekly runs for a bit. Just to get some real endurance and strength built up.
As to the rest of my weekend… Nothing much happened. I had a good time with my family. It was a beautiful afternoon yesterday so we cooked out at TJ’s and then called it a day. Back to work now and back to my 5 mile runs (or 5.5 mile runs if I decided to add 10% again this week). Last week was a record week mileage wise for me since my marathon. I managed 33 miles. Not bad, but far off the 50 miles I used to run. Time will allow me to get back there.
Have an awesome week.
Tom
My first runner’s high?
I’ve had four 5 mile days running in a row, and is my body feeling it!
It is interesting that adding a half mile to my run each day has made me feel this way.
What is even more interesting is yesterday I decided to go out slow and just run an easy run. It went as planned. I was in shorts and a T-shirt compared to the last two days where it was below freezing with the wind chill.
Anyway, as the run progressed, I started really feeling well. I felt loose and was enjoying myself overall. Suddenly at the 3.75 mile mark, I kicked into a faster gear. Not sure why, but I just felt really good and felt I had the strength to push it a bit.
As I ran, I just kept going faster. My legs felt strong and my body felt well. I guess it was the closest I have ever felt to a runner’s high. About the 5 mile mark I was ready to call it a day, but it was a cool feeling.
I wonder if running up that mountain a couple times has begun to help my legs and cardio. A 2 mile uphill 800 ft run can do a lot for leg muscles and the 2 mile down hill run can be even harder.
So another week is coming to an end. Either tomorrow or Sunday I’ll be running the mountain again. If I get in my 5 miles today, I’ll end up with about 33 miles for the week, which will be a record since my marathon training.
Have an awesome weekend and enjoy your runs!
Tom
Guess what?
I love running!
City Hunter Runner
I’ve been successfully upping my mileage over the past few weeks.
After running my marathon in September, my mileage went from near 200 miles a month down to about 40. Mixed in there were various injuries, specifically my hip. So I would take time off and then try running again, get hurt, take time off and then try running again (you get the picture).
Finally I settled on a 3 mile route in my neighborhood. I ran that route and only that route for a month or so. It was getting really frustrating to be doing so little, but my theory and experience was that I needed to rebuild a base and allow my body to adjust to running again. Here was a guy who just ran 26.2 miles and was having trouble with 3 miles.
Anyway, I finally added about .8 miles to my run by running a little different route. This became my route for another few weeks (with a couple long runs built in). So 3.8 miles became my base.
A couple weeks ago I added another half mile to my route. That got me up to 4.3 miles a day. Then this week I added another half mile. So now I am close to 5 miles a day. So now I am up to an amount of miles that I feel is acceptable for a while.
Generally I try to not add more than 10% to my mileage a week. This will vary if I run a long run with TJ, but I am trying to keep my daily milage to a figure that isn’t more than a 10% increase.
The past two days of 4.8 miles have been good runs. Monday was awesome. I went slow and felt I could have run another 5 miles if I wanted to. Yesterday went well. I went a little faster, but it was coooold outside (for Bama). It was 34 degrees with a 10 mph wind. Fortunately I bought a face/neck wrap at Dicks Sporting Goods on Sunday and broke it out. I was warm/really warm for most of my run and all I had on was a light jacket and shorts (along with the wrap).
Here is a picture I took after my 5 miler yesterday. My Lovely Wife is enjoying Korean dramas at the moment and so this picture I call my “City Hunter” look!
City Hunter
Before you kick the bucket, Runner’s World suggests you run on Oak Mountain’s Peavine Falls Road @aldotcom
It was so cool.
Yesterday a coworker sent me a link to an article on al.com that references a Runners World article called, “27 GORGEOUS running locations to add to your bucket list.”
#17 is the mountain road run that TJ and I ran on Saturday. Wow, I only have 26 more to go before I give up running. How can I get all those in in only 50 years? I’ll figure out a way.
Here is the al.com link:
Before you kick the bucket, Runner’s World suggests you run on Oak Mountain’s Peavine Falls Road
Here is the Runners World original article:
Rave Run: Pelham, Alabama
Not far from downtown Birmingham, Peavine Falls Road provides a hilly, serpentine three-mile route through Oak Mountain State Park.
So we have run the run. There is a race that will be run on the 4th of July this year up to the top and back down. I think I’m in!
32nd Annual Rick Melanson Peavine Falls Run
Anyway, just thought I’d share that little bit of news. It is exciting to think that I ran this before I even knew it was a Runners World run.
Tom
A strange, dog rolling, race runners, mountain run day
It was quite an adventure.
TJ and I went to the state park to run up the mountain that we ran up a few weeks ago.
As we started running the road that leads to the mountain road, suddenly 200 runners were coming at us. A race started the same time we started. Being understanding of not getting in anyone’s way, we had to run off the road and down an embankment. Finally we got to the end of the runners and continued on the road to get to the mountain.
Then something happened that I have never witnessed before…
We were running on the left side of the road facing traffic. A car went past us on the right. It wasn’t going too fast as the speed limit was only 25. The back window was down and a small dog was looking out it. Suddenly the dog jumped out the window. I couldn’t believe it. It landed on its legs and tumbled about 3 times, got up and walked to the side of the road to relieve itself. I was in shock. The car stopped and I went over to make sure it didn’t run away and the owner came over to get it. He said, “she’s never done that before…” The dog was fine, they got back in the car and kept going. Very strange.
Finally, TJ and I got to the narrow road that goes up the mountain. We did this once before so I knew what to expect. It is a 2 mile, 800 foot climb that takes you to the top of the mountain. Beautiful view, but hard to get there. The nice thing about this run is that I don’t normally run hard enough to get my heart racing. I mean, I was breathing as hard as I could. We got near the top and I checked my pulse. 95. Wow, I am pushing as hard as I possibly can and my pulse isn’t even over a 100.
So we got to the top and started back down. On our way I asked TJ if he thought it would be harder to run up the mountain or to ride a bike up. As we were starting to head back down we passed two guys pushing their bikes up and a runner passing them by. I guess it is easier to run up the mountain.
All in all, it was an 8 mile run and we finished 3 minutes faster than last time. We ran this run Saturday morning and I am still sore. It is a good sore though. I used muscles that I haven’t used in a long time. Our finishing pace was 8:50 which is really good for me.
So it was a satisfying day and a strange, dog rolling, race runner day.
It was a good weekend overall.
Back to work.
Tom
278 to Boston 