half marathon

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Running maturity – UGH

Sometimes the hardest run is the one that never happens.

I decided not to run yesterday as my hip is not good at all.  I made it to the Chiropractor and that was helpful.  I’d say my pain went down by half after he adjusted me.  So I went home and decided to walk with a thought in the back of my mind that if I warmed up and felt well after a mile or two that I might go ahead and run a little.

That didn’t happen.

I was still in pain.  Someone at work said that it sounds like my SI joint.  It probably is now that I think about it. About 12 years ago I was in so much pain in that same joint that I couldn’t even walk.  So I guess I’ve aggravated it all over again.

Last night I put heat on it and took Ibuprofen.  That seemed to help.  I must say that today it still hurts, but not nearly as bad.  I just have to do the mature thing and not run until it is better.  Sometimes I hate maturity. 🙂

Tonight TJ and I are going to a meeting at a local running store to prepare for our half marathon in February.  This is the same race we ran last year, but we are interested in preparing with a running group.  We live about 35 minutes away, so it is hard sometimes to get out with people, but it is time to do what we have to in order to be able to run with a group.

That is it for today.  I am hoping to run this afternoon, but it is looking doubtful (that whole maturity thing again).  Either way I’ll write about it tomorrow.

I can’t wait for the weekend.  I hope I can run!

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Qualifying for Boston, making the impossible possible.

I really had no idea how much time running and preparing for a marathon would take out of my life.

As many of you know, I plan on running the Lehigh Valley Marathon in September and I hope to qualify for the Boston Marathon at that event!  It would be a major accomplishment as I have only been running for 14 months (as of now) and have never run more than a half marathon.  Also, 2 years ago I weighed 278 lbs and now I hope to qualify for Boston.

I must be crazy.

I admit this drives me probably more than it should.  I look on it not only a challenge, but also the chance of accomplishing something beyond my own ability.

As a 16 year old, I wanted to become a DJ.  In order to get on the radio you had to get a license and in order to get that license you had to pass a grueling exam. Everyone I talked to said I had no chance at passing the first time.  My sister knew two people who took the test 3 times and failed each time and they were in college.  It became a challenge.  I spent the whole summer studying and memorizing the material.  It wasn’t anything I knew or understood, but I learned.  One day my dad asked me what page of my textbook talked about radio towers (or something in that vein).  I gave him the page number from memory. We looked it up and I was correct.   I went to DC and took the test with 30 people much older than myself and passed the first time.  Understand, my dad once said that I was the first of his children (the youngest of 4) that he was relieved when I brought home a “C” in a class.  Getting this license was way above my ability, but after I passed I felt like I could accomplish anything.

You may be able to understand the parallels between getting my radio license and running a marathon, but just to spell it out…

Qualifying for the Boston Marathon is way beyond my ability.  In fact just running a marathon is beyond my comprehension.  I not only have to run it, but I have to run it under 3 and a half hours.  I have to keep at least an 8 minute pace for 26.2 miles.  I feel like I did going into that exam room with everything against me.  I questioned myself if I had prepared enough.  I questioned everything.  I was nervous and anxious.  I passed.  I want to pass this test also.  I want to, in just over 2 years, go from obesity to qualifying for Boston.  For me, it is making the impossible, possible.  If I can do this, I can do anything.

So I run.  I run 6 days a week and walk the 7th.  I ran 9 miles yesterday, my longest mid-week run ever.  I need to get to 50 miles this week and then into the 60s by next month sometime. My speed is way down, but I don’t think that matters right now.  I feel that miles matter more than the speed.  It is hot and humid and that makes it hard to run fast.  Yesterday I ran a trail for a couple of miles which made the run more enjoyable, but was also harder than running on pavement.

I guess I never finished the opening thought.  Running takes so much time that I really only have time at night to write my post.  I really don’t have time to read other blogs or twitter much anymore.  Even emails go unread for days sometimes.  Right now my life consists of working, running and family.  I say this to say thank you to all you bloggers who read my blog each day and those who comment and like my posts.  Please don’t take it the wrong way that I haven’t been on yours for a while.  I do read them when I can, but until September 8th, it may not be often.  I appreciate the effort it takes to blog and one day I will catch up on my reading, but for now…

I run.

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Hill runs and races – workouts and payoffs

Hill run day yesterday… Need I say more.

Hill runs are good for you I hear.  TJ has really helped me in understanding the reason for the various workouts we do. Hill runs are just another part of the puzzle.  I’ve mentioned this hill we run before, but just to say it again, it is huge.  It goes straight up it seems for about a tenth of a mile and then levels out a bit and then is just semi steep for another tenth of a mile.  In fact the first part is so steep, I can’t run down it.  I’ve tried and it is more of a defensive run than a run.  Also, if I try to run down it, my knees are killing me afterwards.  So now I run up and walk (or walk in a falling forward motion) down.

All this for the workout.  I must admit that workouts really help break up the routine of running 6 days a week.  I start with a tempo run (I’m at 3 miles now) and then 2 days later do my hill run and then 3 days later do my long run.  Unfortunately I don’t recover very well from the hill run.  As of yet, though I’ve only done a few hill days, it takes until my day off (Monday) to get over the soreness.  I know that will go away, but wow I am sore afterwards!!!

The good news is that yesterday I was able to do 4 repeats up the hill.  That is the most so far and wasn’t too bad.  I didn’t sprint up the hill, but just tried to keep a steady pace.  I can tell that it really works out my lower body, which is good.

The 5K is just under 2 months away and I really want to do well.  I don’t know about other runners, but TJ and I really work at speed and distance.  I love 5Ks because they allow you to push hard for a short distance and really see how good of shape you are in.  I really enjoyed the half marathon because I had to pace myself and not push, but try to hit a sustainable pace for 13.1 miles.  That took much more strategy than the 5Ks I’ve run and in some ways made it more enjoyable.

Ultimately it is the races that make running fun.  They keep me pushing forward, up and down hills, fast and slow runs, over and over, week after week.  On race day, it all pays off.  I can’t wait for May 18th, our next 5K.  I only hope I can make my goal!!!  Only time (and workouts) will tell.

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Use gravity

First, Kudos to TJ for running a 5:15 paced mile a couple of days ago.  Wow, that is amazing and he has been running less than a year.  He is really moving forward with his running.  Ah to be young again…

I have had some issues getting back to running which actually suprise me a bit.  I always have some pain becuase of my running, but not during my runs.  In fact, my back was really bad before the half marathon, but only when I wasn’t running.  While I was in my run, it never hurt.  Strange, I know.  Now, the second day back running 3 miles again, I have had two days with muscles pulling during my run that actually slow me down.  Yesterday, I thought I might have to stop during my run, but I got through it.  Another strange thing is now it is the opposite.  I hurt during my run and not after.  In fact, I have been running my first mile really slow, and my others at a faster pace, but still rather slow for me so I don’t think it is because of my warm up.

Half way through my run as I was starting to hurt, I remembered some things I used to practice that I had forgotten about.  To begin with, as soon as I hurt, I told myself to relax.  I let my shoulders down, I made my arms loose.  I even relaxed my jaw and forehead.  I relaxed my whole body, including my legs.  My feet started almost flopping on the ground as they hit.  After about a quarter mile of doing this, the pain went away and I was better.

It was then I had a flashback to the half marathon.  I was about 8 miles in (which was the hardest part for me because of some big hills) and a local runners club was on the side with signs and yelling encouragement to us as we went by.  One thing I heard and remember was, “use gravity”.  Oh yeah, I thought to myself, I need to use gravity.  I had practiced that a bit, but had forgotten during the race.  The idea comes (or at least I first heard of it) from Chi Running.  Although I bought a book about it, I admit I haven’t read it.  I have done Internet research on it though.  The main idea is to run tall and balanced and lean forward at your ankles allowing you to be in a controlled fall as you run.  Then as you move your foot under you to “catch” your fall, you move forward.  Basically using gravity to propel you rather than energy.  This makes running not only easier, but also prevents injuries since you are not using as much effort and putting strain on your muscles.  There is a lot more involved, but this is a quick summery of what I learned.  The main website is at www.chirunning.com, but you can search the net and get a lot of info from a lot of people about it.  I consider this the reason I have gone a year and only missed 2 planned running days from injury.  That says a lot coming from the out of shape old man that I was a year ago.

That is it for today.  My run today is going to be 3 miles.  It is to be warmer and the winds should be less than 20 mph that they have been the past two days. I am looking forward to that.

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Tomorrow – our first half marathon

Tomorrow morning at this time (as I write this post), we will be approximately 2-3 miles into our half marathon.  Wow, all this work will finally come to fruition for TJ, RS and myself.  It has been hard and fun and difficult at times.  I plan on taking it easy next week and then I am taking a week off from running starting next Friday.  It will be nice to recuperate and let my body heal.

I want TJ to know how much he has helped me getting to this point.  The workouts that he had me do have really been invaluable.  It has been fun when we run together and comparing notes at the end of the day.

I also am so impressed with RS.  He has had wisdom teeth out and about 4 running injuries in the past few months and he still keep plugging away.  It would have been easy for him to have given up, but he didn’t, he persevered.

I’m still not sure my lovely wife can come because of her back.  I hope she can, but understand if she cannot.

Anyone wanting to watch live at 7:00 central time tomorrow morning can here www.foxalabamalive.com

Thanks for all the support.

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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Chicago, Jacksonville, Boston marathons – Information overload

Information overload last night.  TJ and I are trying to decide where to run our first marathon.  RS will go also I assume, if he can stay well.  Anyway, our choices are between the Chicago Marathon or Jacksonville Marathon.  In the end, money may make the decision.  I love Chicago and my lovely wife and I have friends up there as I have mentioned in the past.  But we also have great friends in Jacksonville, although I’ve not been to Jacksonville in a long time.  Anyway, it ends up that Jacksonville’s marathon is over $100 less a person than Chicago!!!  That is $300 more that TJ, RS and I would have to spend to enter the Chicago marathon; let alone travel and accommodations.  Both offer a fast course and the average temperature is about the same at the time of each race.  Jacksonville’s is in December, so that would give us a couple of months longer to get ready.  Remember, TJ is trying to qualify for Boston on his first marathon.  I dream of qualifying for Boston on my first.

So, if there is anyone in Chicago who reads this, could you run by Ballydoyle Pub and ask Phil if he would like to sponsor us?  Just tell him our favorite song is “Sweet Home Alabama” and he’ll know who we are.  I know, it is a pipe dream, but isn’t that what blogs are for???

Finally, onto yesterday.  I LOVE running the day after a tempo run.  It is like my body has said, “hey, as long as you aren’t going to run as fast as you did yesterday, I’ll do what you want”.  I ran 6 miles at an 8:30 pace and could have gone for more.  I stopped because of today…  The dreaded hill day.  It feels like this hill  goes straight up for about 5 miles, but it is only about 1/8 – 1/4 mile.  It is straight up though.  My goal is to make it 3 times, as I did 2 last time.  TJ can do 6 – how does he do it?

So on to another day of work, looking forward to heading home to my lovely wife, kids and dog.  I’ll say hi as I head out to run the mountain.

I love running.

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“Running head games” or “The psychology of running”

On a quick note… I changed my run plan around for this week.  TJ likes to run his first day back for the week as a normal run and then on Wednesday do a tempo run.  I did this last week, but found that by doing this, my hill run was on Friday and then I only had one day before my long run.  I wonder if that was my issue on Sunday with my hip and legs hurting so much during my long run. So, I’m trying my tempo run this afternoon and see how it goes.  I think having 2 regular days before my long run should help.

I am sure many people have written about the psychology of running, but the more I run, the more I am convinced that 50% of running is in my head.  What I mean is that my mind will tell me to stop, tell me to slow down, tell me my legs are tired, etc.  My mind will tell me, “don’t run today it is too cold, it’s raining, it’s snowing, it’s hot and so on”.  I think the psychology of running is as much of telling your mind to shut up as anything else.  There are times to listen though.  If I am running and my hamstring starts to pull, or my knee hurts, I’ll tell my body to relax and slow down a bit until the pain goes away.  But for the most part, running is a mental activity in which I run best when I do the opposite of what my head is telling me to do.

This is the reason I get home from work and immediately get on my running clothes and go out for my run.  I say hi to my lovely wife and pat the dog and wave at the kids and I’m off.  If anything interrupts that schedule, my chances of making my run for the day goes down dramatically.  Habit is as important in my running as anything else.  In the summer when it is 107 degrees and 90% humidity, I have to run anyway.  In the winter when it is 22 degrees and 20 mph wind, I have to run anyway.  6 days a week 52 weeks a year, on vacation or during a holiday, I cannot give my head an excuse not to run.  If I do it once, then I’ll do it again and before I know it, I’ve stopped running.  Then the momentum is gone and it is twice as hard to get going again.

These are my thoughts on the head games I play with myself to make myself do something I’ve not done in 49 years.  Run.  I’m up to 40 miles a week now.  The half marathon is in less than 3 weeks.  My body has to contol my mind, not the other way around.  I guess what I am talking about is discipline.  Also wisdom to know when to stop or when to ignore what I am feeling.

I love running.

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13.1 miles yesterday, but it was not fun

Sunday was our long run day.  My goal was to do 13.1 miles in under a 9 minute mile.  I did it.

It was tough!

I ran 13.14 miles in an 8.58 pace.  I don’t know how, but it was a personal best for me.  TJ ran 18 miles at a 7:18 pace – how does he do that??? I am totally amazed what he can do.

Now to a question.  Why is it so hard for me to run in the morning?  I guess it is because I run in the afternoon 5 days a week and only run in the morning on weekends.  But this is crazy.  At mile 3 of my long run, I felt like I’d been hit by a truck.  My legs hurt, my hip hurt and I just wanted to stop.  This was mile 3!!!  I have been running 5-6 miles a day for a long time now and don’t have much of a problem doing that.  I don’t know if it is the thought of going 13 miles that is my problem or if it is the fact I get up and eat some eggs and grits and then go out, but I have to figure this one out.  Most races are in the morning and I don’t want to get into the middle of my half marathon and feel like I can’t go on.  To be honest it was a miracle that I made the mileage yesterday.  Most Sundays I try to run about 10 miles, but with the race coming up in 3 weeks I figured it would be a good day to give the full mileage a try.

It was a victory to finish under a 9 minute pace.  And once again, TJ continues to amaze me.  We’ve only been running about 10 months and he is burning it up on long run days.

Today is our off day.  I am thankful for that.  Then Tuesday it all starts over again.

I love running, but I don’t know why some days.