Lovely wife

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Mother’s Day consequences

I got up today and could barely walk…

“Hmmm,” I thought to myself, “what did I do?”

I ran my mountain on Saturday.  That was a good run, but much easier then last week.  I purposely tried not to run hard or fast as I am still feeling the pains from my half marathon and don’t want to get hurt.  I also ran the short route, so it was 6.5 miles rather then 8.

“No, that was long enough ago that I shouldn’t be this sore.  It must be something else.”

I didn’t run Sunday or Friday.  Once again, I am trying to err on the side of caution and not get hurt.  I know, I should be recovered by now and I might be okay, but I still have left over hip issues and I’d rather run some and slower then a lot and get hurt.

“So if it wasn’t related to running then why am I so sore?”

This was my conversation with myself this morning. Then I figured it out.  My soreness had nothing to do with running.  It was cleaning.  Yes, for Mother’s Day I cleaned out a storage room for my Lovely Wife yesterday morning (thus the reason I couldn’t run – I didn’t have time).  All that bending and sitting and moving worked areas of my body that are not used to being worked.

Goodness, if you can run a half marathon in 1:43, you shouldn’t be down and out from cleaning.

I guess I’m not in the shape I thought I was in or maybe I shouldn’t clean anymore. 🙂

JK. Happy Mother’s Day LW!

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One year of writing a running blog

Today is my 1 year anniversary of writing this blog.

Okay, that deserves a picture!

Happy Anniversary To Me

Happy Anniversary To Me

It has been a crazy year.  When I started this blog, I had only run 5Ks and was preparing for my first half marathon.  I also had lost about 85 lbs and would loose another 15 (10 of which I gained back over Christmas.)

Since then, I ran my half marathon in 1:44, my marathon in 4:15 and PRed a 5K in 21:48.

I got hurt.  I thought I hurt my achilles, but actually it ended up being a heel spur.  I also jammed my hip during my marathon training and am still getting past it all.

I trained for my marathon in the hot Alabama Summer.  Nothing like getting up at 4:00 AM, working until 2:00, going to the Chiropractor till 4:00 and then trying to run in 100+ degree heat.

I missed qualifying for Boston by 45 minutes.  Still not a bad first marathon.  I had wonderful participation on my blog during my marathon as I ran and my brother kept people up on my progress.  TJ missed qualifying for Boston my 3 minutes – I was very proud of him.

Also a year of my Lovely Wife supporting me and putting up with me being out running 1-3 hours a day!!!  Thank you Lovely Wife! I honestly couldn’t do this without you!

So here I am.  One year to the day of starting my blog.  This is my 322nd entry.

Thank you to all of you who follow and encourage me on my journey.  It has been a heck of a ride so far.  I am not giving up on my goal of Boston.  I am going to do it.  I will continue until I make it and then… maybe start ultras?

One year down, another on the way.

God bless you all.

Tom

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Excuses?

IMG_0477

My Lovely Wife saw this shirt in the store and had me take a picture.  The saying isn’t new, but I like the “perspective” that the picture gives.  Look at the NO!

In my life I am trying to make excuses rare, especially where running is concerned.

  • I am not giving into weather.
  • I’m not giving into pain (normal pain).
  • I’m not giving into my head telling me to stop.
  • I’m not giving into a difficult day.

I know that there are people “out there” that have a much harder life, more pain, harsher weather, overall difficulties that I am blessed at the moment not to have.  I am healthy. I am running. I am eating. I am sleeping inside.  I have a home, a family, a car, a Lovely Wife and great kids.

NO.  I am going to make excuses a thing of the past.  I may run till I drop, but I will make my goal.  If I have to crawl, I will make my goal.

Running is cheap.  It is simple.  My time outside isn’t that much fun, but I have to do it and I have to run and I have to run outside.  This is my life.

I honestly don’t know if I will make it to Boston or not.  Sometimes I wish I didn’t create the URL 278toBoston.com.  It seems to mock me sometimes.  I run 4 miles at a 10:00 pace?  That isn’t getting me anywhere.

But no excuses.  I will get there, I will keep going.  I will put on my running shoes everyday.  I will go out of the house and RUN.

Boston or Bama.  Whatever.

NO EXCUSES

JUST DO IT

 

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I’m happy

2 days left.

2 days until I can run again… hopefully.

What bad timing.  Not running during Christmas where there is food everywhere.  At my work, rather than a Christmas lunch, we decided to have 2 people bring in some type of food each day for 2 weeks.  So there has been real food and dips; doughnuts and candy; just about any type of food every day for 14 days.

Therefore my weight went up more than it has been.  Fortunately (sort of)  I had a nauseous headache yesterday and couldn’t stomach the food that was brought.  I also couldn’t walk after I got home because I just felt awful.  I went to bed, eat some soup and went to sleep early.  I did wake up at 2:30, but still got 8 hours of sleep.

I haven’t been too inspired to write this blog lately.  I guess it is a combination of not running, not wanting to complain about not running and just the time of year.

Finishing the marathon

Finishing the marathon

I was thinking back to my marathon in September today though.  It was so hard and yet so rewarding.  I can’t believe I was able to run 26.2 miles after only running for 19 months.  Now, if I get to 4 miles I’m elated.

Life is good though.  I have good kids, a lovely wife and a great home.

I can’t ask for much more than that.

2 days left.

I’m happy.

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As the Pebble turns

No running this weekend.  My Lovely Wife and I went to Chattanooga for the weekend.  Just to get away and rest.

It was a good time and I really enjoyed myself.  I think she had fun too.  Sometimes you just have to get away for a bit to renew your mind.

I do have news on the Pebble watch.  I have really come to like it a lot.  However on Friday morning it got into a loop trying to install the newest update and I couldn’t get it out.  So I exchanged it at Best Buy and took my new watch home to charge before our trip.  Well this watch did the same thing.  Being a bit frustrated at this point I went to the Geek Squad counter at Best Buy to see what they could do.  After an hour, they gave up.  Hmmm.  They gave me another new watch and told me not to update it!  That wasn’t really a solution, but I figured I had two weeks to take it back and I really like the watch, so I set it up and cancelled the update.  Since I hadn’t charged it yet, I turned it off and charged it in the car on the way to Chattanooga.  When I figured it was charged I turned it back on and it automatically started updating!!  I couldn’t stop it so I just let it continue.  This time it worked.  It updated and came back to the screen that showed it was successful and it has worked great ever since.  Even my Lovely Wife says it is nice that I am not having to look at my phone every time there is a notification.

Okay… The bad part of the weekend is I gained 5 lbs.  It was fun to eat out and enjoy ourselves so I am not that upset.  On top of all I eat this weekend, today is our Thanksgiving luncheon at work.  So starting today, I am going back to running again.  My goal is to run at least 5 days this week, 3 miles a day.  I really like to get to 4 miles as that is when my weight starts going down, but I don’t want to overdue it.

To be totally honest, I am lacking in my desire to run at the moment.  I think I need a goal or something to work towards.

I will get back – I just need to make running my habit again.

All in all I cannot complain.  I wouldn’t change this weekend for anything.  It was fun and nice to get away… Now if I could just fit my work clothes, all would be great!

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My first post injury run

I ran yesterday.

My first run since the first week of October.

First of all, it was a good run.  I ran my 5K route I created while walking for the past few weeks.  The thing I like about this route is that there are no sharp turn arounds or Cul-de-sacs to run around.

The run went well overall – I ran in my Brooks PureFlow’s for the first time.  I like them.  They seem to be the right weight and good support.  I think these might become my go-to shoes.

On to my run.

First I had little twinges of hip pain throughout.  I didn’t try to push myself.  I just ran.  I did take my phone so I could see how I did after I finished.  My achilles/heel spur didn’t act up.  It was a little sore in the beginning, but that went away and I really had no more problems.

I ran my 5K route in 26:53 which is pretty good for an old man who has only run 30 miles in the past couple of months.  I was pleased when I looked at my time.  I wondered if I should have gone slower, but I just ran what felt comfortable and sometimes when I go too slow, I actually end up in more pain.

So all in all it was a good inaugural run… until this morning that is.  I woke up and my hip was hurting.  The good thing is it wasn’t where I got the injection, but I think it is still in my SI joint area.  I stretched before and after, but I did have things to do yesterday after my run, so I may not have stretched enough and I forgot to heat and ice… Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Today I am supposed to go to my first PT appt, but I am probably going to have to cancel.  My Lovely Wife woke up with a raging migraine and I will probably need to take her to the doctor this morning which means I’ll need to work late.  Oh well, maybe I’ll be able to reschedule for later in the week.

This roller coaster I am on needs to seriously stop.  I enjoyed my run and that was my goal.  I just need to find my rhythm in running again.  Not overthink it and not push it.  Just run.

I’m sure Ibuprofen will help with my pains and I’ll continue to stretch during the day.  Obviously there will be no running today, even if I felt better.  There just won’t be enough time.

Until next time (whenever that is).

Tom

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Running reply

I got this comment from Bernie at GetGoingGetRunning this morning and I thought it would be good to just make my answer into a post:

Hi Tom, I was wondering where you had got to!
Don’t be hard on yourself. You’ve got an injury. Every runner gets injured at some point. It’s just part of the trials and tribulations of the sport.
So you’re not running? Tell us what you’re doing instead! What weird nasty exercise has the chiropractor got you doing now? How much do you want to meet the inventor of the foam roller so you can tell them what you really think of that little tube of pain delivered in such a calming pastel colour?
I’m sure I’m speaking for everyone here when I say we’re rooting for you to get back on the running train, and that we all understand from our previous experience what you’re going through and we are just as interested to see how you’re dealing with not doing what you’ve come to love.
See you back on the running train soon!

First of all, thank you Bernie and everyone for your support, advice and encouragement.  I do appreciate it and it has been a huge help.

Okay, I think I am back to normal.  I say that because I have no pain and feel pretty well.  I started taking Turmeric as a natural anti-inflammatory and it seems to be really helping.  I also have spent more time with my heating pad at night than my Lovely Wife. 🙂

As everyone who has ever read this blog knows, I am not a huge cross training type of guy.  It honestly isn’t that I am against it.  I did get out my late sister’s bike the other day and was going to ride it, but I need a helmet and stores are proud of their biking helmets.  They can be expensive. It’s hard to spend as much money on a helmet as I did on my new shoes that sit in a box by the couch.

So I walk.  Yes it is boring, but here is my thought…  With rest (as Joey and others have encouraged me) I know I’ll get better.  My Chiropractor benefits are used up for the year.  My main “fear” is that I will lose the habit of running.  So I figure if I keep going out each day at the same time and walk for 45 minutes, I will keep the habit of doing an activity that is similar to running, just slower and more boring.

I may try a slow run today.  I’ll see how I feel after work.  The weather is awesome and I’m feeling great, so I should be good to go.  Worst case scenario, if for some reason I can’t run for an extended period of time, I’ll take up biking.  Maybe there will be a triathlon in my future.

Thanks again Bernie and everyone!!!  It would be so much harder without this blog and reading your blogs!

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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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Finishing the race!

I finally arrived at my mom’s and will help celebrate her birthday a day late. Better late than never!

Here is a recap of the marathon… I will write some more later about the interesting time we had outside of the actual race, but I want to write about the race alone in this post.

We started at exactly 7:00. I was so nervous at the start, but after we got 1/4 of a mile into the marathon, nerves turned into running. It was really crowded for the first 4 miles or so and then it spread into a manageable amount of runners.

For me, I started at an 8:00 pace. Fast for me, but I had my reasons. I really wanted a chance at my dream of running it under a 3:30 and I figured if I didn’t try, I wouldn’t know if it was possible.

It wasn’t. 🙂

I ran an 8:00 pace for 12 miles. Not bad. But that was about all I could do. Almost out of nowhere I lost the steam to keep the pace. So, knowing I wouldn’t make my first goal, I settled in to finishing the race and enjoying the run!

It was an interesting course. Fairly hilly in the beginning. Then we got to the river and the trail beside the river. For about 8 miles we ran this trail. Two grooves of dirt with grass in the middle and on either side. So runners settled into a groove and did the best they could to pass when possible. I fell in behind a guy who was keeping an 8:00 pace. For several miles I just ran his pace. That was nice, until he suddenly stopped to walk. Ugh. That messed with me a bit. But I kept going and finally got through that 8 mile stretch.

At the half way point when my steam ran out I ate gels and drank Gatorade to keep me going. That was a good plan. I ran for a couple of miles and walked through the water/Gatorade stations. As soon as I downed my sugar, I was running again. At mile 15 a woman handing out Gatorade asked me if I was okay. I said yes, but I guess I didn’t look that great. After that, I turned off my app and just ran as I could run. Not very fast, but not walking either. In my mind I kept thinking, “If I walk, I won’t finish as fast”.

At mile 20 I fully hit the wall. We had just run 16 miles of river trails and gone up a hill and now were running on gravel. I had to walk a bit. I then got a text from my Lovely Wife saying to keep going and she was pulling for me. I thought, I can do this. Not long after, I started running again. I never walked longer than a minute or two. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. Finally around mile 22 we got back onto asphalt. I never thought I’d be so happy to see a road again.

This was the hardest part. Between mile 22 and 24. I hurt a lot. I would run a while and then have to walk because my whole body hurt. After a minute I’d start running again. Then I made it to mile 24. Another runner, about age 35 came up beside me and we began to talk. He told me he had run 3 other marathons but not run one in a couple of years. We talked for almost 2 miles. Wow, that really helped. At the point where the finish was a half mile away (uphill), he asked if I was doing okay and I told him I was and to head on as I could see he wanted to run strong at the end. He took off up the hill.

As I ran up the hill and onto the final stretch I was feeling much better. The finish was visible and I could hear the announcer on the loud speaker. So I went to my phone app and FaceTimed my brother. He had suggested that a few days earlier, but I didn’t know if I would be in a place to be able to do it or not. So I ran my last .2 miles with my brother and mom cheering me on. I saw the finish in front of me and was running well. Suddenly my right calf cramped. Ugh. Only a couple hundred feet to go and I was limping as I ran. It then worked its way out and I was running again, though a bit more carefully.

The finish line

My running friend of the last two miles finished ahead of me with his two toddlers running with him. How cool. I ran over the finish line only to see TJ there to greet me. I got my finishers medal and a water.

I did it. I finished. 4:14. I then, at TJ’s and my Lovely Wife’s request went to the medic tent for an IV. I was a bit out of it. After about 30 minutes I felt fine and finished with my Intravenous beverage and headed out to catch a shuttle home (a whole other blog post).

Tj finished amazingly fast at 3:08 (3 minutes off Boston Qualifying time). I am so proud of him.

Special thanks again to my big bro Jeff and my Lovely Wife for posting all the updates. Also special thanks to all of you. The support I have received from the blogging community was way more than I ever expected and had a huge impact in my marathon. When I felt the wall hit and wanted to give up, I would think of YOU. I couldn’t face not finishing and having to post that to this blog. Thank you so much!!!

That is it for now. I am more sore than I have ever been in my life. Right now my 85 year old mom could beat me in a race! 🙂

Ahhh. Life is good!

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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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Running and help for my aching body!

I actually ran yesterday!  I am so thankful I chose to take Wednesday off (see yesterday’s post).  As I waffled in indecision, my Lovely Wife stepped in and helped me to finally decide not to run.  She is always supportive and wise.  I should listen to her more often!

Yesterday was a good run overall.  I got in my 5 miles in 95 degree index temperature.  It seemed hotter than that to me.

The run went well.  My hip and achilles started out hurting quite a bit, but after a mile or so of warm up they loosened and then no problem.  My first mile was at 9:46 and my last was at 8:23 so as I got loose, I got faster.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am not using my phone to tell me my pace.  In fact yesterday I didn’t even look at it.  I just ran what I wanted to run and it worked out.  I ended up with an 8:56 overall pace.  Not bad in the summer heat.

A coworker and fellow runner gave me a massage ball to try using on my hips and back.  It is about the size of a tennis ball but harder.  I gave it a try last night before bed as we watched some TV.  I just put it between the bed and my hip and put pressure where the pain was.  I moved it some and also put it between the bed and my calf muscle some.  This morning I am moving better than most mornings.  I think this might have really helped, but I can’t tell for sure until I try it for a few days.

I have a foam roller but don’t use it much.  This ball was convenient and easy to use.  I could pinpoint my pain and just let it sit in place for a while. It is called a Trigger Point Massage Ball.  He purchased it in a local running store for about $20.  I assume a tennis ball would also work, but this was much denser and was easy to dig into my hip even on the bed.  Time will tell.

A week from today we leave for the marathon.  Wow, it will be here before we know it.