Lovely wife

by

How much do I taper for my marathon in 2 weeks?

Yesterday I had a much needed day off.  I took a vacation day from work and slept until 7:30.  Of course today I’m back up at 3:45 AM, but I am feeling more awake and less run down.

This leads me into a question I’ve been dealing with and if you marathon runners would like to help, I’d appreciate it.

Tapering.

I know tapering is a difficult thing.  My question is, how much and when.  I am 50 years old and have been running since March 2012.  I’m averaging 50 miles a week.  I want to run this marathon as well as I can and don’t want to under or over taper.  My marathon is 2 weeks from tomorrow.  Also I am physically tired from the workouts and long runs (as I assume everyone is at the time in training).  My hip is still bothering me and my right achilles isn’t doing that great.

So any ideas on tapering for an old guy?  🙂

On to a few other things since I missed my post yesterday.

I went to pick up some vitamins from the doctor that helped my Lovely Wife and me lose close to 100 lbs each.  I hadn’t seen his receptionist in a couple months and I was in my running clothes as I wanted to run a bike path near work.  As I walked in and she saw me, her first comment was, “You are virtually unrecognizable”.  The weight loss and the running seems to have made a big difference.  It made me feel good.

Also, I had a great run on the bike path.  I ran 5 miles, 4 of which were under a 7:45 pace.

That is about it.  I’ve got to get ready to meet Neill (@BigBigGeek) at the state park to run with him on his long run.  Last week it was so nice to run and talk.  I’m looking forward to doing this again.

2 weeks from tomorrow is the Lehigh Valley Marathon.  I can’t wait!!!

by

Run around life

Yesterday was pretty much an insane day.  Here is how it went…

  1. 1:30 AM Get up
  2. 3:30 AM Dr. Appt.  (Yes that is correct)
  3. 4:45 AM Pick up daughter and take to work
  4. 5:20 AM Arrive at my work
  5. 1:30 PM Leave work
  6. 2:00 PM Find out upstairs heat pump isn’t working
  7. 2:10 PM Take Lovely Wife to our Chiropractor Appt.
  8. 4:00 PM Arrive home and work on getting air conditioning back on
  9. 4:30 PM Run 6 miles
  10. 5:30 PM Finish run
  11. 7:30 PM Get in bed for the evening
  12. 8:30 PM Sleep

Wow, I look at that and wonder how I got through the day.  I almost gave up my run.  I was tired and still sore from workouts and the weekend runs, but I thought that I really don’t have many more runs before tapering and I hate to miss one this late in the game, so I decided to run.  I told my Lovely Wife that I was worried that being tired I might get hurt and she made me promise to run SLOWLY.

So that was my day.  Today I’m still worn out and have a steady state run this afternoon.  I am going to try something different in my quest to run somewhere other than my neighborhood.  I am going to run a bike path near work that is about 2.5 miles long.  It is much flatter than my neighborhood and somewhere different to run.

Just over 2 weeks to go before the marathon.

Have a great day and if your not training for a marathon, get some rest.  🙂

by

Everyday running is a new day!

Everyday running is a new day!  

That is the great thing about running.  You can have the worse day running of your week, month, year and then go out one day and suddenly you have a PR.

Friday I had probably the worse day running in months.  No storms.  No heat.  Lower humidity.  But I got up at 3:30 AM, worked until 2:00, went to the Chiropractor and by the time I went out to run, it was almost 5:00 PM.  I was tired, hungry and not in the mood for a run.  I ran 3.33 miles and stopped.  I was disheartened and depressed about my upcoming marathon.  Then Saturday I ran 10 miles and Sunday I ran 20 miles.  Bam!  I was back!!!

Everyday running is a new day!  

That is the hard thing about running.  You can set PRs, you can run almost 5 hours in 2 days.  You put your blood, sweat and tears into your workouts and go to bed proud, excited and content.  Then you wake up and it is a new day.  Of course you have your base, but today… you start all over again.

I confess that I am tired.  I have been training for the Lehigh Valley Marathon for months.  I haven’t slept past 5:00 AM in over a month, in fact most days I get up at 4:00 AM.  All I seem to do is wake up, go to work, do errands, go to doctors and then run.  On the weekend, it is different.  I wake up, run, do errands and go to bed.  Now that is a nice change of pace.  🙂

Everyday running is a new day!  

Today is a new day.  The weather is still moderate, not as nice as last week, but not HOT.  I have new confidence after my fantastic weekend of running.  Yes, I’m tired, but that will end in less than 3 weeks.   I have a very supportive family.  They know I’m tired and they really try to help.  My Lovely Wife has been awesome to me and understands what I am going through.  I’m very fortunate.  I have good kids, a blog I love writing and “a hope and a future”.

In the end, I’m glad that…

Everyday running is a new day!  

by

5.5 miles in 105 degree heat. The “wild-eyed runner”

Boy will I be glad when the Fall arrives.  Of course here in the South, it doesn’t really start getting cool until the middle to end of October.

Yesterday was another hot day.  Not too hot by the temperature, but over 105 with the heat index.

I got home from work, kissed my Lovely Wife, pet the dog, said hi to the kids and headed out for my run.  I really just wanted to run with no intentions.  I hoped to even make it up to 8 miles, but I decided to play it by ear.  Several people have died in my area from the heat and I didn’t want to be numbered with them.

So I headed out.  I tried to start slow, but ended up a bit faster than I planned.  As the run when on, I actually felt pretty good.  Even though it was hot, I didn’t stop at the top of hills or in the shade.  I just kept running.  In fact, without really trying, my pace was under 9:00 for several miles.

I guess 4 miles is where the heat really begins to affect me.  I started to feel a little tired and my legs felt a bit weak.  At 5 miles I was beginning to feel a little light headed.  So, I thought it would be best just to head home and not take a chance with the heat.  I ended up at 5.5 miles at just around a 9:00 pace for the whole run.  Not bad.

After I got back, I sat outside with “The Dog” and threw a stick, but I couldn’t last more than about 10 minutes.  I went back in and stood in the kitchen under the air vent and tried to cool off.  By the time another 10 minutes had passed, the floor in the kitchen was soaked and so was I.  It was like I had just gotten out of the pool.  When I went up to take a shower, even my Lovely Wife said I was “wild eyed”.  I guess running 5.5 miles in 105 heat will do that to you.  🙂

I’m not sure what I am doing today.  The heat continues and I haven’t done my speed workout yet for this week.  The storms on Tuesday really messed with my schedule.  I’ll probably just try to get more miles in and take it easy preparing for my (hopefully) 18 mile run on Sunday.

Thank you for reading and have an awesome weekend!!!

by

Dizzy update, Running update, Marathon update

So I went for my run yesterday; a little apprehensive after getting so dizzy on Thursday.

I took it slower and I ate more during the day yesterday (Okay, I had a donut at work).

I think I have decided that the socks didn’t cause my issues. I do think the 4 other items I listed were all part of the issue. Especially the fact it got 20 degrees hotter in 2 days. It has been so much cooler lately because of afternoon storms that it is almost like I have to get used to the heat all over again.

Starting out slowly yesterday really helped. I was able to get 6 miles in, and this after waking up at 1:30 AM and not being able to get back to sleep, working all day and taking myself and my Lovely Wife to the Chiropractor. After all that I ran 6 miles in a 9:22 pace. Not bad.

Today I am waffling about what to do. I should run, but I am sore from the week and I have my long run tomorrow. I know TJ would tell me that even 3 miles would help. I’ll see. I am going to take BZL to Steak N Shake for a birthday breakfast (can you believe I have a 26 year old son? I know I can’t). Then I’ll play it by ear.

I’m hoping to get somewhere between 15 – 18 miles Sunday. I really have to make that goal or rethink my marathon. 5 weeks left and all my injuries have really affected my progress. It is crazy that I went a year with no injuries and now 4 months filled with them.

Life is good.

by

27 years!

My Lovely Wife and I are celebrating our 27th anniversary today.

IMG_4400

This picture was taken of us last winter in our local mall. JR took it on a Saturday with a lot of people all around. It is an amazing picture in as there are no people in it other than us.

My running would not happen without a supportive wife. It takes a lot of time away from her and the kids and yet they support me completely.

Over the 27 years, we’ve had ups and we’ve had downs. I wouldn’t want to have a great day without sharing it with her or a bad day without her help.

We are going to Church today to renew our vows. Just us and our 5 kids. Nothing formal. I can’t wait.

So, to my lovely wife… We played this song at our wedding in 1986 and it is still true today. I love you and look forward to the next 27 years!

I could never promise you on just my strength alone
That all my life I’d care for you, and love you as my own
I’ve never known the future, I only see today
Words that last a lifetime would be more than I could say

But the love inside my heart today is more than mine alone
It never changes, it never fails, never seeks it’s own
And by the God who gives it, and who lives in me and you
I know the words I speak today(tonight) are words I’m going to do

(Chorus)
And so I stand before you now for all to hear and see
I promise you in Jesus’ name the love He’s given me
And through the years on earth and as eternity goes by
The life and love He’s given us are never going to die.

Don Francisco

by

Successful running – create a habit

Running on hold…

My hip is better, but I still have pain.  I figured out that a light slow jog is less painful than walking, but I am not going to take any chances.  I have a Chiropractor appointment later today, so hopefully that will help.  This all comes from the time I jammed my hip while running on a sidewalk.  Lesson:  When running on a sidewalk, don’t get distracted.

So yesterday I went for a 2 mile walk.  The main reason is to keep my “running habit” going for when I am better, which I hope is soon.  My theory from 16 months of running is that in order to be a consistent runner, it must become a habit.  Habit is the key to most success in life.  If you can create a habit, you can be consistent and succeed where others fail.

I used to run 3 days a week.  I did this for a month or two and then it stopped.  16 months ago I started running 6 days a week.  I’m still running.  I’ve learned that in order to create a habit, one must do the same thing at the same time of the day.  Don’t hear me wrong.  I didn’t mean to say the same time, as in 2:00.  I mean the same time as in after an event that happens every day.

Let me explain.

I run after work, which works well for the winter and lousy for the summer.  Because of what I do for a living I get home at various times, but for me it is usually between 2:00 – 4:00.  As soon as I get home I run.  Everyone know this and even the dog leaves me alone.  I go upstairs, get changed, say goodbye to my Lovely Wife and head out the door.  Everyday weekday.  This has created a habit that even if I want to stop, I really can’t.  Of course Mondays are my day off, but even then I go outside and walk a couple miles.  On the weekends I do have to adjust, so I run as soon as I get up and eat.  Every weekend I do the same thing.

So yesterday I decided to walk since I didn’t think I should take a chance on running and I didn’t want to break my habit.  I got home, got changed, said goodbye and walked for 2 miles.  I came home, played with the dog outside while I cooled down and then went upstairs and showed.

I don’t know why I went into this today, maybe because I didn’t have much to write about.  Suffice to say, habits are important to any success, whether exercise, work, family, even spending time with “the dog”.  Next time you want to be successful at something, just do it the same time everyday for 3 weeks and it will become a habit.  It might get boring, but no one said success was always exciting.

Do the same thing, the same time, everyday and you will succeed!

by

Weight loss update – Running on hold

I haven’t posted much about my weight lately, mainly because there hasn’t been much to post about.  Yesterday was my off day from running, so I thought I’d take a moment to write about my weight.

When I was at my highest weight a couple of years ago, I weighed 278 lbs (thus the name of my blog).  My doctor told me to do some type of exercise and try to loose some weight.  Now, as of this morning, I weight 177 lbs.  That is a 101 lb (45.8 kg)  decrease over the past two years.  In fact it was July 2011 when I was in real trouble.

I am probably not like most people in many regards.  I didn’t just wake up one day and decide to loose weight.  I knew I had issues and was way over weight, but I didn’t believe in dieting and weighed too much to run.

My weight loss actually began with TMJ surgery.  After I had surgery on my jaw, I wasn’t allowed to eat anything I couldn’t cut with a plastic fork.  So, I stopped eating out at lunch and began bringing frozen entrees to work.  Just doing that I lost 25 lbs.  I then began seeing a doctor with my Lovely Wife for her back.  He put us both on a medical weight loss program.  I lost 35 lbs in 1 month.

Then I began running.

I didn’t run to loose weight. I lost weight, therefore I decided to see if I could run.

I could.

Anyway, there is a lot more that happened, but I wanted to just do a quick post about how I got to my 101 lb weight loss.  My Lovely Wife has lost 86 lbs and that has been done with a bad back that keeps her laid up most of the time.  That is honestly the most amazing story to me.  It is much easier to loose weight if you can run 5 miles a day than if you have to lie in bed a lot of the day.

So, I am excited to be below 178 lbs for the first time.  Hopefully this continues.  I have been hovering around 180 for a long time.  For my height, I should really be around 160, but I am not going to push it.  I am happy to be where I am and I will let my body decide for itself if it wants to let go of another 10-20 lbs.

A quick running update…  I don’t know if I will run today or not.  My hip woke me up last night with some pain, so I may have to take at least one more day off and hope for it to get better tomorrow.  I definitely don’t want to take a chance at being out long term because I didn’t give it enough time to get better.  Don’t worry though, I’ll write tomorrow and you will know what I decided.  🙂

by

Vacation / running / record month

It was a great weekend thanks to HM.

For Father’s Day HM took my lovely wife and myself to Chattanooga, TN.  He paid for the hotel, food and gas.  It was a great time and nice to get away for a couple of days.

Of course, as I planned this trip, I had to figure out where to run.  I looked online and found out that there is a bike/pedestrian path that runs next to the river appropriately called, “Riverwalk”.  So Saturday morning at 6:00 I went out to find this Riverwalk and to run my 8 miles.

It took a while for me to find the beginning of the main path, but some nice people on bikes pointed me in the right direction and I was on my way.

I had a great run.  It was beautiful, peaceful, and the course was relatively flat, especially compared to my neighborhood.  Here are some images I took with my phone as I ran…

The Riverwalk path

The Riverwalk path

The view from the Riverwalk path

The view from the Riverwalk path

My run on Saturday went really well.  I took Friday off running as I had run the 9 days prior and we had to travel after I got off of work.  So Saturday my legs were fresher and I felt much better than I had the past week.  It also didn’t hurt that it was about 30 degrees cooler than the last day I ran in my neighborhood.  So I pushed myself a bit, which I haven’t done in a while because of the heat.  I worked a few miles at trying to keep my marathon pace and was fairly successful.  To be honest, if it weren’t for my trying to find this path in the beginning, I would have averaged in the 8:00 – 9:00 range for the whole 8 miles.  Alas I ended up at 9:02 pace which isn’t bad.  In fact it is the best pace I have had since the heat kicked in serval weeks ago.

Sunday was different.  I woke up at 3:00 and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I really didn’t “feel” like running.  I was tired and sore, but I went out anyway and ran the Riverwalk.  It wasn’t nearly as fun, but I still managed a 9:58 pace for 8 miles.  My goal was to run 15 miles, but I ran out of time as we had to eat and check out of the hotel.  Also I was just tired and couldn’t do the extra miles, even after we got home yesterday afternoon.  So, sadly I missed my first 200 mile month by 7 miles.  Still it was my first month over 150 miles, so 193 isn’t shabby.

Looking forward, I think I will cut back this week and try to let my body heal.  My achilles is better, but did bother me yesterday.  Also during my Thursday run/walk in 101 degree heat, I wasn’t paying attention and tripped in a crack in the sidewalk.  I lunged forward and had to catch myself.  It really messed with my left hip which hasn’t been a problem since the half marathon in February.  It was better Saturday, but much worse on Sunday and last night I woke up in pain.

So, with 1o weeks to go to my marathon, I am having to pull my training back to recover.  On the bright side, it is not supposed to get out of the mid 80’s here for the next week.

Today is another planned off day and I’ll see how I feel tomorrow.

Thanks again HM for the trip!

by

Marathon update and a 55 mile week

It has been a couple of crazy days.

My lovely wife had a horrible migraine starting Sunday afternoon.  I finally had to take her to the doctor yesterday morning and as of last night, it was better, but not great.

As I wrote yesterday, my plans for our marathon have hit a snag.  Yesterday I was much less hopeful of a solution, but after a lot of feedback from many sources, I think I might have come up with an answer…

If my big brother will change his dates for visiting my mom’s and come in Sunday rather than Friday, I think it will work out.  The only hitch is to find a hotel in Allentown for 2 days that won’t be way expensive because of the marathon.  Then we can go up on Friday, have Saturday to review the course (which we always do before a race – it really helps) and the run Sunday and head to my mom’s afterwards.  Seems doable.  I haven’t looked at hotel rates yet, but I will and then check with big brother and if all that works, we will be back on.  Thanks to everyone for your feedback via the blog, email or phone.  It was a big help.

Now on to my killer week of running.  I’ve thrown out pace all together.  My goal right now is miles and building a base and then work on my speed about 6 weeks out.  I normally take Monday off since Sunday is my long day, but I have obligations Friday afternoon, so I decided to run Monday – Thursday and take Friday as my off day.  TJ has helped me work out a plan.  I am running 8 mile days and a 15 mile long day.  I’ll probably split my long day into 2 runs of 7 and 8 miles.  That will put me at 55 miles for the week and 200 for the month.  The reason I’ve thrown out my pace is I don’t want to push too hard and also the heat.  I have had some light physical issues, but not much for the mileage, so I am thankful.

Sometimes life is like running.  You push and push to get through each day and if you hit a wall, you regroup, shake it off and keep going.  Running has taught me so much about endurance in life.

It will all work out!

by

Achilles fix? Maybe!

93 miles in 2 weeks.

43 miles last week.

13 miles on Sunday.

That is a lot of miles for a 50 year old who has been running just over a year.

Many of you know that I have suffered with achilles issues for some time now.  I haven’t been writing about it because my ice baths for my foot after running has been keeping the problem in check, but it has still been difficult at times.  One bad moment was when I was getting up from sitting and hit my heal into the back of the chair I was in.  That sent me through the roof.  An hour later I was out running and the run was okay, but I had more pain.  That was Friday.

I had been thinking about the logic of stretching my calf to relieve the pain in my achilles. Everyone says to stretch by leaning forward with the foot on the ground.  Yes I can feel the stretch in my calf, but I also feel the pull on my achilles.  Then I thought, many people will tell you to take time off from running and let it rest to get past the issue.  So why am I stretching and pulling against it if it needs to rest?  Finally I got a foam roller to roll on my calf.  I am to roll until I feel a knot and then hold the knot until it releases.  This I did.  But it is hard for me to spend more than a few minutes doing this along with other stretching, running, family, work, dog, etc.

All that to say, I did something Saturday night that allowed me to begin my run on Sunday with NO pain in my achilles.  I ran 8 miles until I began to feel a little pulling.  It was amazing to me.  It is like when it is hot outside for weeks and one morning you go out and it is cool.  Wow, what a difference.  You notice it right away.  That was my run yesterday.  Zero pain.  Ahhh.

So what did I do?

I laid in bed while TJ and my Lovely Wife and I watched the first Spirit of the Marathon.  I put my left knee up with my foot on the bed.  I took my right leg and set my calf directly on top of my knee.  Then I dug in.  I could apply as much pressure or as little pressure as I wanted.  I finally found a spot on the outside of my calf that hurt a lot, so I worked that area for over an hour.  It hurt, but it was easy to continue.  I just watched a movie and did about 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off of allowing my knee to massage and kneed my sore calf muscle.  That was it.

The next morning (Sunday), I got up out of bed for the first time in a long time with no pain.  I knew I did something right – finally.

I’m not saying that I am fixed.  After my run yesterday my achilles was pretty sore, so I did some more work on it last night, but not much.  I feel asleep too fast.  Still, I now know an answer that I hope will permanently fix my achilles.

Time will tell.

It was a good long run by the way.  I did well until the 12th mile and then stated to fade.  Much better than last week.  So I am making progress.

12 weeks until the Lehigh Valley Marathon!  I hope I’m ready.