running

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A run for the dogs

Yesterday’s run was… Different!

Okay it was 95 degrees and 104 heat index.  It felt hotter than that.  Also I had worked all day and had my Chiropractor yank on my leg and my hip for a while.  I decided to take it slow and not even worry about mileage.  Just see how it goes.

It didn’t go well.  I was sore, tired and hot.  Also I only drank 32 oz of water (but the day before I drank 180 oz).

A new friend

A new friend

As I ran, I debated giving up after 2 miles.  I don’t want to run a hard run and take a chance of getting hurt this close to my marathon.  But I decided to run at least 2 more miles.  Storms were on the horizon, but seemed far enough away to make a go of it.

Then I saw a dog running in the roadway ahead of me.  A car was coming down the road and fortunately saw the dog and almost came to a stop as the dog ran in and our of the road carefree.  I called to it as I ran by to get him out of the street and he moved out of the way of the car and I kept running.

Then I heard a voice of someone behind me saying, “You’ve got a friend with you”.  I looked back and the dog was running right behind me.  He ran up to me and just kept with me.  He ran beside me, ahead of me, behind me, in and out in the street, but was always near me.

At one point we came up on some children with their puppy playing in their yard.  The dog running with me ignored their dog, but their dog ran after “my” dog and the kids (age 7ish) ran after both.  Then “my” dog started chasing their dog.  They screamed and panicked at this point.  So I tried to distract the dog running with me and that didn’t work. Finally I called to him and got him to come to me and I held its collar for a few seconds while the kids scooped up their dog and ran into the house.

And away we went!

Up hills, down hills and throughout the neighborhood we ran together.  I had to point him out to a few more cars and he kept right up with me,photo 1 in the heat, for 2 miles.

Finally we went past a house with people outside.  He ran to them and they called to him.  I never saw him again.  I can only assume he was theirs.  He was a bit mangy and dirty though; like he had been outside on his own for a while.

Then I ran home and threw the stick with “The Dog” outside.

Isn’t it funny how you can have a difficult run in a thousand degree heat and a stray dog can make it a fun run!

Going out to run 11 miles with @BigBigGeek.  My last “long” run before the marathon.  It is 78 degrees at 5:15 AM.  Should be fun!!!

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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.

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An amazing run that never happened

Listen to your body…

How many times have I heard that over the past few weeks!

Yesterday I was at my Chiropractor and I was glad to be there.  The track run the day before was horrendous on my body.  My good hip hurt so much that it was hard to walk.  I got up in the middle of the night and limped to the bathroom.  Work wasn’t much better.

After my last few blog posts there seemed to be a theme from the comments and that theme was, “Listen to your body”.

As I was waiting for the Chiropractor to come into the room, I had made up my mind I was going to run after the appointment.  Yes I had been in pain and I was tired, but it was to be an easy run and only 5 miles.  I could do this… But in the back of my mind were the “what ifs”.  What if I run and my hip gets worse?  What if I hurt myself and can’t run the marathon?  All those miles and all the pain would be for nothing.  Then came the other “what ifs”.  What if I don’t run and that would have been “the” best run?  What if I don’t run and in some small way it affects my marathon?  It is only 5 miles after all, I can do that much.  Finally, if I ran all my planned  runs this week I’d be at a 200 mile month which I’ve gotten close to before, but never actually achieved.  “I can’t give that up”, I thought to myself.

The doctor came in.  He adjusted me and asked about my running.  He said I was really stiff and spent extra time trying to loosen me up.  Finally he asked if I was going to run after my appointment.  I told him I was waffling back and forth as to whether I should run or take a day off to recover.

His response…

“Listen to your body”.

Alright, I might be a little obsessive about my running.  I need to be.  If I weren’t I would have stopped long ago.  But eventually hearing all of your comments on this blog and his response got to me.  I knew I had to take the day off.  Sometimes things are said in such a way, and so many times, that I know it is wisdom and not just a coincidence.  This was one of those times.

So I went home.  I got in bed.  I read your blogs.  I rested with heat on my back and hips.  I slept.  I got up this morning and felt great.  I’m still a bit sore and it was hard when I first got out of bed, but I almost beat “The Dog” down the stairs for the first time in weeks.

So yesterday was an amazing run.  I ran it in my head and not on the streets.  It may have been the difference between a good marathon and a great one for me.  It might not make much of a difference.  Either way, I’m glad I didn’t run.

Ten years from now when I am reading blogs and posting comments to help new marathoners, my advice will be:

Hi IrunBecauseIwantTo (made up blog name).
Years ago I was preparing for my first marathon.  I had trained a lot and had a rough couple of weeks toward the end of my training.  I got some of the best advice from fellow runners that I had received in my year and a half of running.  They told me over and over, “Listen to your body”.  Finally I listened.  My marathon was awesome and I can look back and see it was that advice that made all the difference.  So I leave you with the same advice.  Listen to your body and have a great marathon!!!

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Yesterday’s split run

Yesterday was a strange run.  I ran in the afternoon and it was pretty hot.  I realized that for the past 4 days I’ve run in the morning (except for Monday which was my off day).  Since I needed to try and run a tempo run, I decided to try a public track and see how I would do with something flat.

This track is really nice and has a “rubbery” surface (I don’t run track so I don’t know what it is called).  Unfortunately, it really hurt my hip.  I guess the feedback from the track must have messed with me.  I ran one mile at 9:00 pace and a second at 7:35.  Then I had to stop.  I felt disheartened and headed to my car and drove home.

By the time I got home, I thought I would just try to get the mileage in so that I would have my 5 miles for the day.  So I went out slowly as to not aggravate my hip further.  I ended up running 3 miles at 9:25, 9:01 and 7:57.

So it wasn’t even close to a tempo run.  In fact, I would just call it a strange run (oh yeah, I already did).

As I ran I kept thinking to myself, “Don’t over do it.  You have a race in 10 days.  Listen to your body”.

Today I go back to the Chiropractor after work and then run an easy run.  Tomorrow I’ll probably run the bike path near work again.

I admit I’m sore and tired.  I’m close to a record month, but don’t want to overdue it before my marathon.  To be honest, I would probably just run about 20 miles this week and 10 next if it were up to me.   I may take off an extra day this week just to recover a bit.  Next week I start my vacation Wednesday, leave for PA on Friday and run the race Sunday.  Right now the weather is supposed to be in the 50’s when the race starts with a high in the 80’s for the day.

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Hangin’ with the dog before my long run…

Great run yesterday with Neill (@BigBigGeek, bigbiggeek.wordpress.com).  We got to run the same route as last Saturday, but I was a bit early, so I ran 3 miles ahead of his arrival.  So all in all I made 13 miles on Saturday and had great conversation and company.

Today is my long run, but I am not going for 20 miles since I am 2 weeks away from my marathon and I did 13 yesterday.  I am going to try for 15.  I am sore, but I had a great night sleep so that will help.

For some reason I’ve noticed that I am usually in a bad mood during the day after my long run.  I don’t know why other than maybe I’m tired?

photoHere is my Hangin’ with the Dog pic for this week.  I cheated and took it yesterday (but I am hangin’ with her this morning).  I think it is funny how she likes to “sit” on the stairs.

Have a great Sunday and thank you everyone who gave insight into tapering yesterday.  It was great help.  I will post my ending thoughts and tapering plan sometime this week.

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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!!!

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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.  🙂

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Running Super Juice

Fresh from my confidence building weekend, I actually ran a hill workout yesterday.

I haven’t run a specific hill workout since the half marathon we ran in February. I have run “improvised” hill runs just during my regular runs.

I guess I have some hope of not only trying to finish but also getting into the 3:30 finish for my marathon. Thus it makes it easier to suffer the pain of a workout rather than just trying to rack up the mileage.

Beet Root Juice

Beet Root Juice

One thing I have been doing that I think really helps is drinking beet root juice. I read about this a month or so ago and so I set out to try some. Publix has it in stock in their juice section. It comes in a 500 ml bottle and so I just drink a whole bottle down at one time. The taste isn’t bad. It tastes sweet, but has a beet aftertaste (I wonder why).

I realize psychology has a lot to do with performance in running, so I have given it some time before I wrote anything. I have some 3 out of 4 weeks (about 2 bottles a week) and here are the results:

  • Week 1 – Drank beet juice – Ran a 5K in 22:08 and then the next day ran 17 miles at a 9:15 pace.
  • Week 2 – Didn’t drink beet juice – Ran 16 miles in 9:30 – crashed – jogged/walked 2 miles – walked 2 miles.
  • Week 3 – Drank beet juice – Ran 10 miles on Saturday and 20 on Sunday (Sunday’s pace was 8:53).

Of course these are my own observations and correlations, but I do feel a difference with the juice.

Yesterday I was dragging. I didn’t recover properly from my run on Sunday. I came home from that run and eat popcorn and oatmeal cream cookies. I paid for that indiscretion. Mentally and emotionally I was a mess after my run and into yesterday. I was grumpy and in a fog. I decided to go out and get some beet juice as it also has a kick after I first drink it. It did help, but I was still dragging. By the time I got home though, I got out to run in 95 degree real feel temperature and had a great workout. 10 repeats up the hill and 6 miles overall.

The beet juice has nitrates that help with performance. But for me, it seems to stop “The Voice” that tells me to stop. I didn’t hear that voice at all on Sunday and I didn’t hear it yesterday either. I was tired and thirsty after my repeats and my running slowed down, but I could have gone further if I had some gatorade available. As it was, I thought it better not to overdue it and take a chance of getting hurt.

So that is my “unsolicited review” of beet root juice. I write from experience and I have no health degree, so take it for what it is worth. As for me, I’ll be drinking beet juice at least for the next 2.5 weeks. 🙂

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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!  

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30 mile run weekend. Where did that come from?

I needed 20 miles yesterday.

The Lehigh Valley Marathon is in 3 weeks.  I hadn’t run over 17 consecutive miles in one run.  My awesome fellow bloggers and my family keep telling me that I have the base and will do fine in the marathon – But I needed 20 strong miles… for me!

I got them!!!

Here is the breakdown:

  • 20:02 miles
  • 8:53 pace
  • 1659 elevation climb
  • 1 excited runner

I ran at the same park my friend Neill and I ran 10 miles the day before.  It was raining and in the 70’s  when I started at 6:30 AM.  I ran a 5 mile stretch of road that allowed me to hit the “zone” and be back at my car for a gel and gatorade.  I took some advice from comments on this blog last week and muted my iPhone.  No coaching from my app.  No mileage.  I just ran the way I wanted to run.

Other than the fact never walked, I am encouraged that I finished strong (last mile was an 8:35 pace) and my elevation climb was almost 3 times my previous high.

So I now look toward Lehigh Valley Marathon with a bit of excitement rather than dread.  I wonder after yesterday, might it be possible for me to qualify for Boston at this marathon?  I had let that thought go a couple of months ago as the heat of the summer set in.  Now, maybe…

Finally, THANK YOU.  Outside of my family, this blog and you who choose to read it each day is what keeps me going in this journey.  I am so glad I started it 8 months ago.  Your comments, suggestions and encouragment means so much to me, you will never understand.

3 weeks to go.  It isn’t over yet.  But I am looking forward to my race for the first time.

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The ups and downs of running this week

It has been a very strange mileage week for me…

Here is a basic look:

  • Monday – OFF
  • Tuesday – 2 miles
  • Wednesday – 9.5 miles
  • Thursday – 4 miles
  • Friday – 3 miles
  • Saturday 10 miles

I have never had a non long run over 8 miles and I had two this week close to 10.  I felt great about those days.  The other days… Ugh.

  • Tuesday we had storms and I had to stop.
  • Thursday I did steady state workout but had to stop because of a muscle cramp.
  • Friday I felt horrible.  I didn’t get to run until nearly 5:00 PM and was exhausted before I started and hungry.  Not a good combination.

Yesterday I had what I would call a much needed run.  I met Neill at the park and we ran.  We ran at a slower pace which I really needed.  The weather was perfect around 70 degrees.  We just ran and talked.  The whole run was just easy and fun.  Finally we ran our last couple miles.   Neill was going to stop at 9 miles total, but as we hit 8.5 he decided to keep going!  We got to 9 and began our run back to the cars and he picked up the pace.  We did that last mile near a 9:00 pace!! He really ran well and I really enjoyed it.

I needed that run.

So, today I am heading back to the park and going to run my long run.  I was all messed up on training for the next couple of weeks.  This week is my last 18 – 20 mile long run.  Next week will be about a 16 mile run and then a 12 mile run a week before the marathon.  I don’t know what I was thinking when I said that today was my last long run.  I guess it was wishful thinking.

I will say that after yesterday I am not dreading today.  In fact, other than the rain outside, I am looking forward to it.

I had better get going.  I really want to be in the park and running by 6:30.