training

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A mountain run with no water

I made it.  I ran the mountain twice in a row.  1.5 miles to the mountain, 2 miles up, 2 miles down, 2 miles up, 2 miles down and 1.5 miles back to the car.

That was a run!

A couple things.  At the end, my legs felt like I had run a marathon.  In fact I actually hit a wall with just about a mile left to go.  I was shot and could barely seem to lift one leg in front of the other.

All in all it went well, with one HUGE exception.

Hydration.

I didn’t.  I didn’t drink much on Saturday.  I didn’t drink any water on Sunday before my run.  This wasn’t on purpose, I just forgot.  I also didn’t take anything with me on the run and there are no water fountains except near my car.

Not good.

I debated stopping after my first time up the mountain, but this would be the only time I could get this run in and it would be 13 miles which seems to be to be close to half marathon distance. 🙂  (My half is in 2 weeks, so next Sunday I’ll just run my normal run.)

I debated running back to the car, but that would add another 1.5 miles on to my run and I honestly wasn’t up for a 14.5 mile run.

So I just ran.

It went well other then my freaking out.  I didn’t want to overdue it.  I didn’t want heat exhaustion.  If I could just find some water.  I prayed, “Lord, if you could use a raven to bring Elijah food, could you please get me some water”.

The top of the mountain, the second  time up, I saw two women looking at a map of the park.  They had WATER in their backpacks.  Now, I am very aware that a guy, covered in salt from dried sweat is probably not going to be well received by a couple of women minding their own business.  I was a bit desperate.  I went up to them and asked nicely if they had any water I could drink.  One looked at me and said, “Do you know where you are?”  I thought, “Do I look that disoriented?”  I replied, “Yes, I run up here a lot”.  She said, “Great, because we are lost”.

So I told them how to get to the falls and they shared about a half a cup of water with me.

Then it was back down the mountain and to my car.

The last 1.5 miles were brutal.  It had gotten near 80 outside and my legs were shot.  I had almost nothing to give, but I refused to stop running (If you can call a 11:00 pace running).  I thought, “If I can run 13 miles up and down a mountain, I can handle a hilly half marathon in Nashville.”

I finally got to the water fountain and drank for about a minute.  I poured water on my had so it would keep my head cool and then ran the last half mile to the car.

13.1 miles in just over 2:09.  Not bad for 1200 feet elevation and in my old PureFlow’s.

Then I saw it!  The Gatorade machine.  It was like an oasis.  I got money out of my car, and filled it with quarters.  I pressed the button… and nothing happened.  I pressed all the drink buttons… Nothing happened.  It was a mirage.  On top of that, it took my money. 😦

I can’t complain.  I’m glad I made it back and I had 2 waters in the car.  I’m sore today, but it is a good sore.  I feel like I accomplished something big and I was satisfied that I gave it all I could.

Next time I’ll hydrate!!!

Tom

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Running with a positive outlook

This continues to be a strange season in my running life.

Yesterday I came home and wasn’t feeling well.  I had a bit of a sick headache.  My thought was to perhaps skip my 5 mile run for the day and just walk a few miles.  By the time I got home I felt better thanks to my Lovely Wife suggesting I drink some chocolate milk.  I guess it was low blood sugar.  Anyway, I decided to go out for my run.

It went really well.  In fact it went much better then Tuesday’s run.  I did have my ACV before I went out as usual, but the run was stranger then my runs lately.

I ran easy.  I decided to not push myself.  I told myself to just take it easy and get a slow 5 miles in.

As I ran, I noticed my pace improving.  I wasn’t pushing myself.  In fact I was trying not to push.  The more I relaxed, the faster my pace got.  There were actually a few times where I got below 7:00 pace – and I didn’t feel like I was running very hard at all.

In the usual places I got a bit tired and did have a phone call during my run, but I felt strong and well for the whole run.

My last mile (almost a full mile – I don’t care much anymore about the last .05 of a mile) I ran at a pace below 8:00.  I was, however, pushing more at that point since I knew it was going to be a good run for me.

It was a good run.  8:23 pace overall.

Here is a breakdown:

20140402-161605.jpg

I really don’t know what I am finally doing right.  I feel good while running.  My hip is doing well.  My pace is getting better and my VO2 Max seems to be improving greatly.

I have had thoughts of increasing my mileage, but I am good with 5 miles a day and 8 – 12 on my long day.  Rhythm is important and I feel like I am developing one.  In fact, this was pretty much my whole training for my marathon.  5 miles a day during the week and 10 – 20 on the weekend.

So things are moving in a positive direction… Thankfully.  My weight is also down.  I was up above 190 for a bit, but am now at 187.  Hopefully that will continue to go down.

My half marathon is in just over 3 weeks.  I plan on getting in an 11 or 12 mile run this weekend and 13 the next.

This could be a very interesting race for me.  I’m beginning to actually look forward to it.

Tom

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100 mile month… Finally!

Last week was a BUSY week for me.  I missed 2 days running because I was out of town on business.  Then when I got back to running, I felt I lost all my speed.  I ran about a minute a mile slower than I have been running on both Friday and Saturday.  Honestly, I think it was a combination of two things…

First, I drove much of the time I was away.  Just sitting in a car for days on end, I am sure didn’t help my legs at all.

Second, I eat junk food for 3 days.  It was like I could feel the food weighting down my stomach as I ran.  It was horrible.

Sunday I had a great run!  I did my mountain run which is normally 8 miles.  Being that I am running the Country Music Half Marathon at the end of April, I figured it was time to begin upping my mileage a bit.  So I parked at the same place for my run, but rather than running left to the mountain road, I ran right. This took me up and down a large hill.  At the bottom of the hill I turned left and ran up to a parking lot that @BigBigGeek and I used to park at last year while running together.  I then turned around and headed back.  By the time I got to where I started I had 3 miles under my belt.  So from there I kept going and ran the mountain.

I felt great by the way.  My legs felt good, my speed was good, my strength was good.  By the time I got to the top of the mountain, I could feel my legs were noticing the extra 3 miles.  When I finished I had 11 miles completed and I was ready to stop.  I was shot.  Even this morning, just walking up the step I could feel the burn in my legs.  What a great workout.

Also, I made it to 100 miles this month.  This was the first 100 mile month since my marathon in September.  Neill and David and I are on Nike+ together.  Over the past year I have had the higher mileage of the three of us – of course, I have been running longer.  Here is the breakdown as of yesterday:

IMG_1130

Looks like I’m the looser this month.  Neill asked me yesterday if I was going to run today (being the last day of the month).  I texted back, “That is for me to know and you to find out”.  🙂

Honestly I am amazed at Neill and David.  They were nowhere near 100 miles just a couple of months ago, and now I can’t keep up.  Impressive.

So running is going good – and I forgot to say that I ran my mountain run just over a 9:00 pace, which is one of the fastest paces I’ve had doing the mountain.

I guess all that junk food is finally out of my system. 🙂

Tom

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33 miles and 20,000 views

 

 

 

 

To begin this post, I wanted to put up a screenshot from my phone from yesterday morning.

photo

 

20,000 views.

That may not be a big deal, I don’t honestly know.  For me, however, it is really cool.  Thank you to everyone who looks at my blog, either once, twice or daily.  It means a lot to me.  The best ever at 646 was the day of my marathon.  Good times!

Okay, on to running news.  I got my 6 days in a row in for a total of 33 miles (not bad coming back from an injury).  Yesterday was my sixth.  I went out a bit overconfident and started too fast.  By the 2 mile mark I was shot.  So I walked a few seconds and started up again.  Sort of funny that I was overconfident.  Confidence in running hasn’t been my thing over the past year.  Still my average pace ended at 8:40, which is only about 5 seconds a mile slower then my other days this week.

No more said about ACV this post.  I use it and I like it.  Even the taste is getting tolerable.  I have almost 2 weeks of great progress and I mostly attribute it to that.

Today will be an off day.  I will try to get several miles in walking.  Then tomorrow we are leaving our adult kids at home and going to Chattanooga.  I plan on getting up early each day and running River Walk.   It is an awesome path that was built and goes about 7 or 8 miles along the river.  I hope to run 8 miles each day we are there.  Tomorrow morning I will get up, get a wash in, drive to the park and do my weekly run up the mountain.  Then I will be getting ready to head out of town.

Everyone needs a break and I really enjoy these weekend trips with my Lovely Wife and this time with my oldest son.  We have a great routine and time away is always good.

I hope everyone has a good weekend.  This may be my last post until Monday, but time will tell.

Tom

 

 

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My dream, my hope, my life – Thoughts from yesterday’s run

As I ran yesterday, I thought about dreams.

Not dreams as in sleep, but dreams as in aspirations, desires, goals that seem beyond reach, but something you want to attain with a desire that is beyond normal desire or hope.

Dreams are an important part of life.  Some dreams never come to pass.  They sit in front of us an become a frustration, depression or just make us angry.

I realized yesterday that I have had many dreams I wanted to attain in life and many of them I have actually achieved.  Most were within my ability to achieve if I persevered beyond normal effort.  As I ran, realized that each major phase of my life has had a dream just outside my reach that I had to really work for in order to see it come to fruition.  Many times those dreams took perseverance beyond my own ability to achieve.

I am being purposefully vague here as I don’t need to go into all those dreams.  But my thoughts went on to the fact that so many people deal with anger and depression because they don’t get to fulfill their dreams, at least in the timing that they have chosen to see them fulfilled.  Without a dream, or as the Bible says, a vision, we will perish.  Hope is essential in life.  The American Dream has kept people pursuing their lives vocation for generations.  A hope for a good life and an even better life for their children.  I think a lot of Americans have given up on achieving their Dream.

My current dream or hope or goal is to qualify and maybe one day run in the Boston Marathon.  Back before last year’s race (and tragedy) TJ would talk to me about us qualifying together.  Then, last March I made that my goal.  I hadn’t even run my first marathon yet, but my new goal would be to qualify for Boston… Then I ran my first marathon in September and that dream seemed to be pushed beyond achievement.  I ended up hurting myself after the marathon and it took months to get back to a semi normal running routine.

I still have that as my goal, my dream.  It keeps me going home each day and heading out to run in good or bad weather.  It helps me get past heel spurs and hip pain.  It makes me run up mountains in order to build my endurance and run down mountains to build my strength.  

It is my dream.  

I could give up on my dream.  It is going on 2 years since I began running and a year since I made that decision to qualify for Boston.  That is a long time.  I am getting close to 2,500 miles run, mostly in my neighborhood.  It seems like a dream that is out of reach.  But that is exactly what makes it a dream.  That is what gives me hope.  The thought of the day I achieve another dream and overcome almost impossible odds to do just that…  That is what makes life fun.

So my run ended yesterday much quicker than most.  Not because I ended it early, but because I had so distracted myself from running by dreaming about dreaming.

Keep dreaming.  If it were easy, it wouldn’t be a dream.

Tom

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Musings on my running

Yesterday was my second run this week.  I got out Tuesday for 4.25 miles and another 4.2 yesterday.

I DID NOT WANT TO RUN WHEN I GOT HOME FROM WORK…

Sorry, did I say that too loud.

Work went well, but I was feeling quite tired.  I honestly think I am still feeling lag from my adventure in the snow last week.  But I knew what I had to do.  I got home, I went upstairs and got into my running clothes.  I put on my jacket.  I went out into the 40 degree cold with 20 mph wind and ran 4 miles.

I was glad that I did when it was over.  Also it was a fast run for me.  I ended at an 8:45 pace for 4.2 miles.  I was in pain somewhat with my hip.  I think when it is cold out, I hold my body tight and that isn’t good for either hip.

Last night I woke up with my good hip hurting.  Hmmm.  Will I ever just feel good running?  Maybe not.  I also wonder sometimes if I will ever get back to my 200 mile months.  I am not going to push it right now, but it has been a long time since I went up that high in my mileage.  If it weren’t for the snow last week I would have broken 100 miles for the first time since August.  Actually last month was double of any month since before my marathon.  So I can’t complain.

HOWEVER…

Thinking of running a marathon again, let alone qualifying for Boston is so far beyond me at this point that it is rather upsetting.

I guess I have to forget what is behind and push forward.  I have to see today, tomorrow and a year from now.  One day I will get back my mileage, I will run a marathon and, Lord willing, I’ll qualify for Boston.

IF NOT….

I am still a 51 year old man who has lost 100 lbs, and can run 6 days a week.

It could be worse.

Tom

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Boring run, but interesting sky

Running can be boring, especially for someone who refuses to listen to music and who runs alone.  One good thing is that I am always listening (for cars) and looking around and observing.

Yesterday I came across this sight.  I had to stop and take a picture.  I didn’t know if the picture would come out or not, but it did.

Take a look:

Black line in the sky

Black line in the sky

Look in the sky of this image.  There is a dark line running across it.  It is perfectly straight, goes across the whole sky and seems to even intersect the contrail from a jet.  I took two pictures and then started my run again.  As I got to the stop sign ahead, the line was gone. I looked up and it wasn’t there anymore.

There is probably some reasonable answer as to what this is, but I was fascinated by it.  I’ve seen lots of interesting things in the sky, but never a long black straight line.

Anyway, back to my boring run.

I hope to one day qualify for Boston… that is no secret.  So whether I want to or nor; whether it is cold or hot; if I am tired or sore… I run.  I have to make my goal.  Now, once I do, that will be interesting.  What next…  I think I have a few years to make to make that decision.

Today I am taking off as I have been running for 6 days straight and my hip is beginning to rebel.  Saturday morning TJ and I are going to run the Donut Dash.  @BigBigGeek is unfortunately hurt and can’t do it this year.  I guess I’ll get his share of the donuts!

Have a great weekend and when you run… look at the sky.

To

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The Pebble run and 5K prep

Yesterday’s run was hard.

No, it isn’t what you think.

I made the decision that I would run slow and easy since I ran hard on Wednesday.  In the past I would run as hard as I could, even the day after a hard run.  Well my recent 2 month off and on sabbatical from running because of my hip has made me a little wiser (I hope).  So when I started my run I told myself that I wanted to run between a 10:00 – 11:00 pace.  I decided that if I looked at my time and I was under a 10:00 pace then I would walk for a bit and then start my run again.  That way I would keep pulling my nature to run hard in and hopefully keep from getting injured.

I got a half mile into my run and had to walk.  Actually I felt a twinge from my hip and looked and I was running near a 9:00 pace.  So I walked for a few minutes and started running again.  It wasn’t long before I was walking again.

Enter Pebble watch.

The most frustrating thing about starting and stopping my run was the fact I had to keep starting and stopping my iPhone.  So one of the times that I was walking, I started pushing buttons on my Pebble and found that the middle outside button actually pauses and starts the app on my phone.  So as I started my run I would press the button and my app would announce that it was started.  When I walked, I pressed the button and my app would tell me it was paused.

So cool.

I no longer need to even interact with my phone.  I don’t need to have auto pause on (which does not work well on the iSmoothRun app).  In fact, I can put my phone in an arm band and never look at it again the whole run.

I’m FREE!

Back to my run.  I walked about a dozen times, but managed to get 3 miles in on the 4 mile route and my pace at the end was 10:39 – exactly where I wanted to be.  This is the first time I was able to pull back and not run faster than I knew I should.

Today is another run, hopefully between 8:30 – 9:00 pace and then tomorrow I’ll be walking my 4 miles.  The race starts at 9:00 Sunday morning, but evidently there is a church meeting at the building where the race starts, so we will only have limited access to the building.  It is going to be 35 degrees and we aren’t even allowed inside the lobby to keep warm before or after.  Had I known that, I wouldn’t have chosen this race, but it is too late now.  I do understand the church not wanting a lot of sweating runners hanging around with people coming in for services, but the planners of the Magic City Half Marathon and 5K should have made better plans, especially with the cold weather.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to the 5K and it will be fun to run with TJ again.  We haven’t run a race since the Lehigh Valley Marathon in September. RS has to work and so he can’t make it.

Have an awesome Friday and rest of the weekend.

Tom

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Ordinary running

Ran again yesterday.  7 days in a row.

I was thinking as I ran how “ordinary” my running is.  I don’t mean that in a negative way, but I think I am feeling some rebound from training for a marathon.

I wondered as I trained, how I would feel after it was all over.  Would I have a difficult time adjusting to the fact I wasn’t training anymore, or would I be relieved.  I was happy to find out that after the marathon was all over, I was satisfied.  I didn’t feel upset or unfocused.  I was just living in the fact that I had completed my goal.

Now, almost 4 week later, I think I did have some issues that came up over the past few weeks.  Even as I ran yesterday, I felt a bit “off” thinking that it is all over.  My running right now is ordinary running.  Nothing special.  Nothing to train for.  Nothing but me and the road and my shoes.

I don’t mean that I am not planning some races. We have a 10K in a month and TJ just talked to me about running a few 5K’s.  In February we have the Mercedes Half Marathon and in March the Shamrock Marathon.

Right now though, I am enjoying just running and not really training.  I am enjoying pushing it a bit.  I am enjoying the cooler weather (though the heat index yesterday was 90).  I really am enjoying the no pressure running that I am doing.  But deep inside there is a little sadness.  There is a little loss.  Training for a marathon was hard, especially in the summer.  It was grueling and tiring.  I am surprised though how much of my identity was tied up in that training.  Even now it seems hard to not have that goal to reach out to.  It seems hard to not be in a place of, “Can I actually do this?”

So, I am working on enjoying my ordinary running.

Sometimes life is ordinary.  There is nothing to reach out for.  It is work, home, run, eat and sleep.

If we don’t enjoy the moments, even in the ordinary times, we will never appreciate the marathon of life.

Hmmm.  Now I feel better.  I’m glad I had a chance to write through this thought process.

On to my ordinary life.  I’m glad I am alive, can eat, can run and can sleep in a bed and have a wonderful family.

Ordinary is good.

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My Run Plan

Today is the first day of my marathon training…

Just kidding.

In a way I feel like that is the case though.  I haven’t run much since my marathon on September 8th.  In fact I have only logged about 50 miles this month (and 26.2 was in one day).  Today I can finally hit the pavement again.  I hope to run 3 miles today and 6 with @BigBigGeek tomorrow.

My plan for this next month is to build back up to about 50 miles a week.  I’ll start at about 30 – 35 miles next week and add 10% each week until I get back to 50.  I hope that eventually I can make 50 miles a week my benchmark.  Personally, I would like to be up in the high 50’s on average, but I want to take my time building back up my mileage.

With Fall approaching and cool weather less than a month away, I hope my training will pick back up.  Another goal for this Fall is to get my pace down to 8:00 per mile.  Last winter I was comfortably at 8:30 pace, but during the summer and marathon training my average pace has dropped a bit.

On a final note, many congratulations to those who have gotten into Boston.  I got a nice comment from  RunningBostonAndBeyond yesterday and read her blog post about getting that email.  It is a great post.  If you have time, read it HERE. Very exciting.

Gotta go.  Have a great weekend and enjoy your run!

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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.